Great stuff from Father Nature and everybody! Here are some of my memories of the Stoneham Theater from the 1960’s:
The owner, Mr. Zaltman, was indeed a curmudgeon upon whom was bestowed the universally known moniker, “Oscar.” Naturally the theater was dubbed “Oscar’s Palace” and his wife, another grumpleton who ran the candy stand, was “OscarLady.”
During the movie Oscar would ceaselessly patrol up and down the aisles seeking out miscreants while clutching a flashlight in one hand and chomping on his ever-present cigar. It became a badge of honor to have him evict you from the premises, marching your proudly defiant butt up the aisle to the cheers of the assembled multitude.
Once local tv kid-show host, Major Mud (remember IBBY?) made a personal appearance there. My friend and I decided to intercept him to try and steal some private time with the Major. We stationed ourselves on our bikes in front of the narrow alley that runs from the front of the theater on Main St. to the backstage entrance. Sure enough, after awhile we see a guy coming up Main Street from the direction of the Gloucester Fish Market. He’s wearing a trenchcoat and a hat but below the coat his trademark green spacesuit with piping on the sides was a clear giveaway. As he approaches he becomes noticeably chagrined, realizing that these little snipes on sting rays are blocking his designated route to the theater. He mutters an obligatory greeting but clearly is not sharing our enthusiasm over the encounter. Meanwhile, down the alley, Oscar has appeared and is waving frantically for the Major to make his way to the back door — but we’re not moving. Finally, the Major, realizing the hopelessness of his situation, pleads to us: “Guys, can you give me a break? I’m just trying to make a living.” The day won, we let him pass.
I saw the Beatles' movie, “A Hard Day’s Night” here back in 1964. It was wild! Whenever there was a close-up of a Beatle on-screen the girls in the jam-packed audience would start screaming and jump up and down like they were seeing a live performance! I have never seen anything like it before or since. There was also a bomb scare in the middle of the movie and we were all marched outside the theater. When we got the all-clear we were ushered back into the theater, the movie resumed, and the girls went right back to screaming! I’ll never forget it.
Great stuff from Father Nature and everybody! Here are some of my memories of the Stoneham Theater from the 1960’s:
The owner, Mr. Zaltman, was indeed a curmudgeon upon whom was bestowed the universally known moniker, “Oscar.” Naturally the theater was dubbed “Oscar’s Palace” and his wife, another grumpleton who ran the candy stand, was “OscarLady.”
During the movie Oscar would ceaselessly patrol up and down the aisles seeking out miscreants while clutching a flashlight in one hand and chomping on his ever-present cigar. It became a badge of honor to have him evict you from the premises, marching your proudly defiant butt up the aisle to the cheers of the assembled multitude.
Once local tv kid-show host, Major Mud (remember IBBY?) made a personal appearance there. My friend and I decided to intercept him to try and steal some private time with the Major. We stationed ourselves on our bikes in front of the narrow alley that runs from the front of the theater on Main St. to the backstage entrance. Sure enough, after awhile we see a guy coming up Main Street from the direction of the Gloucester Fish Market. He’s wearing a trenchcoat and a hat but below the coat his trademark green spacesuit with piping on the sides was a clear giveaway. As he approaches he becomes noticeably chagrined, realizing that these little snipes on sting rays are blocking his designated route to the theater. He mutters an obligatory greeting but clearly is not sharing our enthusiasm over the encounter. Meanwhile, down the alley, Oscar has appeared and is waving frantically for the Major to make his way to the back door — but we’re not moving. Finally, the Major, realizing the hopelessness of his situation, pleads to us: “Guys, can you give me a break? I’m just trying to make a living.” The day won, we let him pass.
I saw the Beatles' movie, “A Hard Day’s Night” here back in 1964. It was wild! Whenever there was a close-up of a Beatle on-screen the girls in the jam-packed audience would start screaming and jump up and down like they were seeing a live performance! I have never seen anything like it before or since. There was also a bomb scare in the middle of the movie and we were all marched outside the theater. When we got the all-clear we were ushered back into the theater, the movie resumed, and the girls went right back to screaming! I’ll never forget it.