Gary Stanley (a/k/a Ashley Stanhole) was the projectionist, at the top grinning with his eyes closed.
Paul Wise is directly above where it says “Harold & Maude” and “Taking Off”.
The late David Franklin is at the bottom left with his head cocked, appearing as if he’s drawing from a bong; looking over at him in profile is Steve Dwyer, a/k/a Wazoo.
I used to go to the Bellmore Playhouse’s Saturday matinees in the early-1960’s. I remember the manager was an elderly man with white hair and glasses (always wearing a suit and tie) who often got on stage in between the double feature (usually science fiction or horror movies, some of them made in the ‘50s). He’d give out free passes or coupons for free candy. Unless I’m mistaken, it was his voice that was on the recorded message when you called the theater.
There were Halloween costume contests at the matinee, and every Christmas they’d show the Mexican/K. Gordon Murray production, “Santa Claus” and, in the mid-to-late ‘60s “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” and “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t.”
The last matinees I remember were in the late ‘60s (“The Deadly Bees” plus “The Vulture”; “The Terrornauts” plus “They Came from Beyond Space”). I also remember staying after the matinees to see the “adult movies” that were shown in the evenings. (This was back when adults had adult movies to go to.) I must’ve been about 13 or 14-years-old, trying to figure out what I was watching in the John Cassavettes movie, “Husbands.” But I got in trouble once when my mother found out that I’d snuck in to the Playhouse’s evening show of that “dirty” movie, “The Statue.”
Do any of you know if the Olde Venice Inn is still in business? It was a bar/restaurant down the block from the Baldwin Theatre. We used to go there a lot in the 1970’s — the pizza was very different and quite special. There was a pretty waitress in her 30’s or 40’s, some guy in the back wearing a tuxedo, and a fascinating display of original oil paintings on the walls.
The Merrick Mall Cinema was north of Sunrise Highway. I remember going there in the mid-1960’s for Saturday afternoon horror matinees. When I revisited the place ten years ago (after being away for a long time), the site was a flower & gift shop.
The Merrick Theatre was on Merrick Road, in a shopping center on the south side, close to the Freeport border. In the 1970’s they used to show a lot of foreign films there.
My earliest recollections of going to The Merrick Gables was for the mid-60’s reissue of Disney “Cinderella” and the 1966 double-bill of “The Silencers” plus “Murderer’s Row.”
A couple of the original owners of the Uniondale Mini Cinema opened a second theatre, the Cine Capri, in Old Bethpage. Both the Mini and the Cine Capri changed bills on Wednesdays and Sundays. Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays they showed slower (“art”) movies; while the Wednesday through Saturday schedule catered to concert movies, drug films and the like.
I recall some adventures at the Mini in part three of my article, “An Unbearable Likeness of Being”:
Another note about the Wantagh Theatre: Joan Crawford appeared there in person sometime in the early ‘60s to promote one of her movies, either “Straightjacket” or “I Saw What You Did” — I’m not entirely sure which one it was.
The Bellmore Theatre, collectively known as “The Itch,” was and still is a single screen, on Petit Avenue, running adjacent to (the north side of) Sunrise Highway. Up until the mid-‘70s, it was “air cooled” in the summer, a block of dry ice propped in front of a fan. Their concession stand at that time was a folding card table with some candy bars on it. Their marquee back then protruded off the building, covering the full expanse of the entrance, with a series of light bulbs underneath. As the Bellmore Fire Department is located next-door, their alarm would blast through the walls and drown out the sound of the movie.
The Bellmore Playhouse is on nearby Bedford Avenue. It closed down about 15 years ago, but reopened about 5 or 6 years ago as a small multiplex.
On Merrick Road was the Merrick Gables in Merrick, and the Grove in Freeport. And, of course, the grand Freeport Theatre was on Sunrise Highway.
The Cinema Wantagh theatre was located on Wantagh Avenue, on the north end of the Wantagh 5 & 10/Veeder Paints shopping center. It opened in the early 1970’s, and closed in the early ‘90s. It was then renovated into a strip mall.
The description given on this webpage, however, probably reflects the Wantagh Theatre, which was built in the ‘50s, across the street from the Kwong Ming restaurant on Jerusalem Avenue. Its design was post-modern, and the auditorium had a sectioned-off smoking loge. Contrary to what was written above, the Wantagh Theatre deteriorated by the mid-to-late '70s, with broken or slashed seats, and a heavily-stained screen. The site is now an office building for professionals.
Gary Stanley (a/k/a Ashley Stanhole) was the projectionist, at the top grinning with his eyes closed.
Paul Wise is directly above where it says “Harold & Maude” and “Taking Off”.
The late David Franklin is at the bottom left with his head cocked, appearing as if he’s drawing from a bong; looking over at him in profile is Steve Dwyer, a/k/a Wazoo.
