Chyna,
I am working on a book in which Seattle movie theaters play a significant part. If you have any pictures or stories on the Roxy, Renton, and Rainier between the years 1957-1961, I would be very appreciative. You can contact me through
Thank you….
Bill
the science fiction marathons were fun, but “schlock around the clock” offered more variety..
from santa claus conquering the martians to russ meyer…..
anybody remember those?
in one of my weekly meetings with owner tony mauriello, during the years i managed the theatre, i criticized a cuople of the double features. tony replied that the individual films didnt matter' it was the psychological impact of the schedule itself.
the jack’s fire was very similar to that of the welles.
it was also an old building that stood in the way of re-development.
i dont know who owned the building in which the theatre was housed.
the hoaglands and, for that matter, the union, never contacted me through the five-year span of the trial, and i wasnt told until afterward why i was selected as defendant. there was another employee named, but i will withold her name, as the whole affair affected her more deeply than it did me. secure in my lack of culpability, i successfully defended myself of all charges.
i was the supervisor on duty on the day of the fire.
it did not start with oil in the popcorn machine.
this was a first impression that was never corrected in the media.
it was an electrical fire that was first noticed in the area above the popcorn machine.
i went for a fire extinguisher but the fire was spreading too fast across the ceiling so i dropped the extinguisher, called the fire departmentment and projectionista, and evacuated the theatre.
because of a clause in the lease, the owners of the building were unable to sue the hoaglands, who were leasees, but they were allowed to sue employees of the hoaglands.
for five years, i fought in court to vindicate myself from accusations of negligence and was finally successful.
the orson welles fire was only one of several fires on that stretch of mass ave that began mysteriously and were never seriously investigated.
that area was immediately redeveloped.
The Fraimans, operating under the moniker Chatham Light Realty, were my landlords while I operated Somerville Books and Records in Davis Square. They wanted us out of the building, so sent in a demolition crew and started demolishing the building while we were open for business, destroying much of our stock. Later, when they wanted to get Garen Daly out of the Somerville theatre, they padlocked the buiding against him. the landlords were always jealous of the money their leasees were making from their property. They would see a sold out crowd lining up for a concert at feel they were being ripped off since all they got out of it was a rental fee for the use of the building. So they thought they could run these businesses on their own. Fraiman was a miserable and incompetent theatre operator, relying on bookings from a nitwit who took what was given him. At least Mr. Fraiman did not buckle in to the Arlington prudes who threatened him against showing the NC-17 Henry and June, although we had to put up cardboard on the auditorium windows so that children would not peep in. I was fired as manager after Mr. Fraiman found me in the office on the telephone during a rush in the lobby. that I was on the telephone speaking to a delayed employee was of no significance to him. He wanted me gone for reasons of his own, which I never bothered to investigate. As for the ice cream, it was very difficult for employees to keep their spoons out of it, and we all gained weight.
So bill is still at boston Light and sound? a lot of good projectionists went to work for them when the theatre booths became automated. Bill once jerry-rigged a temporary dolby system when we opened purple rain. do you work at the sommerville now? is it still owned by that couple that owns the capitol? i remember once when i was managing there, the projectionist showed a reel of the wild bunch in the wrong order, and when, he finally got them straightened out, projected the next reel upside down. that place was a den of incompetence when i was there. i heard susan had some involvement in writing a script that got produced recently. any truth in that? susan and i were dj’s at wmfo for awhile, and she sublet my apartment one summer. i tried to email her awhile ago but never got a reply. thanks for the note, ian, and its good to hear the community of theatre workers is still as tight as ever.
Hi Ron.
I remember you well.
Yes, I was involved with somerville Books and Records, and later, in 1993, took over the management of The Bookcellar Cafe, which i ran until 1996, at which pont I rweturned to Seattle, after 15 memorable years in Boston. I trust you are still writing and everything is going well for you. If you want to check out some of my writing, go to seattlepi.com and type my name into the search engine. Nice to hear from you.
Bill
I worked there from 1984-1986, starting as an usher and leaving as a manager. I quit and came back several times, but finally could not take the corporate makeovers, and went to the Orson Welles cinema, where i worked until the day it burned down. I did come back to the Harvard square briefly in the late 80’s, after working at the somerville theatre for awhile. thebn, after a disatrous stint at the Capitol in Arlington, i quit theatre management altogether. Now I am back in my hometown of Seattle WA where I write movie and music reviews for the Seattel Post Intelligencer. Ian Cohen was a good friend who was a projectionist at the Harvard Square, and I thought he might have posted under a pseudonym. I am glad to hear that the staff of the theatre continues to have fun there, and i will always remember the great people I knew while working there : Mark Sommer, Bill and Ruth Templeman, Paul Neff, Beverly Oster, Joel Cohn, Ken Hastings, Maria Pantazopolous, Vicky Vanasco, Susan Cassidy, Wendy Forbes, Anna Presler, Krista Gullickson, Alisha, Caralee, and all the rest.
Days of Thunder came out in 1990, three years after the Music Box was demolished. You couldn’t have seen it there in 1978.
Tom, I had quit managing the theatre before you came in, and you rehired me as house manager.
it was mary poppins at the blue mouse and may fair lady at the music box
The theater opened in 1964, not 1965
Chyna,
I am working on a book in which Seattle movie theaters play a significant part. If you have any pictures or stories on the Roxy, Renton, and Rainier between the years 1957-1961, I would be very appreciative. You can contact me through
Thank you….
