Academy 59 Theatre
1565 Crescent Lake Road,
Waterford,
MI
48328
1565 Crescent Lake Road,
Waterford,
MI
48328
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This was a 1972 project for the Jerry Lewis Cinemas franchise, but it was never operated by them. My best friend and I frequented the Academy 59 Theatre all through our high school years (1981-84). It was a great place to catch second-run favorites and midnight shows. We saw “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” there, and the picture went out during a battle scene! Just as Kirk cried out “Emergency lights!”, the house lights went up and the film stopped. THAT was funny! We also attended the midnight showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” there, and one night, we were the only two out of the 15 or so patrons who had seen it before! We ended up performing the ENTIRE film for our audience!
The Academy 59 Theatre closed around 1990 or 1991, and became a motorcycle shop, of all things! I haven’t been back to that area for a few years now, so I’m not sure what it is now … but I sure miss the original Academy!
Contributed by
Tom Pender
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
My favorite Academy memory was a double-feature of Karate Kid and Ghostbusters. Many other great memories there, I miss it.
It was open a little further into the ‘90s, as I recall seeing the movie Outbreak there in late '95 or early '96. I’m sure that was the last movie I saw there.
It’s now a guitar shop.
Great story Tom.
I remember seeing “Grease” there as a kid eight times!
It had changed management over the years and the last movie I had seen there was “The Brady Bunch Movie” in 1995. It is now a Motor City Guitar store.
This looks like a Jerry Lewis Cinema but probably didn’t open under the name. There was a brief article in Boxoffice 3-20-72:
“WESTLAND, MICH. — Attorney Frederick Nagher, general partner of Automated Cinema Enterprises and president of Pisces Exhibitor, Inc., will be the principal operator of a 350-seat Jerry Lewis Cinema to be constructed in the K-Mart Center at Eight Mile and Beech in Southfield, Mich., it was announced by Nicholas Fileccia, president of Michigan Cinema Corp., JLC representative in the southeastern Michigan area.
Nagher also will operate a 700-seat JLC twin cinema to be constructed in the Waterford Plaza Shopping Center, Waterford Township.
The theatres will be full automated, Fileccia stated, and an early summer opening of both facilities is planned."
Further comment: The opening ad that was uploaded says “Grand Opening Dec 22” - that was probably 1972 since “Pete n Tillie” was a Christmas release that year. ‘Planned to open in the summer’ - most likely there were delays and the theatre didn’t open until Christmas, and not with the JLC name. Several theatre operators waited around for JLC and finally opened themselves under their own name.