BTW, MANY thanks for posting the poster!
Yikes!!! Every face, every stoned grimace looks like…ME!
To see a bunch of scans of Strand schedules from 1978 & ‘79, click here.
You might enjoy my Strand articles:
View link
and the May 15 entry on my blog:
http://flickhead.blogspot.com/
Front and back of a 1978 Strand schedule:
View link
View link
Yikes!! I think I saw them there…out promoting “Rat City in Blue”!
I used to go to the Bellmore Playhouse’s Saturday matinees in the early-1960’s. I remember the manager was an elderly man with white hair and glasses (always wearing a suit and tie) who often got on stage in between the double feature (usually science fiction or horror movies, some of them made in the ‘50s). He’d give out free passes or coupons for free candy. Unless I’m mistaken, it was his voice that was on the recorded message when you called the theater.
There were Halloween costume contests at the matinee, and every Christmas they’d show the Mexican/K. Gordon Murray production, “Santa Claus” and, in the mid-to-late ‘60s “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” and “The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t.”
The last matinees I remember were in the late ‘60s (“The Deadly Bees” plus “The Vulture”; “The Terrornauts” plus “They Came from Beyond Space”). I also remember staying after the matinees to see the “adult movies” that were shown in the evenings. (This was back when adults had adult movies to go to.) I must’ve been about 13 or 14-years-old, trying to figure out what I was watching in the John Cassavettes movie, “Husbands.” But I got in trouble once when my mother found out that I’d snuck in to the Playhouse’s evening show of that “dirty” movie, “The Statue.”
Best regards,
Ray
www.Flickhead.com
Do any of you know if the Olde Venice Inn is still in business? It was a bar/restaurant down the block from the Baldwin Theatre. We used to go there a lot in the 1970’s — the pizza was very different and quite special. There was a pretty waitress in her 30’s or 40’s, some guy in the back wearing a tuxedo, and a fascinating display of original oil paintings on the walls.
Best regards,
www.Flickhead.com
The Merrick Mall Cinema was north of Sunrise Highway. I remember going there in the mid-1960’s for Saturday afternoon horror matinees. When I revisited the place ten years ago (after being away for a long time), the site was a flower & gift shop.
The Merrick Theatre was on Merrick Road, in a shopping center on the south side, close to the Freeport border. In the 1970’s they used to show a lot of foreign films there.
My earliest recollections of going to The Merrick Gables was for the mid-60’s reissue of Disney “Cinderella” and the 1966 double-bill of “The Silencers” plus “Murderer’s Row.”
Best regards,
www.Flickhead.com
A couple of the original owners of the Uniondale Mini Cinema opened a second theatre, the Cine Capri, in Old Bethpage. Both the Mini and the Cine Capri changed bills on Wednesdays and Sundays. Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays they showed slower (“art”) movies; while the Wednesday through Saturday schedule catered to concert movies, drug films and the like.
I recall some adventures at the Mini in part three of my article, “An Unbearable Likeness of Being”:
View link
Another note about the Wantagh Theatre: Joan Crawford appeared there in person sometime in the early ‘60s to promote one of her movies, either “Straightjacket” or “I Saw What You Did” — I’m not entirely sure which one it was.
Flickhead
www.flickhead.com
The Bellmore Theatre, collectively known as “The Itch,” was and still is a single screen, on Petit Avenue, running adjacent to (the north side of) Sunrise Highway. Up until the mid-‘70s, it was “air cooled” in the summer, a block of dry ice propped in front of a fan. Their concession stand at that time was a folding card table with some candy bars on it. Their marquee back then protruded off the building, covering the full expanse of the entrance, with a series of light bulbs underneath. As the Bellmore Fire Department is located next-door, their alarm would blast through the walls and drown out the sound of the movie.
The Bellmore Playhouse is on nearby Bedford Avenue. It closed down about 15 years ago, but reopened about 5 or 6 years ago as a small multiplex.
On Merrick Road was the Merrick Gables in Merrick, and the Grove in Freeport. And, of course, the grand Freeport Theatre was on Sunrise Highway.
Best regards,
Flickhead
www.flickhead.com
The Cinema Wantagh theatre was located on Wantagh Avenue, on the north end of the Wantagh 5 & 10/Veeder Paints shopping center. It opened in the early 1970’s, and closed in the early ‘90s. It was then renovated into a strip mall.
The description given on this webpage, however, probably reflects the Wantagh Theatre, which was built in the ‘50s, across the street from the Kwong Ming restaurant on Jerusalem Avenue. Its design was post-modern, and the auditorium had a sectioned-off smoking loge. Contrary to what was written above, the Wantagh Theatre deteriorated by the mid-to-late '70s, with broken or slashed seats, and a heavily-stained screen. The site is now an office building for professionals.
Best regards,
Flickhead
www.flickhead.com