Academy of Music
126 E. 14th Street,
New York,
NY
10003
126 E. 14th Street,
New York,
NY
10003
19 people
favorited this theater
Showing 76 - 100 of 158 comments
Thought I would post on the theater homesites that match up for some movie ads I have in a May 10, 1946 NYC edition of the (Communist) Daily Worker. Evidently this theater supported that paper, in its way.
Starts:
ACADEMY of Music 126 E. 14
Now through Wednesday
Claudette Colbert, Orson Welles, George Brent
“TOMORROW IS FOREVER”
Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan
‘DARK ALIBI’"
Under that is a general blurb:
“Patronize the Daily Worker Advertisers”
I saw a bunch of show’s there in the early 70’s including my first ever concert. I remember Chris Rea was the 3rd bill and Traffic doing John Barleycorn was the headliner. Santana showed up for the encore.
My favorite show there was headliner Procol Harum doing Broken Barricades. 2nd on bill was King Crimson doing In the Court of the Crimson King and 3rd on the bill was a little known band, Yes doing the Yes album. I think it was 1971. Good times.
PS.
My dad recalled seeing “Clayton, Jackson, and Durante” Jimmy Durante at the Academy. He was born in 1923 so for him to remember that they had to have still been doing vaudeville there in the 1930’s.
I can recall reading the faded sign on the facade of the building. It read, in part, “Best in Vaudeville and Screen Shows.”
If anyonone has any photos of the interiors I’d love to see them.
What a loss.
I can recall seeing “The Time Machine,” “My Fair Lady,” and later on, “Planet of the Apes,” and I think the last film I saw at the glorious Academy (as we used to call it) was “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
The government of NYC has virtually sold itself to the real estate intdustry. You not only can’t get anything landmarked, you can’t even talk about it. Why? The newspapers and media are all part of it as they own large parcels of land in the city.
Consider in recent years we have lost (just in my neighborhood) Poe Townhouse (NYU, of course) the site of McGurk’s Saloon, Hadley Hall, The Church of All Nations, the Anderson Theater, the Commodore, and, of course, the Academy of Music, (which housed the famed and infamous “Julian’s Billiard Academy”).
I saw a few shows here myself in the ‘80’s and really loved it. The place was poorly kept, however, as somoman suggests. The place was definitely decrepit – and that ancient dirt black hulk of a marquee was frightening – but I always thought the sound was great. I remember sitting up in the balcony and feeling like Jerry Garcia’s guitar notes where slicing straight through me all the way to the back wall!
I saw the B-52s there after the Academy had become the Palladium nightclub. Must have been around 87 or 88. Place was packed to the rafters.
I think most of you folks will appreciate this. I’m running a list of every rock show that happened at the Academy of Music from 1964 to 1979.
A few thoughts about this project. First I have to say that the Academy Of Music was one of the most repulsive theaters ever to host concerts. I had the good fortune of attending the Fillmore East in 1970 and 1971. If Bill Graham was anything he was obsessive. The Fillmore was no treat when Bill Graham acquired it. However when he was done with it, he turned it into a palacce, a neat and clean environment that was perfectly appropariate for the audience who patronized it.
The Academy was a disgusting pig sty on a good day. The sound was generally awful. The shows offered no production value of any consequence. The back of the orchesta was a holding area for the lost and wandering acid heads, beer guzzlers and sick people who often couldnt make it to the bathroom. And the floors, wherever you sat, were like Elmers glue. To its credit, you could always wander the orchestra after the show, sift through the garbage on the floor and put together a nice little stash.
Bill Graham' Fillmore East defined the wonderous and magical experience of concert going. Howard Stein reduced it to its crudest level of acceptability. Greg Allman said in an interview (and I paraphrase) “we tried the Academy, we tried Radio City, but when we went into the Beacon we felt like we were home. It smelled like the Fillmore”.
