Tiffany Theater

The Tiffany Theater sits on the land that was originally featured on the television show 77 Sunset Strip. In real life that property was the home of the Mary Webb Davis modeling agency. In some of the photos in the PHOTO section here you can see the building to the left of the theater that was used as Dino’s Lodge on 77 Sunset Strip. Kookie (Edd Byrnes) parked cars between the two buildings on the TV show.

Circa 1980 photo added courtesy of the Classic Hollywood/Los Angeles/SFV facebook page.

The Tiffany Theater Sign at Valley Relics Museum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG1EKARrYeY

The Tiffany Theater was demolished on August 30, 2013.

Now on Wikipedia: View link

Here is a Facebook page for Tiffany alumni.

View link

KenRoe: Many thanks for the updates. I lived in LA 1981-89 and the Vagabond and Gordon were a couple of places I frequented…along with the Tiffany, the Oriental, the Four Star, the Clinton, the Fairfax, the New Beverly, the Pan Pacific. Obviously, I leaned to the inexpensive houses.

I arrived in Los Angeles in May of 1977 and right away knew it was built for me. The first double bill I saw was Alexander’s Ragtime Band and The Gang’s All Here. Though the theatre was odd — very little rake, a low ceiling, and not a very large screen, it was run by dedicated cinemaphiles and for the next several years, it was one of my favorite hangouts. I miss it to this day.

I recall with great fondness the 3D festivals. I saw Kiss Me Kate whenever it was shown, but saw just about everything else, and most of them were really pretty terrible. The Tiffany boasted that it had a silver screen, and perhaps because the throw from the projector was in a straight line and the screen was small, the 3D was much more effective. They showed the shorts and cartoons, too, everything they could find. They also made it their business to find good posters. There was one 3 sheet of Rita Hayworth’s Down to Earth that was beautiful.

Often, old stars would show up for screenings. I once saw The Harvey Girls with Virginia O'Brien in attendance. She was wearing a rather tired leopard skin coat. After all, it had been a long time since she was at MGM. I felt bad for her since only about thirty people showed up, but she still seemed delighted to be there and gave a little talk beforehand, describing how she was discovered and what it was like shooting the movie.

Another time, I saw Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. One entered the theatre from the side. A dazzling figure in a dazzling red gown caught the corner of my eye. It was the star and former wife of director Russ Meyer, Edy Williams. She was alone and sat directly behind me. She seemed like a good sport, she laughed at her own performance, but then disappared about halfway through when her role
in the film ended.

The sister theatre to the Tiffany was the Vagabond. See my post for that for a few more stories.

I finally found some more information about the Tiffany. Boxoffice Magazine’s issue of November 7, 1966, said that Robert Lippert and Harold Goldman had opened their new Tiffany Theatre on November 2, with an invitational event that included the American premier of the Greek film “Young Aphrodites.” The architect was Jack Edwards. The stated seating capacity was 400.

The November 2 opening was somewhat later than the projected opening of late May, which had been announced in the April 11, 1966, issue of Boxoffice.

I found my very first ticket from the first time I went to the Tiffany. It was $2.50. The fun never stops.

Hi David, Meryl, Lisa, Sean – It’s Meredith again – Have to admit I haven’t been on this site for awhile, Meryl reminded me to check in.
David, let me know when you open that gallery, I have some snapshots I can probably scan to you, I’ll get your email from Meryl. I really remember your songs, especially a Christmas song you made up that was hysterical although now I don’t remember the words. I also have the Tommy Cooper record LP, him singing show tunes. David, you and Brett shared an apartment, right? I remember the Iggy Pop poster in the living room. I may be out in LA in Feb, I’ll drive by the Tiff and see if it’s still there.

The April 11, 1966, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that Harold Goldman and Robert Lippert planned to have their new Tiffany Theatre operating by late May of that year. The first movie theater on the Sunset Strip, the new art house had 400 seats, arranged in the continental style. The interior of the theater was designed by Ben Mayer, and the new facade and marquee were designed by Heath & Company. The building itself dates from 1935, and had already undergone extensive alterations in 1955.

Many years ago, Sean, you told me to let you know if anything cataclysmic happened in my life. I think finding this site might be that moment. I just spoke to “Little Lisa” for the first time in 28 years yesterday. Lisa and I stole the J-A-N-E-T from the letter room at the final show of RHPS. I kept the N— I left t eh T on Meryl’s doorstep at 3am after the show- if I remember correctly, she came dressed as a Transylvanian and snuck in, but got thrown out by Tommy Cooper when she was spotted with David Bryant. This was the last time I saw anyone from that old group.

Many years later, I had the privilege of working with Richard O'Brien. To make matters entirely surreal, I met him for the first time Tiffany Theater, where we attended a revival of the Rocky Horror Show. the lobby smelled the same, I saw a lot of ghosts that night. — Lisa (please! Never call me BIG Lisa!)