Tent Theatre in Hawthorne

Hawthorne Blvd. north of El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne CA 90250  | map |

Opening: The date is unknown but it was running in the mid-1920s. Originally the address was in the 100 block of N. Hawthorne Blvd., on the west side of the street just north of what is now El Segundo Blvd. That would be approximately 12717 Hawthorne Blvd. with the current numbering.

 

A c.1928 ticket for shows by the group Murphy's Comedians. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for locating it for a thread about Murphy on the Photos of Los Angeles private Facebook group.

Horace Murphy's companies toured widely, with shows happening simultaneously in many venues. The Colonial in South Pasadena was later known as the Ritz Theatre. See the page about the Twin City Theatre in Burbank. The page about the Embassy Theatre in Gardena includes a newspaper story about a 1931 booking in that town, at what was then called the Alamo Theatre. 

Murphy's career was discussed in "Murphy Comedians Open Showhouse...." an April 10, 1931 article from a Glendale paper was located by Jerry Miles. It's about a tent theatre that Murphy was erecting in South Pasadena. Some of their comments about Murphy:

"...There is perhaps no better showman in the west than Horace Murphy. For the past twenty years he has been engaged in theatrical work in Southern California, Arizona and New Mexico, at one time having more than twelve companies. He has had theaters in Glendale, Burbank, Ontario, San Bernardino, Santa Ana, Orange, Hawthorne, Oxnard and Los Angeles in this vicinity and in Phoenix, Tucson, Douglass [sic], Prescott Arizona. At the present time he is showing in Glendale, Los Angeles and Oxnard, California... Mr. Murphy makes a specialty of showing high class legitimate shows at popular prices..."

See the full article at the bottom of the page about the Colonial/Ritz Theatre in South Pasadena.  

 

By mid-1928 the Hawthorne tent location had been taken over by the Wade-Renfroe Players, opening July 1 with "The Patsy." Thanks to Jerry Miles for locating this ad for the Murphy thread on the Photos of Los Angeles Facebook group. 

 

The tent operation was still around in 1932. Thanks to Ken McIntyre for sharing this ad about a lunch spot for rent adjacent to the theatre. 

Closing: The date isn't known. 

More information: Sorry, there isn't any yet.

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