Opened: January 17, 1918 as the Iris Theatre. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for this 2013 photo, a post on the Facebook page Photos of Los Angeles. The facade is the one installed in a 1968 National General remodeling. The theatre had been open as a nightclub, Playhouse Hollywood, until the March 2020 Covid shutdown.
Phone: 323-656-4600 Website: www.playhousenightclub.com
This ad listing the recently closed second Iris location at 6417 appeared in the Wednesday January 16, 1918 issue of the L.A. Evening Express. It was part of a larger Express ad that Ken McIntyre located for a post on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page.
They didn't quite get the title right for the main feature of their January 17 opening. The Wallace Reid film wasn't "The Man From Music Mountain." It was "Nan From Music Mountain," a December 1917 release. The Fatty Arbuckle short "Coney Island" was out in October 1917.Architect: Frank Meline designed the original classical facade with diamond brick patterns and sets of paired columns topped with Grecian urns. The theatre was built for P. Tabor, who had operated the business at the two earlier locations as well.
Seating: Originally 1,000 advertised, the count after the 1955 remodel was 816. It was down to 647 in the final years.
Vitaphone and Movietone equipment ready to entertain you at the Iris. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating this August 19, 1929 ad.
With
a 1934 remodel by Clifford Balch it got a deco look. A June 29, 1934
L.A. Times item noted that the
decoration was by Robert Power Studios. Gore Brothers were mentioned as
operators -- and they hoped their friend the Sid Grauman might officiate
at the reopening.
Mann Theatres took over the Fox circuit from National General in 1973. The Fox continued to show first run product (occasionally in 70mm) well into the 80s.
Closing: It closed as a film
theatre in 1994 after a bit of earthquake damage and was used as a warehouse by the chain for several years afterward.
A plan of the revamped front of the building with a restaurant in front, club space behind.
The Playhouse closed in March 2020 due to Covid restrictions. By early 2021 the space was for lease.
Status: It reopened in 2023 under different management as a club called The Fox Hollywood. There's a listing on Yelp. See some interior views lower on this page. By early 2024 they were closed, the entrance was papered over, and the venue was getting another remodel.
1918 - An entrance detail from the "Family Skeleton" photo.
1919 - The Iris running "The Test of Honor," an April release with John Barrymore. The photo made an appearance in the November 4, 1922 issue of Exhibitors Herald
with an article on the use of face brick for theatre exteriors and
interiors. The issue is on Internet Archive. The Herald's caption: "The front
of the Iris theatre, Los Angeles, shows face brick of old rose shades
treated in various designs. Another version of the photo puts in an appearance on Tourmaline's Noirish Los Angeles post #40163.
1926 - A detail from Eric's copy of the photo. On the marquee "Emil Jannings - Lya De Putti." The only film they made together was the 1925 UFA production "Varieté" (U.S.title: "Variety"). See the Wikipdia article about Lya. The film got a U.S. release beginning in mid-1926. The first-run L.A. engagement was in June at the Million Dollar. The Los Angeles Public Library
also has a copy of the photo.
1928 - A view looking east with the newly opened Warner down the street. It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection. The photo also makes an appearance in Laurence Landreth Hill's book "La Reina, Los Angeles in Three Centuries," published in 1929 by the Security Trust & Savings Bank.
1936 - A look at the marquee with the Iris running "Thanks a Million" with Dick Powell, a 1935 release. Check out that terrazzo design! It's a photo from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives. A version of it appears on page 66 of the fine 2008 Arcadia Publishing book "Theatres In Los Angeles" by Suzanne Tarbell Cooper, Amy Ronnebeck Hall and Marc Wanamaker. There's a preview to browse on Google Books.
1942 - A look the Iris, running "The Wife Takes a Flyer" with Joan Bennett, an April release. In addition to a "News Scoop" we also get "Two Yanks in Trinidad," a March release. Thanks to transit historian Sean Ault for spotting the image on eBay. The portion above is just a slice.
