Monday, July 6, 2015

The End of Two-a-Day Vaude at The Palace

90 Years ago yesterday the Palace adopted a vaude-pix policy for the summer. That Fall the Palace resumed it's traditional 2-a-day policy, but it was only temporary, pix would return to stay the following summer. Vaudeville had been in decline for several years, Marcus Loew proved that the public preferred pix with vaude, so the policy change meant that Keith houses were keeping up with the times. By the summer of 1925 most major houses were running some type of vaude-pix policy, in Cleveland Reade's Hippodrome, Loew's Allen, Loew's State, Loew's Park and even Keith's 105th were all enjoying brisk biz with this policy. By 1928, talking pix would drive the final nails into vaude's coffin. By the 1930's what was left of vaude was mostly band shows with a half dozen performances a day, sometimes more. Vaudeville was the first true form of mass entertainment in the country, it's passing was hardly noticed by most people. Within a few more years, Keith-Albee would merge with Martin Beck's Orpheum circuit to form the short lived Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation. A year later David Sarnoff and Joseph Kennedy would gain control of the company and reform it as Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO).
 From The Plain Dealer, June 28, 1925.
From The Plain Dealer, June 28, 1925.
From Exhibitors Trade Review, October 10, 1925.
From Motion Picture News, January 9, 1926.
From Motion Picture News, July 17, 1926.
 From Motion Picture News, July 17, 1926.
From Motion Picture News, August 7, 1926.
 From Motion Picture News, September 11, 1926.
 From Motion Picture News, October 2, 1926.
From Motion Picture News, October 2, 1926.
From Motion Picture News, November 20, 1926.

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