And despite the indigestion I get thinking about the Academy, I still feel the need to document the succesful run of shows tha went down there. There were Alan Freed shows that took place in the 50s, but they were not concerts as we know them. Sid Bernstein promoted the first true Rock N Roll shows at the Academy starting with the Beach Boys and Rolling Stones in 1964 and Hermans Hermits, the Dave Clark 5, The Kinks, Moody Blues and the Stones again in 1966. But the theater did few more concerts till 1970 and 1971, when it competed (poorly) with The Fillmore. The Academy replaced the Fillmore in earnest starting in 1972.
So for the purpose of putting together a respectable and often intriguing list of shows, I’m starting with the Academy at 1964 and ending with the renamed Palladium in 1979. Many of you have rough memories of shows and ballpark ideas of when they occurred. I however needs dates, exact dates. I’ve documented about 200 shows so far but there are hundreds more that are yet to surface…..your help please. For those of you who would prefer to write to me directly I can be emailed at I will however continue to report my progress and post the master list right here.
Thanks all
Somoman
I think most of you folks will appreciate this. I’m running a list of every rock show that happened at the Academy of Music from 1964 to 1979.
A few thoughts about this project. First I have to say that the Academy Of Music was one of the most repulsive theaters ever to host concerts. I had the good fortune of attending the Fillmore East in 1970 and 1971. If Bill Graham was anything he was obsessive. The Fillmore was no treat when Bill Graham acquired it. However when he was done with it, he turned it into a palacce, a neat and clean environment that was perfectly appropariate for the audience who patronized it.
The Academy was a disgusting pig sty on a good day. The sound was generally awful. The shows offered no production value of any consequence. The back of the orchesta was a holding area for the lost and wandering acid heads, beer guzzlers and sick people who often couldnt make it to the bathroom. And the floors, wherever you sat, were like Elmers glue. To its credit, you could always wander the orchestra after the show, sift through the garbage on the floor and put together a nice little stash.
Bill Graham' Fillmore East defined the wonderous and magical experience of concert going. Howard Stein reduced it to its crudest level of acceptability. Greg Allman said in an interview (and I paraphrase) “we tried the Academy, we tried Radio City, but when we went into the Beacon we felt like we were home. It smelled like the Fillmore”.
And despite the indigestion I get thinking about the Academy, I still feel the need to document the succesful run of shows tha went down there. There were Alan Freed shows that took place in the 50s, but they were not concerts as we know them. Sid Bernstein promoted the first true Rock N Roll shows at the Academy starting with the Beach Boys and Rolling Stones in 1964 and Hermans Hermits, the Dave Clark 5, The Kinks, Moody Blues and the Stones again in 1966. But the theater did few more concerts till 1970 and 1971, when it competed (poorly) with The Fillmore. The Academy replaced the Fillmore in earnest starting in 1972.
So for the purpose of putting together a respectable and often intriguing list of shows, I’m starting with the Academy at 1964 and ending with the renamed Palladium in 1979. Many of you have rough memories of shows and ballpark ideas of when they occurred. I however needs dates, exact dates. I’ve documented about 200 shows so far but there are hundreds more that are yet to surface…..your help please. For those of you who would prefer to write to me directly I can be emailed at I will however continue to report my progress and post the master list right here.
Thanks all
Somoman
I wonder does anyone remember a live broadcast by WNEW hosted by DJ Allison Steele “The Nightbird”? Featured was British born Germany residing “Nektar”. They were touring a just rleased album titled “Remember The Future”. I set my Sony reel to reel up to record the show, and went to it as well. In the first minutes of the opening number “Remember The Future” the power wnet out, and I have it all on tape. (Love live shows!)Fortunately power was restored quickly and the band was up and running, and gave a memorable show. I wasn’t sure if the show was at the Fillmore or Academy, but I looked at a list of shows at the Fillmore, and it didn’t show Nektar ever played there. Does anyone know of a list of shows at the Academy in the 70’s?