1942 - Here's a wider view, showing the Warner running "Sergeant York" with Gary Cooper, a September 1941 release.
1942 - Norma Shearer and Melvin Douglas in "We Were Dancing." It's a photo from p.225 of the great book "The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History" by Gregory Paul Williams. The page with the photo appears in the preview on Google Books. The book is available on Amazon.
1947 - A Frasher Foto Card from the Pomona Library appearing on Calisphere. There's also a zoomable version. Looking east we see the Iris Theatre on the right. On the left there's the Academy / Holly Theatre with the towers of the Warner beyond.
c.1947 - A view east toward the Warner and the Iris. Thanks to Maurice Ideses for the post on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles. Sean Ault notes that the bus we see is from L.A. Motorcoach, a company that ceased operations May 1, 1949.
1951 - A Life Magazine photo by Ralph Crane looking east on Hollywood Blvd. The Iris is down the street. On the right is the Ritz Theatre in its newsreel theatre days. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding the shot for a post on his Photos of Los Angeles Facebook page. It's also on Google/Life Images and Tourmaline has it on Noirish Los Angeles post #35733.
1953 - A California Historical Society photo in the USC Digital Library collection. The Iris is half way down on the left. On the right the Warner is running "This is Cinerama" with the Academy Theatre, later renamed the Holly, down in the next block.
1954 - A last look before the S. Charles Lee facade remodel. The photo appeared on the now-vanished American Classic Images website. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for finding it in their collection.
1957 - A view with "Friendly Persuasion" on the marquee and a model posing outside in front of Karl's Shoes. The photo is from the Bruce Torrence Historic Hollywood Photographs collection.
Bruce Kimmel researched the booking: "'Friendly Persuasion' opened at the Iris on February 27, 1957 - it was a post-Oscar nominations run. It played there as a solo feature until March 27, at which time it was joined by the other big Oscar nominee, 'The King and I.' Then that played a couple of weeks until April 9 - it was replaced on April 10 with a reissue of 'Cinderella' with the brilliant
short subject, 'The Red Balloon.'"
1957 - A March view with "Friendly Persuasion" at the Iris and "Cinerama Holiday" over at the Warner. Note the new facade on the Iris. It's a screenshot from Getty Images footage that's included in Rick Prelinger's "Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2016," an hour and twenty minutes of wonderful clips from various sources that was originally presented in a program at the Los Angeles Public Library. Also see "Lost Landscapes of Los Angeles - 2019." This second installment was presented at the Library by the organization Photo Friends as part of the series L.A. in Focus. Both compilations are on Vimeo.
Parts of the same Getty footage appear in "Hollywood Blvd. Part 3 - 1956," a one minute clip on YouTube from Alison Martino. More of the footage can be seen in "Hollywood Blvd. 1956," four minutes of lovely clips from Getty Images on YouTube from Craiglaca1.
1957 - The Iris running a reissue of "Bambi." The co-feature, "Apache Warrior," was a July 1957 release. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating the photo for a post for the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group. It's from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives.
1963 - The Iris playing Disney's "The Sword in the Stone" along with "The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze." Thanks to Richard Wojcik for sharing this photo from his collection as a post on the private Facebook group Mid Century Modern. Alison Martino later posted it on her Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. Bruce Kimmel comments: "Opened Christmas Day, but I was probably over at the Chinese seeing 'Charade.'"
1963 - Another fine December "Sword in the Stone" view from the Richard Wojcik collection. He had shared this one on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page.
1966 - A summer view from the Richard Wojcik Collection on the non-public Facebook group Mid Century Modern Los Angeles. We're looking east along Hollywood Blvd. toward the Warner. Note a bit of the Iris marquee at the right with the film "Maya" playing. It was a June release.
1966 - Thanks to Warren Beckerman for this shot he took looking west with the Iris down the street on the left. The Warner was running "Kaleidoscope," a September release.
