Comments from abrunner24

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abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Jun 16, 2010 at 6:22 pm

The Bomes name lives on. In fron of the old Jamestown (R.I)theatre embedded in the brick above the entrance is the sign “Bomes Theatre”.
The cinema is long gone but the building houses a number of bussiness'namely a Chinese restaurant, a real estate office and a couple of other small shops. The manager of the theatre at one time was the late Joe Jarvis. I had known him for years and he left is mark owning the Jane Pickens Theatre which to this day still operates as an art house. When in Newport, I would visit hime and we would talk about the “old days”. A wonderful guy and I miss him very much.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Cinerama Theatre on May 4, 2010 at 4:25 pm

Lockwood & Gordon operated the Hope Theatre as early as 1955 along with the Avon, Castle,and Westminster Playhouse downtown. Worked at the Hope Theatre and the Westminster Playhouse.

To:lizziebeth…Are you Jack O'Sullivan’s daughter? If so, I would like to hear from you regarding him. As far as I can remember I don’t recall a “Golden Light” award.

P.S. L&G later ran the Art Cinema starting around 1957 , but I don’t recall when they shut down operations there as I was long gone from Rhode Island.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Cinerama Theatre on Feb 5, 2010 at 6:26 pm

Dear Jackie O,

I remember your father well as I worked for him for about 2 years as I was the manager of the Art Cinema on Broad Street. I had many,many long talks with your father and even spoke with him a couple of times long after I had left the business. I remember Jack as stern but very, very fair which is one of the reasons I liked and respected him so much. I even had dinner with him and your mother at your house which I believe was in Randolf or some small town near there. You most likely were not even born then. The year I believe was 1960. Through the years I have thought of him many times and you always remember special people and Jack was a special guy.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Nov 28, 2009 at 5:34 pm

Dear Mr DeLuca, Again, you are right and the book was Temples of Illusion> I recall that it was very well written and loaded with so much information especially the older theatres that were in Providence. Though I have a computer there are a lot of things that I don’t know how to run. You have asked me to repost my comments on the Westminster Playhouse and I don'tknow howtodo that. Another theatre that I had an interest in was the Capitol.I was onlyin it once and it had to have been in the fifties. I remember there was an extension of the stage halfway up the middle aisle in the orchestra. I believe thaqt this “walkway” was used by dancers in the era that the theatree had burlesque. The second balcony I believe did not have seats but slats and people that were homeless would pay the admission (around 35 cents) and sleepon the slats. I think but am not sure that the house for a time ran 24 hours and there was a sign out front that said “always open, never closed”.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Nov 27, 2009 at 6:02 pm

Hello Nick,I remember the name Pat Carter. Was he a big framed guy? Perhaps I met him through the years. YOu moved up to DM with BC.Whatever happened tothat company, and was Doug Amos still with SBC during the time worked there as DM?

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Nov 27, 2009 at 5:57 pm

Dear Mr. DeLuca, Greetings from London! It was so long ago and you are most likely right about the single feature of “Bread, Love, & Dreams”. To this day I can remember that night as if it was yesterday. It looked so good to look up to the balcony and ses all the people there. Maybe it was to be the biggest night at the theate as it was torn down a few years later. As stated in my comments above, I was facinated about that theatre as so much literature was found in the office regarding it’s earlier days as a resident stock company and I took a lot of things from that office, but it is long gone.
I wish to thank you for all the work you have done regarding theatres in Providence. I have read your book and it was wonderful reading. The effort you have put forth is amazing and your dedication to this subject is endearing.
My very first “gig” in show business was conductor of the show “kiddies On Parade” broadcast saturday mornings from Fay’s Theatre! I bhelieve the time frams would be around 1948.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Cinerama Theatre on Nov 20, 2009 at 6:14 pm

Hello again Nick, Are you referring to the dress shop? I never went into that store and I never saw a customer in there but it must have been some business as it was there for many years.

So you are helf English and have never been to England? Shame on you!Well, if you ever come over here, you should let meknow and I could show you around theatreland. I think you wouldbe pretty impressed. The Theatre Royal (2400)seats has backstage tours there and it has a huge stage (like PPAC)and it is prettybusy there as the theatre is rarely dark.
I spoke with my brother today who lives down on the Cape and he said it was pretty warm (around 55) down there today. It was 50 inLondon today. I will spend the month of January in San Juan, Puerto Rico and will most likely stopand visit on the cape. I was there last C hristmas.
As they say here. “Tally Ho” as it is 1:30AM.Cheers!