Looks like that last comment did the trick, Warren. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for Bryan to keep track of all the useful updates buried in the avalanche of comments that hit this site on a daily basis. I’m sure that the best way to ensure information on CT is updated where necessary is to email Bryan directly with the pertinent changes.
I never went to the Academy of Music Theatre, but I’m glad to read the comment left by “RobertR” back in 2005: “Want to hear a strange double bill? In May of 1969 Fox sent out "Planet of the Apes” and “Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines” as a double-bill. The catch phrase was “Perfect Mates Apes and Men”. It played here at the Academy along with the UA Riviera. posted by RobertR on Jun 10, 2005 at 4:35pm" I thought I was the only person in the world that remembered this double feature, which I saw when I was nine years old out on Long Island at the Lynbrook Theatre. It ran for a week starting on May 28, 1969. Since “Planet of the Apes” is my favorite film, I still celebrate the anniversary of this “strange double bill.”
Lou Reed’s “Rock n Roll Animal”/“Live” recorded at the Academy of Music in 1973 or 1974. One of the great live records.
I saw Divine perform at the Palladium in 1986; I catcalled him/her and she let go with a tongue-lashing the likes I’ve rarely had since! I believe I asked him whether he had a dick, and the reply went something like: “Motherfucka, why don’t you come up here and I’ll show you whether I have a dick!” All in good fun, though!
I attended a show at the NY Academy of Music on 12/31/73 with headliners Blue Oyster Cult and openers Teenage Lust, Iggy & the Stooges (Raw Power-era band) and Kiss. This was Kiss’s first major NYC show and no one knew who they were yet. They were the first band out that night and even at that early hour me & my buddy who I went with were already half out of it (it was New Years Eve, after all…) and we were shocked by their show. No one had seen anything that crazy before. The other band’s added to the nuttiness of the night and Blue Oyster Cult brought the oom-pah band over from Luchow’s next door to play before their set. It is a show that is still in my memory after all these years and is one of those shows that when you tell people about it they go “wow, you were there?”. I saw many other shows at the Academy after this and always had a great time. I miss that theatre being a part of New York and it’s a damn shame that NYU saw fit to tear it down along with Luchow’s only to build more friggin' condos. The academy rocked and will live on in my mind and others who attended shows there.
For $5.50 a seat, I attended the following 6 concerts between 1972 and 1974. I still maintain the “Ticketron” tickets.
Allman Bros Band, Commander Cody and Hus Lost Planet Airman and
New York Rock Ensemble.
Savoy Brown, Electric Light Orchestra and Manfred Mann.
Traffic and Lindisfarne.
Dave Mason, Livingston Taylor and James Montgomery Band.
Savoy Brown, Fleetwood Mac(before Nicks & Buckingham joined) and Long John Baldry.
Procul Harem.
Way back then you could smoke or “burn one” on the restroom
DUDE, THEM WAS THE DAYS.
-Dan Halifko, Orlando, FL.
Hi all;
I was a followspot operator for rock concerts at the Academy in the early 70’s. I alternated between there and the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, and as the Capitol booked more and more shows, I spent more time in New Jersey. But I did enough Oldies, Foghat, NRPS, Grateful Dead on and on shows at 14th Street to last a lifetime. I remember when the Climax Blues Band recorded FM live, there was a mic hanging from the ceiling about 8 feet from my Super Trouper. I was afraid to make a lot of noise operating the light, because the sound might get into the recording. I guess the music was loud enough I didn’t have to worry. :–)
MOst nights we only had 2 Carbon Arc spots at the Academy, and I was house left, stage right -perched on a shaky plywood platform hanging over the railing of the second balcony. When the act required more than two spots, we used a third in the projection booth. It was an amazing angle to run a spotlight from, and as the back wall of the booth was the wall of the theatre on 14th street, and the stage itself was near the opposite wall (13th street) you would be lighting up a target one city block away at an angle of something like 60 degrees. Thankfully that was the exception not the rule. Anyway, nice to find folks who also remember places like The Academy, the Capitol and other great old theatres. For my money, I wish I had done more shows at the Beacon. Gorgeous place.