1968 - The theatre got a new facade in a remodel by National General Corp. It reopened December 20 with "The Killing of Sister George." It's a photo in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1969 - The Fox running a reissue of "Dr. Zhivago." It's a happy family from Colombia enjoying an outing on Hollywood Blvd. The photo is in the Los Angeles Public Library collection.
1972 - Martin Ritt's "Sounder," a September release, playing during the Christmas season. Thanks to
the Historic Hollywood Photographs collection for the image. It's their
#HB-414, included as one of 226 photos in their gallery Hollywood Boulevard 1941-1990. Also see a Christmas 1972 view east toward the theatre, the collection's #HB-419.
1973 - Ed Ruscha, perhaps better known for "Twentysix Gasoline Stations" and "Every Building on the Sunset Strip," also had a fling with Hollywood Blvd. Here we get a look at the Fox on the left. See the five minute video on YouTube as we go up one side of the street and then down the other.
c.1975 - A view west toward the Fox, provenance unknown, that popped up on the Classic Hollywood/Los Angeles SFV Facebook page.
1986 - A view west toward Wilcox and the Fox Theatre beyond on the left. Thanks to Bill Gabel for locating the photo for a post on Photos of Los Angeles. The Warner, at the time called the Hollywood Pacific, is on the right.
1992 - A Gary Leonard photo from the Los Angeles Public Library collection taken looking west on Hollywood Blvd. during the riots.
We get a look at the outside of the Iris in "Ring Up the Curtain" (Rolin Films/Pathé, April 1919). Alf Goulding directed the 14 minute film starring Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels and "Snub" Pollard. Here the manager is fuming because his cast hasn't yet appeared and he's frustrated with his somewhat drunk crew. It's unknown where the interiors were shot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for three more shots. Thanks to silent film detective John Bengtson for spotting the theatre. Check out his latest explorations via the Silent Locations blog "Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd film locations (and more)."
Douglas Fairbanks is at the Iris for a scene in "The Nut" (United Artists, 1921). Theodore Reed directed the 70 minute feature about an eccentric investor looking for funding for a plan devised by his girlfriend to help poor children. Others in the cast include Marguerite De La Motte, William Lowery and Gerald Pring. Thanks to John Bengtson for the screenshot. See two more views of the scene at the Iris in the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post.
Actor Lloyd Hughes in front of the Iris in "Hollywood Snapshots" (Hodkinson Films, 1922). Thanks to John Bengtson for the screenshot. It appears, with many other shots from the film, in his Silent Locations post "Hollywood Snapshots - a 1922 Time Machine." He notes that "Facing a public relations nightmare in 1922 over recent scandals, the film community produced 'Hollywood Snapshots,' a promotional film portraying screen folk as wholesome to middle America." See the Historic L.A. Theatres in the Movies post for more about the film.
In the Laurel and Hardy two-reeler "45 Minutes From Hollywood" (Hal Roach Studios, 1926) we get a look at the Iris Theatre on the right, running "What Fools Men," a 1925 release. Thanks to Chris Bungo for the screenshot. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for more on the film.
We get a look west toward the Iris vertical in Stanley Kubrick's "The Killing" (United Artists, 1956) as Sterling Hayden comes out of a store just east of the Warner. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for shots showing the Warner and Lux theatres.
More information: Visit the Cinema Treasures page on the Fox for lots of stories and photos. The Cinema Tour page on the Fox has 8 exterior views.
Ethereal Reality's Noirish Los Angeles post #7611 featured some exterior views from Cinema Treasures as well as other items. Noir City Dame's Noirish Los Angeles post #31116 about the theatre has clippings of articles related to various remodelings.
A February 2019 story on Eater L.A. by Mona Holmes, "City of L.A. Hits Hollywood Nightclub With 40 Criminal Charges," discussed some of the problems The Playhouse has been causing for the neighborhood.
The other Fox Theatre on Hollywood Blvd: The Music Box had been called the Fox in the 40s and 50s but after Fox West Coast exited that theatre, Pacific Theatres took over and changed the name to the Pix. Soon the Fox name appeared on the street again for the remodeled Iris.
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