Of all my pre-adolescent memories I have to say with out a doubt that the Saturdays my brother Dave and I spent at the Irving Theater are the fondest memories of all.The time frame would be around 1960 through 1968 or so. It was a single screen theatre on Irving Boulevard about a half mile west of Nursery. We always begged Mom or Dad to drop us off early because we had "our" seats and couldn't let anyone else get them. We sat in the center section, second row, first two seats on the left. Of the hundreds of trips we took there we may have missed those seats maybe once or twice. We each got one dollar. Admission was .35 cents and the .65 cents left bought a Dr. Pepper, popcorn, and Baby Ruth candy bar. I didn't buy them all at once but staggered them through the day. It got me through the afternoon.
The movies of course were the main attraction. We saw all the Elvis movies in their first run release at the Irving Theater and loved every second of every single one. We saw all the Beach Blanket movies there. Annette Funicello was probably the most beautiful female in the world to me at that time and I loved those movies. There were Disney Movies, the Edgar Allen Poe horror movies, Three Stooges movies, and various other kid movies. The most memorable Saturday ever was when "It's a Hard Day's Night" played. It was at the height of Beatlemania and the theatre was totally packed. It was one of the few times we did not get "our" seats and we could not sit together due to being so crowded. I sat next to some teen age girls who were very nice and looked out for me. I remember them screaming and crying. I asked one why was she crying and she said " Because I want them!". I had no idea what she meant.
There was more to it than the movies. It was at the Irving Theater that we were introduced to the cliffhanger serial. These were produced in the 40s and 50s and they ran weekly chapters of each one. Each week the hero would finish the episode in a death trap and we spent all week wondering how he would survive. Somehow he always did live to fight again. At the end of the serial the hero would finally defeat the bad guy once and for all and the world was safe until the next week when the new serial started. To this day Dave and I love the cliffhanger serial. We have purchased copies of some classics over the Internet on DVD. My grand daughter Madi and I have watched one together recently and she enjoyed it.
There were also the dance contests. Each week they would let kids up on the stage to dance and they would eliminate kids until they were down to maybe three and the audience would chose the winner by applause. I went up on the stage to compete one time and had my shoulder tapped rather quickly. I guess there is a reason they haven't asked me to be on "Dancing with the Stars". There were also weekly door prize drawings off your admission ticket stubs. I never won but always believed I would.
Even afterwards waiting for Mom and Dad to come get us was special. There were other little boys to race and other little girls to chase. They had these rails on the steps that we treated like our own personal jungle jim. It was fun flipping somersaults on those bars. There was Mal's Model Shop next door to the theatre and we would look at the models. We were huge fans of the classic movie monster models. Our favorites included The Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, Mummy, and the like. We bought them all and would paint them. Mine were always the worst painted but Mom would come along behind me and paint mine up to look so lifelike. They ended looking just as good as the displays in Mal's window.
The building is still there. I went there maybe 15 years ago and it was at that time some kind of studio. I met the new owner and to the best of my recollection his last name was Peck. He said some TV commercials had actually been filmed in there. It was a pretty neat visit for me.
Today what we knew as the Irving Theater is just another older building in an older part of town. It's nothing special any more. But I do know that there are at least two little boys who by laws of nature were required to grow into middle aged men who still consider that place to be magic. What I don't know and wonder is how many others like us are out there when it comes to that building. How many other baby boomers consider that building to be magical? My guess is that the number would fill the Irving Theater many times over.
I'm off and pedaling for now.
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I don't remember those special seats. I do remember when we went to see "A Hard Day's Night" and the line completely wrapped around the theater. The same held true when we went to see Batman. I also remember us having a giant pickle and Red Hots. Remember, you could blow on an empty Red Hot box and make a noise.Ever so often, I'll have a dream that I'm back in that theater. Do you remember the time we went to the Circle Theater and saw the real Tarzan? Those were the days. What is the first movie you remember seeing? Mine is Tom Thumb at the 183 Drive In. I must have been 6 and you 4.
ReplyDeleteI do recall different snacks. Lemon Drops were a regular weren't they? I remember the Tarzan Guy. Lame compared to Johnny Weismueller. First movie ever? Not crystal clear here. Maybe Ali Baba and the Magic Carpet?
ReplyDeleteWe were Chateau girls. I have no idea if I'm spelling that right. But that is the theater that I remember being my first to frequent.
ReplyDeleteAhhh...The Chateau at $1.00 an person. Entertainment was never so affordable.
ReplyDeleteLAME TARZAN GUY!!!! I can't believe you said that. You're talking about Jock Mahoney who not only has the record of being the oldest Tarzan, but was a great western actor and played with those great thespian actors.... the Three Stooges. His only tweo Tarzan movies were great, right up there with Tarzan Finds A Son and Tarzan's New York Adventure, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteAt that stage of my life If it wasn't Johnny W. it was a step down for me. If it wasn't Guy Williams, it wasn't Zorro. I was perhaps a little harsh on the "other" Tarzan.
ReplyDeleteWonderfully written, Rick. Had a theater or two like that in my youth in upstate NY. Definitely remember "A Hard Day's Night." One of the greatest movies of all time and I am still saddened that it's over when that helicopter lifts off. Lovely article. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI remember the Irving Theater well, but my best memories were of the Wednesday morning "bottle cap" shows. We would ride our bikes down to the corner convenience store and raid the soda machine for Pepsi bottle caps so that we could see the movies for free. I'm sure the old Irving Theater holds special memories for all of us who grew up in Irving.
ReplyDeleteI remember the times going to the Irving Theatre. I too saw all the Elvis movies , all the Frankie and Annette movies, Disney movies and even the Dark Shadows movie there. My cousin and I were two of the ones that danced on the stage. We did a routine to Chim Chim Cheree. We got second place for our routine.Our mothers helped us dress and look like Chimney Sweeps and we both carried a broom. We spent a lot of time there and during the summer we would go on Wednesdays and get in with pepsi bottle caps. I could not wait to become a teenager to sit in the balcony. You had to be 16 or older to sit up there back then. That was a special time because you could sit there with your special someone or friends. I to remember seeing A Hard Days Night there. We would go to the movies and then we would go across to Griffs and get a couple of burgers , fries and drink. Those were the best burgers. Those were such happy days and fun times. Thanks for the memories.
ReplyDeleteRemember how you could only sit in the balcony if you had a parent with you? I remember my Mom taking me to see "Lilies of the Field" and sitting in the balcony. I felt so cool that day.
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