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Cinerama Theatre on Nov 19, 2009 at 12:41 pm

Hi Nick again! Next to Max was a tailor Julius Gold. He was anoldtimer and I used to have my slacks pressed there for a number of years. I enjoyed talking with him but sometimes it waqs tough understanding me. He had imigrated from Russia and had many interesting stories of Russia in the early 1900’s. I was facinated by his tales. Well, the the old times are gone now which is a bit sad. If you enjoyed old theatres, you would love the old playhouses of London which are still operating.Many of the theatres were bombed out by the Germans in the early forties. Though some were totally wrecked, many were repaired or rebuilt and still operating. The London playhouses are smaller generally than Broadway theatres but not by too much. For instance PPAC with 3400 seats is too big and the London theatres are around 900-1100 seats. The orchestra sections are called “stalls” mezzanines are called “dress circle” or “loges” though upper seats are in the “balcony”. London prices are now on a par with New York. For decades London theatres were inexpensive. In the nineties theatres got more and more expensive and a good seat at HerMajesty’s Theatre for “Phantom of the Opera” will set you back $100/125 buckeroos which wouldbe around 60 pounds here. So there you have it from London!!!

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Nov 19, 2009 at 12:13 pm

Small world indeed! Jack O'Sullivan invited me to his house for dinner one night and I believe he lived in Randolph or Norwell. I remember dinner with his wife but I don’t know if his daughter was born yet. The date I believe was mostg likely 1960, as I filled in at the Cameo Theatre in S. Weymouth for a month after leaving the Art Cinema. This forum by Cinema Treasures is great as you can talk about the “good old days” making $40 bucks a week though I believe Jack bumped me up to $50 bucks for the Cameo job and I was commuting from Providence. I forgot to mention to you that my first manager deal after working at the Hope was the Westminster Playhouse, formerly E.M.Loews Victory and before that the Modern Theatr. It was on Westminster St. just up past Empire and a three block or so down from the Capitol Theatre. The Playhouse to me was a facinating theatre. Backstage and in the office there were tons of old playbills, payroll info, and advertising stuff when it was a live theatre.It had a small lobby but had around 1400-1500 seats wich orchestra and balcony. There were a lot of dressing rooms backstage and lighting equipment etc. including a piano. The stage door was on something lane, a very narrow street and 10 feet from the stage door was the Golden Dragon Restaurant and Hotel. They had a tiny bar with about six seats and tables for the Chinese restaurant. I was about20 or so but the bar was very happy to serve me. After work, we would go there for a couple of beers and some food. The hotel had about 8 rooms and it was a place that was rented out to prostitutes. Ah,downtown Providence!!! The theatre was rented to L&G who ran it as a “art” house. Let me clarify…I was the assisted manager and the Manager was Harry Sullivan, I believe. He was an easy going guy and had just retired from a career with the FBI. The biggest hit while I was there was a double bill of Italian exports…“Bread, Love, & Dreams' With Gina Lolabridigida (spelling wrong?)and another movie starring Anna Magnanni but I don’t recall the name. What I do remember was that it was springtime and when we opened on the first saturday there was a line outside waiting to get in. The show was to start at 6:30 and we decided to open up a little early because of the line. Good thing we did as the line drew and we had to open up the balcony! I don’t recall that the balcony was even clean as we never used it before as business didn’t warrant opening the balcony. Well, I can’t really recall if we sold out the house, and if not, we camepretty close. It did well enough that it was extended into a three week run. We were all pretty excited about the big crowds. I wasn’t there for the whole run by L&G, but I think the theatre was open for about three years. Iloved that theatre. I can barely remember that in the early fifties it rand as a legit house with plays and a resident cast.

Do you remember Ed Stokes who ran the Avon and Larry Johnston who ran the Castle? Ed Stokes is around and still lives in the Boston area though Larry Johnston passed away a number of years ago. I remember he ran the Elmwood for awhile.
I don’t understand the time that is given when our notes are posted. For instance it is now 7:15 in London so it is 2:15 in Providence. I’ll check the time it will say on the post.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Cinerama Theatre on Nov 18, 2009 at 5:08 pm

Hello! His name was Silverman. About twenty five years ago I was visiting Providence and I didn’t rent a car. Iwas staying at the Holiday Inn and was visiting someone on the east side so I took the bus (Hope St.)and got out at Thayer St. after the tunnel and Max was getting on as I got off. There was no time to talk with him. I’m sure he has left us. To me, he was old when I was 17!
The last I knew Nelson Wright’s son Peter took over his father’s business as Nelson died around 1975.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Nov 18, 2009 at 4:49 pm

Yes, I knew both and I oftenthink of Jack O'Sullivan. I liked him very much. He was firm but very fair. He has passed on but I don’t know when. I knew he smoked a lot. He got such pleasure from smoking, so he would be most displeased rules put on smokers today. In Europe, people still smoke a lot. Hey, you can’t smoke in a pub anymore in England. Same in Paris. Doug Amos was the big cheese but he was very aloof. Couldn’t get much out of him. I remember Amos calling me and offering me the Avon a few years after leaving the company. I was heading in another direction as a young man, but managing the Avon would have been a good job I think with Brown University around the corner and Thayer Street being a bustling place.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Nov 18, 2009 at 4:49 pm

