Roxy Theatre

For pictures of the Roxy theatre when it ran Windjammer in 1958, go to this page on my Cinerama web site –
http://cinerama.topcities.com/1958_january.htm

Click the links to the right of the date 04/14

Stuart: A good question and one that I have wondered about since learning of the famous Roxy in NYC. To have been inside its door must have been very special and memorable looking back on it all now. When reading that the Roxy disappeared from the fabric of NYC in the year 1961 I recalled that I was a freshman in high school at the time then in 1964 I did make a trip to NYC for the World’s Fair, but it would have been too late then to see the Roxy during a trip to the Big Apple. Also, I have figured out that the Swanson photos are the same ones and due to perhaps the surrounding light that day it just looks like a brunette and a blonde standing with similar poses, but it’s the same legend, Ms. Swanson in both of the photos. Interesting to note that she lived for 25 years after those famous celebrity photos were taken.

I worked for 20th Century Fox during the 50s, and since most of our films played the Roxy, I attended many shows there. I did not appreciate the grand theatre enough back then, basically took it for granted I quess. Once inside the Roxy or Paramount you entered a wonderful world of make believe like nothing we have today.
well… you don’t know what you’ll miss till it’s gone.

Has anyone here ever had the privilege of being inside the Roxy while it was still standing? I just wondered what it must have felt like.

I’ve just been comparing what seems like 2 different Swanson/Roxy photos. The background is the same, but the photo of Swanson shows her as a brunette in one and as a younger appearing blonde in the other? The source of the 2 photos are 10/09/05 and 4/13/04 posts. Can someone explain?

Warren: Your post of Oct. 9th which shows the famous Swanson photo among the Roxy ruins just got printed out and will go on my refrigerator to remind me of what was in NYC. Thanks and I would love to know the story behind that photo..publicity shot or demolition story?

Patsy: The Roxy Theatre was located at 50th @ 7th Avenue and the Radio City is located @ 50th @ 6th Avenue. The Roxy Theatre at the time was operated by National Theatres the parent company to Fox West Coast Theatres and other divisions. During the mid 50’s to around the mid 60’s National Theatres started to unload many theatres from the chain, like other chains around the country. Because of business in that market, so they cut all sizes of theatres. So the largest ones were the easiest targets. The Roxy was in their plans because of the size (5000 seats). The property in this market had become more expensive and they could make more money on select locations by just razing the theatre. The old Taft Hotel still stands and a TGIF and other food places are in the front half of where the lobby enterance was. In 1963 National Theatres cut the Fox Theatre in San Francisco from the chain. In the early 60’s the Fox Beverly Theatre in Beverly Hills was cut (but just recently has been razed) and in 1969 the famed Carthay Circle was razed for an
office building. So the bigger the theatre is means there is more square footage for something else. Another that didn’t help the Roxy was theatre was built on the next property going east. So people here have wondered why the Roxy, Capital Theatres could not have been saved. They were just to big for their own good during the 1960’s. 5000 seats is a lot of seats to fill for a movie during this time.

Did it have anything to do with a rivalry between RCMH and the Roxy. In one of the b/w photos on this site it looks like the Roxy was near RCMH?

Below is an excerpt from How They Met by Joey Green which mentions the Roxy Theater and it’s connection to Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

“Before dawn on November 30, 1940, Desi and Lucy eloped by driving from Pierre Hotel in NYC to Greenwich, CT with Desi’s agent and business manager to act as witnesses. Just across the state line in CT, the eager couple could avoid New York’s required waiting period and return to Manhattan, according to Desi’s calculations, in time for his noon performace at the Roxy Theatre. The blood tests, however, took longer than anticipated. Then Desi had to send his business manager into Woolworth’s to buy a brass ring for Lucy. The justice of the peace also slowed things down by insisting upon marrying the couple in a more romantic environment than his office, bringing them to the Bryam River Beagle Country Club to conduct the ceremony before a roaring fireplace. The couple then returned to NYC where Desi, having missed the first of his 5 performances, carried Lucy over the threshold of the Roxy Theater.”

Amen to taking the old Theatres for granted. When I was a kid living in San Francisco, my family would take me downtown on Market St to the Palaces. At the time that’s all there was and no reason to believe that would all change. There was the granddaddy of them all the Fox, then the Orpheum, the St. Francis, the Golden Gate, the Warfield, the United Artists and the wonderful Paramount. Today only the Warfield survies as a concert venue, the Golden Gate and Orpheum for legit shows. But alas, no movies have played there since the 60’s. If I only appreciated what I had then. What a shame the younger generation will never see the likes of those again.

Y'know it was a real crying shame that they had to tear this beautiful theatre down. A lot of wonderful buildings were torn down all over the states around this time. As is always the case, we never seem to appreciate what we already have until it’s gone.

Are you the “Bob Furmanek” who works in Film?
Are you related to Abbott and Costello and etc. ?

I can’t remember when (Somewhere between 1954 and 1957), I appeared togehter with Abbott and “his” chimp.

If you want, we could stay in contact?

My email address:

Best regards
Ralph Heid