Marina 1-2-3
302 S. Catalina Avenue,
Redondo Beach,
CA
90277
302 S. Catalina Avenue,
Redondo Beach,
CA
90277
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My name is Randy Ruddy and I was the Manager of the Marina 3 Cinemas from July of 1976 until it closed on Sept. 30, 1987. During 30 years in the biz I also managed at The Fox West Coast Santa Ana, Fox Anaheim, Fox Fullerton, Fox Redlands, Crest San Bernadino, and the La Mar in Manhattan Beach, all in southern California. But the best memories were of the re-named Strand. Some of the notable patrons included Nancy Allen, Harris Yulin with Sarah Miles, and Chuck Norris. In the South Bay, theatre employees would trade passes and one day I got a call from an usher at the “adults-only” Pussycat Theatre in Torrance. When he came down I found him a very knowledgable chap and every time he came by we talked of films we liked and he helped me pick 2nd features (?) and we shared favorite films into the evening. After 6 months of this and after he borrowed by VHS of “The Yakuza” he stopped coming by. I found out he got a job at a video store in Manhattan Beach. I saw him a decade later when he walked into the AMC Century 14 theatre to check on the grosses of his film “Pulp Fiction” & he remembered me! Good to know Quentin maintained his love of films. The Strand was owned by the Lippert chain and after being split into 3 screens had 223, 231, and 176 seats. John Klee was the last operator/leasor. Oh yeah, and from Chistmas 1981, for a month or so, it was haunted by a deceased employee.
My grandmother lived just up the hill from the Strand, on Lucia Avenue. During summers in the early- to mid-50’s I’d stay with her for a week or two, either with my little brother or my younger cousin. We often went to the Strand for Saturday matinees. Saw the original runs of “Forbidden Planet,” Hitchcock’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and “Return of The Fly.” Grandma would always walk down with us, take us to the front of the line and ask whoever was there to buy our tickets for us. Then she’d walk back home while we had a ball with all those other screaming kids.
One of the best times in my life was in the late seventies when I was just learning to drive and on weeknights I’d go to the Marinas where admission was only one dollar. The theaters were always nearly empty, and if I didn’t like the movie I’d stay in the lobby and talk to the guy who sold the tickets and popcorn. I remember he was heavyset and had yellow hair, but I don’t think I ever learned his name. Some of the movies I saw during that time were EYEBALL, AN UNMARRIED WOMAN, and THE TOOLBOX MURDERS starring Pamelyn Ferdin.
I remember going one summer day to see a double feature of THE EXORCIST and THE SHINING. The woman sitting behind me wanted everyone to know that she had read the book, THE SHINING. When her kid asked her how long the family would be in the hotel, she said, “A year.” That woman is still on my nerves.
Toward the mid-eighties I got a job working for Peter Bogdanovich, and one of the guys I worked with had a second job as a projectionist at one of the Marinas. Peter fired him and I’ve always wondered how he took it. If he should ever read this, I’d like him to know that in the coming weeks Peter fired all his staff, except for his maid and an assistant to whom he owed money. At least we all got to go home. The dogs he got sick of were left in a cage in the backyard where they could barely move around without bumping into each other.
My favorite movies that I saw at the Marinas are all from the early seventies: They were IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (the well-paced, unrestored version—at Marina 1), STRAW DOGS (at Marina 2), and THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE (at the Surf).
I actually worked with Randy Ruddy a few times. He was last working for AMC a few years back at their (now closed) Puente Mall 6. This had to be in 1997.
The seating capaity of the Strand Theatre was given as 844 in the Film Daily Yearbook, 1952. The theatre opened about 1940.
This theatre was located at 302 South Catalina Avenue.
Old board said:
“lopresti > Jul 24, 2003 12:01 AM EDT
In 1945 and to late 1945, I worked as assistant manager at the Fox Redondo theatre. Dudley A. Winscott was the manager. I worked as assistant manager / acting manager at the Strand Redondo late 1945 to early 1946.”
I’ll never forget the time my parents took me to the Strand Theater in Redondo Beach to see the re-release of MGM’s “Wizard of Oz” in 1955. It was the first time I had ever seen it, and at age 8, I laughed and cried along with Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, and giggled at the Scarecrow. It was wonderful.
I never forgot the style and shape of the theater marquee and the text style of the neon letters, which stuck in my mind for years afterward. I recall there was a record company in the 1950s and 1960s, “Strand Records” which used this exact same graphic style in its logo. They must have seen the Wizard with me at the Strand, and wanted to memorialize it somehow!