Yes, I knew both and I oftenthink of Jack O'Sullivan. I liked him very much. He was firm but very fair. He has passed on but I don’t know when. I knew he smoked a lot. He got such pleasure from smoking, so he would be most displeased rules put on smokers today. In Europe, people still smoke a lot. Hey, you can’t smoke in a pub anymore in England. Same in Paris. Doug Amos was the big cheese but he was very aloof. Couldn’t get much out of him. I remember Amos calling me and offering me the Avon a few years after leaving the company. I was heading in another direction as a young man, but managing the Avon would have been a good job I think with Brown University around the corner and Thayer Street being a bustling place.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Cinerama Theatre on Nov 17, 2009 at 6:01 pm

Hello again Nick, Boy, what memories. After we got through working on friday nights, (we were about 17)we would go to Max’s Swan Liquors and we each got 2 quart bottle of Narragansett Beerr and got good and sloshed. What fun! Do you remember Nelson Wright? He was manager of the Hope after Herman Boas. I very nice guy who eventually fdormed hisown booking business and had his office in thePark Sq. building in Boston. Most of the film companies had their regional offices (MGM,WarnesBros et al)in that building. There was also a smallcinema in the building called the Trans Lux. It was so long ago and I am so far away from Providence now living in London. I still have contacts there and I spend two months every summer in Jamestown. Providence has sure changed but I think for the better. It looks quite nice downtown around the mall and Westin Hotel. Every thing in London which is good asmost of the theatres (not cinemas)are still around and in good condition as many of them were built in the 1800’s. Thanks for bringing back the memories!

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Nov 17, 2009 at 5:47 pm

Hello Nick, Nice to hear you are a L&G alum. I cannot believe it was solong ago. My salary was $40 bucks a week….geez, if I stayed with them I’d be making $50 a week!!

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Cinerama Theatre on Nov 16, 2009 at 6:12 pm

During my high school days I worked at the Hope Theatre for a couple of years. This period was 1954 and 55. Herman Boas was the manager, a nice guy who was always very sad. He also had ulcers and I would remember getting pint glass bottles of milk at Royal’s Variety store a block away. I was a ticket taker and usher. Remember working the Saturday and Sunday matinees with kiddeie shows. After the matinees we had to clean the theatre for the evening showings. The caashier was Miss Dowling with firey red hair who would terrorize young kids. The theatre showed double features and did a lot of business on weekends. Also changed the marquee twice a week on Tuesday and Saturday nights. Sometimes I worked the parking lot as well. It was a fun place to work and the kids that worked there including myself allwent to Hope High School.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Nov 16, 2009 at 4:21 pm

As a young man I was the manager of the Art Cinema from mid 1958 to mid 1960. It was leased to Lockwood & Gordon Enterprises of Boston. The most successful run at the theatre was a twin bill of two British exports, “Carry On Nurse” and “Carry on Sargeant”. “Nurse was showed at 6:30 & 9:30 and "Sargent” was screened at 8. The first two weeks of the run I hired a model who was dressed as a nurse amd she handed out plastic thermometers. This little promotion was a huge success as the crowds got bigger and bigger! The run lasted for seventeen weeks from late ‘58 into '59 so I put on the marquee “2nd Proud Year”!!! Weekends sold out and the crowds didn’t start to diminish until 12 or 13th week. I believe the admission was 85 cents for the double bill. It was a lot of fun watching the people come out of the theatre laughing and smiling especially when I had the model doing her thing. My gosh, that was fifty years ago. I remember as if it were yesterday. I moved on as a musician/actor on New York and London stages.

abrunner24
abrunner24 commented about Bomes Theatre on Nov 16, 2009 at 4:21 pm

As a young man I was the manager of the Art Cinema from mid 1958 to mid 1960. It was leased to Lockwood & Gordon Enterprises of Boston. The most successful run at the theatre was a twin bill of two British exports, “Carry On Nurse” and “Carry on Sargeant”. “Nurse was showed at 6:30 & 9:30 and "Sargent” was screened at 8. The first two weeks of the run I hired a model who was dressed as a nurse amd she handed out plastic thermometers. This little promotion was a huge success as the crowds got bigger and bigger! The run lasted for seventeen weeks from late ‘58 into '59 so I put on the marquee “2nd Proud Year”!!! Weekends sold out and the crowds didn’t start to diminish until 12 or 13th week. I believe the admission was 85 cents for the double bill. It was a lot of fun watching the people come out of the theatre laughing and smiling especially when I had the model doing her thing. My gosh, that was fifty years ago. I remember as if it were yesterday. I moved on as a musician/actor on New York and London stages.