John
I only saw one show at the Palladium during the 70’s, but it was a double bill of Parliament Funkadelic with Bootsy Collins opening for them. I had a friend who was a roadie for Bootsy’s Rubber Band.
Man. That was cool
Julians! Thanks Willis69. You just answered a question I posed way back in October of 2003 at the top of this page and had completely forgotten about. I attended a number of shows here in the early ‘80’s. Seedy the street most certainly was at the time.
The pool hall located above the Palladium was called Julian’s. Great old retro place that held up well despite numerous nouveau pool halls nearby. There’s some great video during the Academy’s Concert days in the dvd “All Dolled Up”, a documentary on the NY Dolls. The band actually shot a promo w/ them beginning in the Meatpacking District(or area fka Mtpkg District), then going down 14th Street and ending at the entrance to the Academy. I saw two concerts at the Palladium. The first, The Outlaws, was the loudest I’ve ever attended. The second show, on a cold wet spring night in 1983, we picked up tickets on what was a very seedy 14th Street and ended up in the 9th row for U2. Finally, long after the celebs abandoned the nightclub, it attracted a rough, mostly black crowd. I believe a bouncer was shot to death in front of the place. Ironically, Japanese guide books still had it listed as a “hot spot” and it was a funny juxtaposition of them lined up outside w/ the locals all waiting to get thru the metal detectors.
1970
View link
Waren the Fillmore was only 2700 seats. I used to work with some of the same people who worked for Bill Graham who left when he closed the place in June of 1971. In Sept of 1971 Howard Stien booked a deal with United Artists for the unlimited use of the Academy and when Howard did not have a live show UA ran movies. One of the things i used to do for a few extra $$$ Was come in and change the marquee. What a pain it was in the winter because the letters were all cast iron and they got cold. And no I did not take all the letters down. I would inventory what was already up there and then pull what I needed from the back room. Saved me a good deal of time and grief.
The Fillmore East was a theatre with a seating capacity of 3664 according to records researched.
If my memory serves me well, the Fillmore east sat approximately 3000. Perhaps that puts a perspective on the Anderson Theater. And while we are at it regarding the Anderson, I got hold of a ticket stub from the Anderson dated Feb but there is no year on the stub. The name of the event that appears on the stub is “The Evolution of R……..and the stub is torn right after the letter "R”. Does this mean anything to any of you concert goers?
after a little more digging i came upon this about the Anderson
Owner: CORPORATION Non-Profit Flag: N
SCHWARTZ ED PRESIDENT
ANDERSON THEATER REALTY CORP. 152 WEST 57TH STREET, 212 956 – 7070
NEW YORK NY 10019
OCCUPANCY CERTIFICATION: N
OCCUPANCY NOTIFICATION: N
REL TO BLDG OWNER: PRESIDENT
CORPORATION:
SCHWARTZ IRVING SEC'Y
152 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK NY 10019 212 956 – 7070
I may try and call them to see if there is any public info available and add it to the data base
Hey Warren it may not have been 5000 seats but it was HUGE. It had to be to be able to compete with the likes of the Fillmore. I saw Slyvester and the DCockettes there in 71 and it had a large orchastra section. I sat in the balcony. I have been searching and searching for any kind of specs on the place but it is hard to come by.
Let’s not forget that Hilly Kristal briefly opened CBGB 2nd Avenue Theater at the old Anderson on E. 4th Street at the end of 1977. Patti Smith, Talking Heads and other bands from the early CB’s days played there.
As you walked in the funky lobby the interior was done up like a subway stop with tiles that said cbgb 2nd Avenue.
The Anderson was a great theater and I’m glad to hear that some remember the Angels sponsored Dead shows as well as Joplin and the Yardbirds shows, for it was folklore legend for kids like me that grew up down there!