Jerry Lewis Cinema

2166 Forest Avenue,
Staten Island, NY 10303

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Showing 1 - 25 of 36 comments

rivest266
rivest266 on November 6, 2021 at 3:13 pm

This opened on January 17th, 1974. Grand opening ad posted.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on April 18, 2020 at 10:46 pm

The Queens location is the Surfside Twin. I tried to link the CT page here for it but I got a SPAM alert.

robboehm
robboehm on April 18, 2020 at 10:25 pm

markp -The twin in Massapequa became the Rae Cinema. Now it’s retail. The twin in East Meadow became Flick 1 and 2. The single screen in Lake Ronkonkoma became the Lakeside Cinema. It is now an OTB location. The single screen in Center Moriches was created in retail space and later called the Center Cinema. It is now a bank. All these are on Cinema Treasures. I don’t recall one in Queens. Please refresh my memory.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on April 18, 2020 at 6:24 pm

Closed as the Jerry Lewis Cinema on February 14, 1984 with “Uncommon Valor”

markp
markp on April 18, 2020 at 3:56 pm

robboehm, I can recall several Jerry Lewis cinemas in NY and NJ including the one both my father and I worked at, the twin in Carteret NJ. There was also one in Wayne and Hillsboro NJ, as well as the one in Staten Island, the one in Queens and a twin in Massapequa NY. They just over expanded way to fast. Plus they had people in the industry running theatres who knew nothing about theatres.

robboehm
robboehm on April 18, 2020 at 11:53 am

CJ1949 Rockaway Park is in the Boro of Queens on Long Island. This theater is on Staten Island which is the Boro of Richmond.

CJ1949
CJ1949 on December 6, 2018 at 2:08 am

A bit confusing to someone who is not from the area. Seems there were two (more?) Staten Island Lewis locations. I have a NY Times theatre directory page that lists two Lewis theatres – this is from 6-22-1981: “Mariner’s Harbor – Jerry Lewis Cinema (yes, still using the Lewis name) phone 720-9300. No street address given. "tentative” booking was “Bustin' Loose”. The Surfside in Rockaway Park (formerly a Lewis theatre) street address given as “103-22 Rockaway Beach Blvd. phone 945-4632” Playing “Hardly Working”(!) and “Tribute.”

Garth
Garth on September 11, 2012 at 8:19 am

I recall seeing ‘The Drowning Pool’ here.

Al Alvarez
Al Alvarez on January 6, 2012 at 10:33 pm

Uploaded a Variety ad for Jerry Lewis Cinemas.

Mike Rogers
Mike Rogers on August 6, 2010 at 6:49 pm

See JERRY LEWIS CINEMA, Canton,Ct on Lewis'own words about his failed cinemas.

Garth
Garth on February 19, 2010 at 2:27 pm

The book Going To The Movies On Staten Island wrongly states both this and the Richmond theatre were demolished after closing. I went on Google maps street view and the building is still there. Evidently the Entenmann’s Bakery went out of business and there is a “For Lease” sign on the fence in front.

rivest266
rivest266 on March 16, 2008 at 8:08 pm

This theatre was at 2166 forest avenue.

Bill Hebner
Bill Hebner on August 27, 2007 at 12:49 pm

The theater that went OTB on the Island was the Rae Twin in New Dorp.

wally 75
wally 75 on August 26, 2007 at 11:31 pm

there was a jerry lewis twin in lake ronkonkoma long island

went porno now an o t b…

wonder what it will be in it’s next vise!

LouB
LouB on August 25, 2007 at 11:32 pm

There was a Jerry Lewis Twin in Niagara Falls,NY. It closed and the auditoriums are used for off-track betting. The lobby was used by an optician but is now vacant.

wally 75
wally 75 on August 25, 2007 at 11:08 pm

just want to flash back to vito june 6th…

what i was talking about was when jerry lewis and the head of ua east

formed some kind of relationship i never gave a date…but, it was early 70’s….

the prototype was some place in queens…that’s all i was saying..

i can’t remember the the operators name that…maybe someone will

…john? maybe…in the prototype was platters…they showed how a twin could use one platter of film could feed two screens…

bookem vito

Bill Hebner
Bill Hebner on August 25, 2007 at 2:08 am

I remember the bloopers being shown at the Island.
The only movie I saw at the Jerry Lewis was Stripes. It was a single at the time. What also sucked about it was that there was nothing to do in the immediate vicinity after the movie, especially at night.

Ed Solero
Ed Solero on July 11, 2006 at 9:55 am

Here’s a clipping from the Daily News in December 1980:

Movie Guide 12/9/80

The Jerry Lewis is listed way at the bottom as the sole entry for Staten Island. The address shown is 2166 Forest Ave, though I’m sure these guides were prone to typo’s. Lost… where’d you get the 2176 address?

Anyway… check out the programming. “Best of 60’s Rock”. I guess they ran some of those video-to-film transfers of shows like Shindig and other music programs that were fairly popular in the mid to late ‘60’s? Sounds like this may have been a midnight show. I remember some theaters on Long Island used to show “Bloopers” at midnight. “Star Trek” (the TV series) bloopers in particular were a popular part of those programs. Anyone remember those?

Vito
Vito on June 9, 2006 at 11:27 am

Actually Wally, the JL twin I worked in Hawaii, which opened in 1972, had what was called a film transport system that utilized huge 15k reels, (roughly two hours and twenty minutes of film) that were mounted on the rear of the projector. Platters came along a year or two later I believe. Yikes, those reels were heavy, but you could rewind right on the projector. It was the second complex in Hawaii to use Xenon lamps,the first being the now closed Waikiki twins.

longislandwally75
longislandwally75 on June 9, 2006 at 8:45 am

most if not all j.l.c.’s were twins…also very small

ua/jerry lewis partnered on the invention of minitec…

most set up the person who sells the ticket…sells the candy..

starts the show…it was also the start of the platter system..

wally1975

Garth
Garth on May 11, 2006 at 1:25 pm

Anthony , i don’t recall the theatre ever being twinned. it was too small and no additions were ever added , the building looks the same today as when it was built.

AnthonyS1957
AnthonyS1957 on May 11, 2006 at 11:53 am

If I remember correctly, they made this theater a twin after a while before it eventually closed.

Garth
Garth on October 7, 2005 at 2:45 pm

i recall the popcorn tasting like cardboard.

Garth
Garth on October 7, 2005 at 2:45 pm

i recall the popcorn tasting like cardboard.