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Ricardo Montalbán Theatre
34°6′1.1″N 118°19′36.7″W / 34.100306°N 118.326861°W
Ricardo Montalbán Theatre, usually referred to as The Montalbán, formerly known as Wilkes' Vine Street Theatre, Mirror Theatre, Studio Theatre, CBS Radio Playhouse, Huntington Hartford Theatre, and Doolittle Theatre, is a theater in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles.
The theatre is located near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine, on Vine Street between Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard, at the site of the former Robert Northam / Jacob Stern estate. The Beaux-Arts building was designed by architects Myron Hunt and H.C. Chambers and constructed in 1926–27. Seating 1,200 at the time, it was the first Broadway-style legitimate theater venue in Los Angeles.
It opened January 19, 1927 under the name Wilkes' Vine Street Theatre. The first production was Patrick Kearney's adaption of Dreiser's An American Tragedy which had opened on Broadway in 1926. Other productions mounted at the theatre included Philadelphia.
In March 1931, the theater was converted to a movie theater, under the name Mirror Theatre, part of a chain run by Howard Hughes and Harold B. Franklin. That company soon fell apart, and by the mid 1930s, the theatre was operating under the name Studio Theatre.
CBS bought the theatre in 1936 and converted it to a live performance radio auditorium and radio studio for local affiliate KNX, under the name CBS Radio Playhouse. CBS's Lux Radio Theatre moved there from New York that year (because of this, some sources give the theatre's name as Lux Radio Playhouse). This popular anthology show featured radio adaptations of stage plays and film scripts performed by well-known actors in front of a live audience; Cecil B. DeMille was for many years its producer and host. The theatre was also the home of the Al Jolson show from 1936 to 1939 .
A&P heir and arts patron Huntington Hartford bought the theatre from CBS in 1953, modernized it with design by Helen Conway, and re-opened it with 970 seats as the first legitimate theatre venue in Los Angeles in many years, under the name Huntington Hartford Theatre. The premiere production of the Hartford was What Every Woman Knows starring Helen Hayes. Hartford ran the theater successfully for ten years, with high-profile productions featuring the biggest stars of the era.
After ten years, Hartford lost interest in patronizing the arts in Los Angeles, and in 1964, the theatre was sold to James Doolittle, operator of the Greek Theatre (who outbid Cary Grant), and was later renamed the Doolittle Theatre. Doolittle ran the theatre successfully for 20 years, after which it was acquired by UCLA.
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Ricardo Montalbán Theatre
34°6′1.1″N 118°19′36.7″W / 34.100306°N 118.326861°W
Ricardo Montalbán Theatre, usually referred to as The Montalbán, formerly known as Wilkes' Vine Street Theatre, Mirror Theatre, Studio Theatre, CBS Radio Playhouse, Huntington Hartford Theatre, and Doolittle Theatre, is a theater in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles.
The theatre is located near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine, on Vine Street between Hollywood Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard, at the site of the former Robert Northam / Jacob Stern estate. The Beaux-Arts building was designed by architects Myron Hunt and H.C. Chambers and constructed in 1926–27. Seating 1,200 at the time, it was the first Broadway-style legitimate theater venue in Los Angeles.
It opened January 19, 1927 under the name Wilkes' Vine Street Theatre. The first production was Patrick Kearney's adaption of Dreiser's An American Tragedy which had opened on Broadway in 1926. Other productions mounted at the theatre included Philadelphia.
In March 1931, the theater was converted to a movie theater, under the name Mirror Theatre, part of a chain run by Howard Hughes and Harold B. Franklin. That company soon fell apart, and by the mid 1930s, the theatre was operating under the name Studio Theatre.
CBS bought the theatre in 1936 and converted it to a live performance radio auditorium and radio studio for local affiliate KNX, under the name CBS Radio Playhouse. CBS's Lux Radio Theatre moved there from New York that year (because of this, some sources give the theatre's name as Lux Radio Playhouse). This popular anthology show featured radio adaptations of stage plays and film scripts performed by well-known actors in front of a live audience; Cecil B. DeMille was for many years its producer and host. The theatre was also the home of the Al Jolson show from 1936 to 1939 .
A&P heir and arts patron Huntington Hartford bought the theatre from CBS in 1953, modernized it with design by Helen Conway, and re-opened it with 970 seats as the first legitimate theatre venue in Los Angeles in many years, under the name Huntington Hartford Theatre. The premiere production of the Hartford was What Every Woman Knows starring Helen Hayes. Hartford ran the theater successfully for ten years, with high-profile productions featuring the biggest stars of the era.
After ten years, Hartford lost interest in patronizing the arts in Los Angeles, and in 1964, the theatre was sold to James Doolittle, operator of the Greek Theatre (who outbid Cary Grant), and was later renamed the Doolittle Theatre. Doolittle ran the theatre successfully for 20 years, after which it was acquired by UCLA.