Kozy Theatre
Main Street and 4th Street,
Granite,
OK
73547
Main Street and 4th Street,
Granite,
OK
73547
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Brown Bros. launched the Kozy Theatre on April 7, 1917 with six reels of moving pictures and music by Mrs. Ward’s Orchestra. In March of 1930, the theatre was equipped with sound starting with the film, “Murder on the Roof” to remain viable.
Operator Melville Danner got the Kozy’s only world premiere by suggesting a short idea pitched to Pete Smith of MGM. That short became “Movie Pests” premiering at the Granite on July 5, 1944 and the Mayor of the city proclaimed it Melville Danner and Pete Smith Day on July 8, 1944.
Under Raymond Burns, the theatre transitioned to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope titles beginning October 2, 1957 with June Allyson in “Woman’s World.” Ernest Wayne and Nancy Craig closed the Kozy Theatre following the November 20, 1965 showing of “Pillow Talk” which may have ended its 58 year run. The theatre was, however, used for sporadic screenings thereafter.
Joe: Thank you so much for the information! The poster does look very old. That makes a little more sense with the dates and why I’m confused on what Theatre was using the Kozy against the date of when Chero-Cola was introduced. I will check out the Google search of The Moving Picture world and see what else I can find. I will share anything I come up with. Thanks again!
Kit43: Wikipedia says that Chero-Cola was first produced in Columbus, Georgia, in 1905, and was rebranded as Royal Crown Cola in 1934, so your poster must come from that period. The would eliminate the Kozy in Granite, which wasn’t listed with that spelling until after 1941. As there were quite a few early theaters that used the spelling Kozy (I found six with a quick Google search of The Moving Picture World, only three of which are among the nine currently listed at Cinema Treasures) it might be hard to discover which one was advertised on your poster.
I found an old movie poster promoting to drink Chero-Cola and “Kozy Theatre” was listed on it. It was promoting to turn in your bottle caps to get a discount on a ticket. I found this at an old antique store in PA, does anyone know about this? The antique store is owned by a man who goes to estate sales, so not sure where it originated, but I thought it was neat. Been trying to find any information on it, but can’t find anything. A lot of the names come up as “Cozy Theatre” not “Kozy”. Thanks.
The Kozy Theatre opened in 1916… not sure if it was in the same location
Raymond & Lois Burns moved from Midlothian, Tx in about 1950 and bought the Kosy Theatre in Granite. They lived in the back of the theatre until they bought a home about a half block behind the theatre. The Burns were close friends with my parents and I spent a few weeks there every summer from 1950 to 1960 and did odd jobs in the theatre. I also visited Granite with my parents several times a year. The Burns closed/ sold the theatre and opened an amusement area on the lake. Many pleasant memories!
My grandpa was the projectionist at this theater just before WW2. There is nothing left of it except the front wall/box office and very small lobby (with non-theater related junk stored in it). The actual theater seating area, screen area, and living quarters that were in the back is now a vacant lot. There are a few ceramic tiles left on the slab where the apartment was.
This is as close as I could maneuver google maps toward the Kozy Theatre. Pan over to Granite Drugs, 316 Main St, to see the Kozy to the right.
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Yes, that must be a former theatre because you can see the boxoffice, poster case, a marquee outline, and double entry doors.
This one might have been on the east side of Main Street between 4th and Parker. You can see a ticket booth when you drive down the block with Google Street View.