The Silver Screen Oasis

I've never met anyone myself, but Mom and her sister met Robert Young during his Father Knows Best heyday.

HOOSIERS. Pivotal point in the movie, when Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman), in a teaching moment, decides to continue the game with four on the floor against Oolitic. With high drama, the referee comes over to Coach and:

Referee: You need one more, coach.
Coach: My team's on the floor!

I went to high school/junior high with the referee, Jerry D. Petro. He was the star of our high school basketball team when I was in junior high. Hey -- when the two schools combined under one roof have fewer than 500 students and you're out in the country, you know everyone. Besides, his dad was the school's head custodian.

It was his only film appearance.

As an aside, the coach of the team that HOOSIERS is very loosely based upon, later moved to coach our county seat's high school basketball team. His son was one of my best friends. Wheer I growed up, the eighth guy on the high school basketball team was ways bigger'n any movie star. Right, Birdy?

Oh, and I can't believe I forgot...a distant connection, but a connection nonetheless...

The reference librarian who used to work with me at our local library in Parkersburg,WV was the niece of a bit player in Hollywood. I don't know her name right off, but the lady's claim to fame was that she was the nanny in Tootsie, of whom Jessica Lange says "She scares the s*** out of me."

-Stephen

Chio - That's so funny, I almost mentioned Mr. Basketball, aka Muletrain, but decided against it. Should have known you'd appreciate it!
B

Thanks guys for all of your comments.

Firstly, I do like Judy Garland and have about six of her movies including Easter Parade, Harvey Girls, Meet Me In St Louis, In The Good Old Summertime, and a few others.

I am just in love with the Female stars and believe they make the movie. Just picture Fred Astaire without Ginger or any other musical male without a female star. It just doesn't work.

As for other Genres I am opposite from my wife. I do not like depressing movies such as crime, medical disasters, war, drunks, gangs, violence, or murder mysteries. My wife like most of those, except the wars and gangs. I am an up guy and long for happy happy happy. "They Lived Happily Ever After" was a phrase invented for me. My departure from musicals only extends to romantic comedies or feel good movies about people. The drunk and dying is not my cup of tea. In a modern selection I love The Holiday, What Happens In Vegas, Step Up (the first one), The Proposal, The Rookie, For Love Of The Game, Danny deck Chair, Mr. North, The Cutting Edge, and many others to numerous to remember. My personal exposure to sickness, dying, and daily street violence is reported every day in the Newspapers so I do not need to go to the movies to see more of it. I could probably make a list of about 50 movies that make me smile and would be short listing so many other really good movies.

Uncle Stevie

Information about the wonderful Capitol Theater in New York City can be had from a great website called "Cinema Treasures" Theaters are discussed from everywhere. http://cinematreasures.org/theater/522/ I started entering comments on November 7 of 2009. My comments pale compared to others who remembered this great monument to the movies when it opened in 1919 with a capacity of over 5,000 seats.

Capitol Theatre
New York, NY
1645 Broadway, New York, NY 10019 United States(map)
Status: Closed/Demolished
Screens: Single Screen
Style: Adam
Function: Unknown
Seats: 5230
Chain: Unknown
Architect: Thomas W. Lamb
Firm: Unknown


Exterior view of Loew's Capitol, just before the theater closed.

Photo courtesy of StevePThe Capitol Theatre was located where the Paramount Plaza stands today, directly across from the Winter Garden Theatre.

Opened in 1919, the Capitol Theatre in 1924 was taken over by Loew's and became the flagship movie palace for MGM Films. The Capitol Theatre hosted World Premiere's of many now 'classic' films. The theatre presented movies and stage shows except from 1935 to 1943 when no stage shows were included in the program. The shows were too expensive to produce during the Great Depression and were only revived when World War II brought an economic boom. In 1952 stage shows ceased to be held. A larger, 25 foot x 60 foot wide screen was installed for the June 1953 engagement of "Never Let Me Go" starring Clark Gable.

In 1959 the Capitol Theatre was 'modernized' and re-opened as Loew's Capitol Theatre with "Solomon and Sheba". The movie palace became a Cinerama showplace.

World Premiere's of 70mm films included "Cheyenne Autumn"(December 23, 1964), "Doctor Zhivago"(December 22nd, 1965), "The Dirty Dozen"(June 15, 1967) and "Far From the Madding Crowd"(October 18, 1967).

