I worked at the Rosemead 4 Theatre from June 1974 till Easter 1975. I let on I was a year older (16 instead of 15) yet in 1975 the union wanted verification of everyone who worked there. Opps! The box office got robbed the night I was meant to work a double shift yet I had gone on a date to see David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs concert at the Universal Amphitheatre. The manager’s face got a knife slice due to his delay in trying to open the safe. I used to eat free popcorn in a paper bag and drink Dr. Pepper in my own cup during breaks while rewatching ‘Gone With The Wind’. Great memories.
I had the great fortune as a writer to get press passes for the initial run of the original Riverdance when it premiered at the Pantages back in the mid-90’s. The tickets were worth $65 each and I had my nine years old daughter with me. We didn’t have much money as I was enrolled back in college so the temptation to sell the tickets was great, yet the integrity of the trade as a writer, meant the pen was mighter than the dollar, so we went to see Riverdance and it was incredible. Everytime I saw Riverdance over the years, I always remember how special it was being at the Pantages.
Rosemead 4 Theater was an A/C haven from the long summer heat of the San Gabriel Valley. I went there almost every Saturday afternoon as a young teen and at 15-½ years young (said I was 16!) I worked in the box office as well as the snack bar & as an usherette. We used to have a Brit manager who worked for Mitzi Gaynor who called our uniforms ‘costumes’! The night I pretended to work a double shift, yet actually when to see David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs concert at the Universal Amphitheatre, was the night the theatre was held up by a robber and the thief cut the face of the manager! I was glad I went to that concert!
Who else is supporting you on this effort? The Fox Theatre in Fullerton, So. California was saved in the last few years. Google them for current means of saving a theatre. Do you have any help via your city council or the government for preservation?
The Lido Theatre in Newport Beach is used on Sunday mornings for a church service. The Irvine 21 Theatre at the Irvine Spectrum was used by Mary Kay Cosmetics as part of a national live showing of a beauty consultant information presentation twice this past year at theatres across the country. I always remember that an ex boyfriend got a fellow snack bar worker pregnant. They are still married, yet legend happens that they were fooling around on the job. Talk about interesting breaks!
Lido Theater is very much alive and well in 2009. I was there a lot for the Newport Beach Film Festival 2009 with the action sports series which featured Irish surf movie, Waverunners. The staff really cares about the glamourous theatre. The new seats do seem a bit stiff and the rows are a bit closer together than the old chairs, yet the new chairs are comfortable. (I’m an Irish upholsterer’s daughter!). I first started out working at a plain chain theatre, the Rosemead 4 Theater, so to have the Lido Theatre in my backyard is a hoot! The theater is used on Sunday mornings for a church service.
I worked at the Rosemead 4 Theatre from June 1974 till Easter 1975. I let on I was a year older (16 instead of 15) yet in 1975 the union wanted verification of everyone who worked there. Opps! The box office got robbed the night I was meant to work a double shift yet I had gone on a date to see David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs concert at the Universal Amphitheatre. The manager’s face got a knife slice due to his delay in trying to open the safe. I used to eat free popcorn in a paper bag and drink Dr. Pepper in my own cup during breaks while rewatching ‘Gone With The Wind’. Great memories.
I had the great fortune as a writer to get press passes for the initial run of the original Riverdance when it premiered at the Pantages back in the mid-90’s. The tickets were worth $65 each and I had my nine years old daughter with me. We didn’t have much money as I was enrolled back in college so the temptation to sell the tickets was great, yet the integrity of the trade as a writer, meant the pen was mighter than the dollar, so we went to see Riverdance and it was incredible. Everytime I saw Riverdance over the years, I always remember how special it was being at the Pantages.
Rosemead 4 Theater was an A/C haven from the long summer heat of the San Gabriel Valley. I went there almost every Saturday afternoon as a young teen and at 15-½ years young (said I was 16!) I worked in the box office as well as the snack bar & as an usherette. We used to have a Brit manager who worked for Mitzi Gaynor who called our uniforms ‘costumes’! The night I pretended to work a double shift, yet actually when to see David Bowie’s Diamond Dogs concert at the Universal Amphitheatre, was the night the theatre was held up by a robber and the thief cut the face of the manager! I was glad I went to that concert!
The first thought that came to my head when I saw it was Maxfield Parrish. Don’t ask me why, but it did.
Who else is supporting you on this effort? The Fox Theatre in Fullerton, So. California was saved in the last few years. Google them for current means of saving a theatre. Do you have any help via your city council or the government for preservation?
Lorraine Chambers
www.myspace.com/emeraldlorraine
The Lido Theatre in Newport Beach is used on Sunday mornings for a church service. The Irvine 21 Theatre at the Irvine Spectrum was used by Mary Kay Cosmetics as part of a national live showing of a beauty consultant information presentation twice this past year at theatres across the country. I always remember that an ex boyfriend got a fellow snack bar worker pregnant. They are still married, yet legend happens that they were fooling around on the job. Talk about interesting breaks!
Lido Theater is very much alive and well in 2009. I was there a lot for the Newport Beach Film Festival 2009 with the action sports series which featured Irish surf movie, Waverunners. The staff really cares about the glamourous theatre. The new seats do seem a bit stiff and the rows are a bit closer together than the old chairs, yet the new chairs are comfortable. (I’m an Irish upholsterer’s daughter!). I first started out working at a plain chain theatre, the Rosemead 4 Theater, so to have the Lido Theatre in my backyard is a hoot! The theater is used on Sunday mornings for a church service.