Fonda Theatre
6126 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
6126 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
19 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 94 comments
The Pix had a wonderful neon marquee and the Henry Fonda Music Box has a terrible plastic marquee.brucec
Ken mc, Before the Pacific’s Pix closed it ran spanish films. The spanish films moved over to the Vine Theatre for awhile before returning to $2.00 dollar tickets. Around that time the World Theatre closed.
Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/2ebx4q
Here is a 1970 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/yptu66
Note that in 1942 the theater was called Abbott’s Music Box Theater.
Here is an article in today’s LA Times, by Randy Lewis:
The Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood is getting a new (old) name to go along with its new (old) look: the Music Box @ Fonda. The change revives the name the building had when it opened in 1926 – the Music Box – while retaining the identity it’s had since it reopened in 1985 as the Fonda.
Current owners are restoring the original Jazz Age look of the building, which over the decades has gone through an assortment of names, including the Fox and the Pix, a spokeswoman said. Most of the original facade still exists, she said, and what didn’t survive previous remodels will be re-created. The renovations are expected to be finished by early next year.
It was the Guild by the time of this June 1948 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2o4gb5
Here is a February 1944 ad:
http://tinyurl.com/2edj6o
Here is a September 1942 ad from the LA Times:
http://tinyurl.com/2ryaew
To clarify the questions above regarding “Windjammer” I can confirm that it indeed ran at this theatre (when it was called the Fox) for 15 weeks beginning Christmas Day, 1958.
For a full list of Los Angeles' Cinerama history, see:
http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/cinerama_la.htm
To clarify the questions above regarding “Windjammer” I can confirm that it indeed ran at this theatre (when it was called the Fox) for 15 weeks beginning Christmas Day, 1958.
For a full list of Los Angeles' Cinerama history, see:
http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/cinerama_la.htm
Here’s an aerial view of the theater:
View link
Well not a forecourt, but the Music Box Theatre did have (still does have) an open air foyer/bar above the main entrance. The back of the bar is actually the upper section of the facade and is a small covered area, but the remainder of the area is open.
These posted links are a welcome site, because I always thought it looked as if this house originally had a forecourt like the Egyptian and Chinese. Vintage photographs prove that it did not.
I am re-posting the link which johngleeson posted above on May 26, 2006. Scroll down towards the bottom for 3 photographs of the Henry Fonda Theatre:
View link
I just finished watching 12 Angry Men on TCM and remembered the play of the same name opening this theater as the Henry Fonda back in 1985. I was lucky enough to attend the dedication night show which featured among other performers, Gene Kelly dancing with Debbie Reynolds, and Jimmy Stewart giving his reflections. Does anyone else have recollections of this evening as my memory tells me that there were many other notables there. It was a fabulous evening.
This site has one exterior and two interior photos of the theater.
members.tripod.com/ ~movie_pal/fonda.html
If you want to see the incredible neon marquee of the Pix, just rent or buy the DVD of The First Nudie Musical – there’s a really long tracking shot during a musical number where you see it for a very long time (The Reincarnation Of Peter Proud is playing. In the same number there’s also a great shot of the Hollywood.
When they opened Cinerama in NYC at the Broadway Theatre. They installed a new special curved screen which was wider than the proscenium. And when the reissue 70MM of “This is Cinerama” played the Fox Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills. They installed a special screen for that engagement. When National Theatres were testing the new process. They used their Melrose Theatre (880 seats) for testing and demonstrations. So the New Fox Theatre is about the same size. The problem is for Cinemiracle presentations the booth had to be setup for head-on projection as in what Cinerama did. The Cinemiracle screen was made of conventional seamless material and was substanially less curved than that of Cinerama, being about 120 degrees instead of 146. Its most likely that on the move-over they used the Chinese Theatre’s print and track.
i meant to say late December 58 or early Jan 59. probably in Dec.
yes, the day after it left the Chinese, it moved over to the New Fox. Can get the dates for you if want. But it was probably in January'59 (or very late ‘57). Your questions are my questions. From what I learned, “WJ” ran until the Christmas booking of “Auntie Mame.” Without going thru all my notes, it ran at the NF for at least 2 or 3 months. Didnt do well. Any comments, pls?
Did the ‘Cinemiracle’ “Windjammer” ever play the New Fox (Music Box)? I thought it just played an exclusive 36 week run at Graumann’s Chinese Theater. Would the 900 seat New Fox be large enough, or even have a proscenium opening wide enough for the Cinemiracle screen?
can anybody inform us how the presentation of “Windjammer” in 1958 in its moveover after the run at the Henry Fonda (then called the New Fox) was done? True 3-panel? Curved screen? curtains? 7 channel or 1-channel mixdown.
The theater looked to be in half way decent shape when I went by last week, although I don’t think it looked anything like the photo above anymore. There where advertisements on the marquee for future events in February in old “movie title” letters.
Actually, that opening was February 1st, 1945. ((Can’t read my own scribbling.)