Bill
the science fiction marathons were fun, but “schlock around the clock” offered more variety..
from santa claus conquering the martians to russ meyer…..
anybody remember those?
Does anybody remember what movie was playing here on christmas of 1978?
i dont know of any postingson the internet, but i remeber quite a few of them, as i helped program them for a time.
harold and maude was the standard co-feature with king of hearts, although “paths of glory” played with it in may of either 82 or 83.
in one of my weekly meetings with owner tony mauriello, during the years i managed the theatre, i criticized a cuople of the double features. tony replied that the individual films didnt matter' it was the psychological impact of the schedule itself.
the rave house didnt make it and the northgate theatre is now dark
This is true. The area wasn’t razed for high-rise development. It became an elevated strip mall for those occupying the high rises.
the jack’s fire was very similar to that of the welles.
it was also an old building that stood in the way of re-development.
i dont know who owned the building in which the theatre was housed.
the hoaglands and, for that matter, the union, never contacted me through the five-year span of the trial, and i wasnt told until afterward why i was selected as defendant. there was another employee named, but i will withold her name, as the whole affair affected her more deeply than it did me. secure in my lack of culpability, i successfully defended myself of all charges.
thanks ron.
i have just posted to the somerville and orson welles sites
i was the supervisor on duty on the day of the fire.
it did not start with oil in the popcorn machine.
this was a first impression that was never corrected in the media.
it was an electrical fire that was first noticed in the area above the popcorn machine.
i went for a fire extinguisher but the fire was spreading too fast across the ceiling so i dropped the extinguisher, called the fire departmentment and projectionista, and evacuated the theatre.
because of a clause in the lease, the owners of the building were unable to sue the hoaglands, who were leasees, but they were allowed to sue employees of the hoaglands.
for five years, i fought in court to vindicate myself from accusations of negligence and was finally successful.
the orson welles fire was only one of several fires on that stretch of mass ave that began mysteriously and were never seriously investigated.
that area was immediately redeveloped.
The Fraimans, operating under the moniker Chatham Light Realty, were my landlords while I operated Somerville Books and Records in Davis Square. They wanted us out of the building, so sent in a demolition crew and started demolishing the building while we were open for business, destroying much of our stock. Later, when they wanted to get Garen Daly out of the Somerville theatre, they padlocked the buiding against him. the landlords were always jealous of the money their leasees were making from their property. They would see a sold out crowd lining up for a concert at feel they were being ripped off since all they got out of it was a rental fee for the use of the building. So they thought they could run these businesses on their own. Fraiman was a miserable and incompetent theatre operator, relying on bookings from a nitwit who took what was given him. At least Mr. Fraiman did not buckle in to the Arlington prudes who threatened him against showing the NC-17 Henry and June, although we had to put up cardboard on the auditorium windows so that children would not peep in. I was fired as manager after Mr. Fraiman found me in the office on the telephone during a rush in the lobby. that I was on the telephone speaking to a delayed employee was of no significance to him. He wanted me gone for reasons of his own, which I never bothered to investigate. As for the ice cream, it was very difficult for employees to keep their spoons out of it, and we all gained weight.
So bill is still at boston Light and sound? a lot of good projectionists went to work for them when the theatre booths became automated. Bill once jerry-rigged a temporary dolby system when we opened purple rain. do you work at the sommerville now? is it still owned by that couple that owns the capitol? i remember once when i was managing there, the projectionist showed a reel of the wild bunch in the wrong order, and when, he finally got them straightened out, projected the next reel upside down. that place was a den of incompetence when i was there. i heard susan had some involvement in writing a script that got produced recently. any truth in that? susan and i were dj’s at wmfo for awhile, and she sublet my apartment one summer. i tried to email her awhile ago but never got a reply. thanks for the note, ian, and its good to hear the community of theatre workers is still as tight as ever.
Hi Ron.
I remember you well.
Yes, I was involved with somerville Books and Records, and later, in 1993, took over the management of The Bookcellar Cafe, which i ran until 1996, at which pont I rweturned to Seattle, after 15 memorable years in Boston. I trust you are still writing and everything is going well for you. If you want to check out some of my writing, go to seattlepi.com and type my name into the search engine. Nice to hear from you.
Bill
I worked there from 1984-1986, starting as an usher and leaving as a manager. I quit and came back several times, but finally could not take the corporate makeovers, and went to the Orson Welles cinema, where i worked until the day it burned down. I did come back to the Harvard square briefly in the late 80’s, after working at the somerville theatre for awhile. thebn, after a disatrous stint at the Capitol in Arlington, i quit theatre management altogether. Now I am back in my hometown of Seattle WA where I write movie and music reviews for the Seattel Post Intelligencer. Ian Cohen was a good friend who was a projectionist at the Harvard Square, and I thought he might have posted under a pseudonym. I am glad to hear that the staff of the theatre continues to have fun there, and i will always remember the great people I knew while working there : Mark Sommer, Bill and Ruth Templeman, Paul Neff, Beverly Oster, Joel Cohn, Ken Hastings, Maria Pantazopolous, Vicky Vanasco, Susan Cassidy, Wendy Forbes, Anna Presler, Krista Gullickson, Alisha, Caralee, and all the rest.
ian,
during what years did you work at the theatre, and what was your job?
if it’s not ian cohen, then haskell wexler is not his uncle.
Is Ian Judge actually Ian Cohen?
If so, have you seen the movie about your uncle?