The Loew's Capitol Theatre was never twinned or divided into more than one theatre. At the conclusion of the Roadshow engagement of "2001:A Space Odyssey" in 1968. the Loew's Capitol Theatre closed, and was demolished.
Contributed by William Gabel



http://cinematreasures.org/theater/522/

Uncle Stevie

Great stories, Mrsl!

Thanks for info on the theaters, Uncle S.

Back in the late 80s, a friend of my wife's and mine was in a play at the National Theatre in DC. After the matinee performance we visited him back stage and he invited us to dine with him. We got on the elevator and riding with us, wearing his bathrobe and fuzzy slippers, was the play's lead actor, Werner Klemperer. He flirted with my wife and continued to do so as we entered the cafeteria. He refused our offer to join us, instead sitting at a table right next to us and still participating in our conversations (and still flirting with my wife.)

One of my more surreal meals.

Also, and I don't know if it counts, but I went through Middle School and High School with a girl who went on to became a pretty famous adult film actress.

And in my radio drama production days I was fortunate to be able to work with a few well-known actresses, particularly on a project based on women diarists.

MichiganJ wrote:He flirted with my wife and continued to do so as we entered the cafeteria. He refused our offer to join us, instead sitting at a table right next to us and still participating in our conversations (and still flirting with my wife.)

Yes, I think Mr. Klemperer was quite a "lady's man." I've seen him leer at a woman in the audience from the stage during the curtain call. I mean leer.

Through the years I've come in contact with Katharine Hepburn (a funny story) when she was exiting her Broadway play, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, (both on the road promoting "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte"), Judd Hirsch (at a Chicago airport), Tony Bennett (twice), Edie Adams (entertaining at a furniture market theater), Liza Minnelli (campaigning at Coney Island), and especially Debra Winger whom I met while living up state New York.

How could I forget?

Our younger daughter (the Hitchcock fan in the family) and I went to a screening of ROPE (her #2 Hitchcock movie) and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (my #2 Hitchcock movie and one I thought she'd like). Yes, as you might guess, Farley Granger was there promoting his then-new autobiography. We (for she) got his autograph and he was quite gracious and friendly.

Not long after that, I went to a screening of FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! and the guest attraction, Chicago's own Tura Satana (Mr. & Mrs. Bryce attended with me). She was signing reproduced posters that were for sale, but I handed her the insert from my copy of THE DOLL SQUAD. Her face lit up. You have THE DOLL SQUAD? Isn't it wonderful? And such fun to make. Teddy's such a hoot. He's still out there, you know. Ahhh, the bigger they are, the nicer they are.

Eat your heart out, srowley.

Joe said,

Through the years I've come in contact with Katharine Hepburn (a funny story) when she was exiting her Broadway play,

DETAILS!!! I WANT DETAILS!!!!

OK, Nancy, I'll be happy to tell you. While in New York for a furniture buying trip in the 1980s, I would usually stroll around the theater district in the evening.
This one night there was a crowd of people waiting at the stage door of "West Side Waltz" starring Katharine Hepburn. I decided to stick around.
Eventually her elderly chauffeur appeared (looking like Pa Kettle) and announced that we are not to address Miss Hepburn or take any pictures of her.
When Hepburn appeared there were applause as she walked erect, head a bit shaky, with a smile on her face.
She entered an old station wagon, sat up front with the chauffeur, and off they drove into the busy New York traffic to her town house.
What a gal!

While in New York I also got glimpses of Elizabeth Taylor (those eyes are gorgeous) with Richard Burton and Natalie Wood with Robert Wagner (both making a dash from a side door of a theater where Elizabeth Taylor was appearing in "The Little Foxes", and into a limo).

Raquel Welch – She was in Seattle for a charity event of which my dear friend Bob Wilson from Boeing is a part of (can’t remember was the charity event was for) – I’ve paid $10.00 for this autograph and spent another $50.00 to have a private session with her for 30 minutes talking about anything you want! I had a great time talking to her and I’ve think that I’ve got this in 1990. We talked about the movie Fathom, Fantastic Voyage, and the Three Musketeers movies that she starred in.



I met her wearing this dress with a matching black jacket.
Her hair was a little bit longer - and a had a blast talking to her.