ekrobi/paramount.html
(WHS - '57) of VA - 03/16/06
WOWZERS!!! Thanks, John!
('64) of VA - 11/14/03
Thanks, Dave!
The Paramount
3300 Washington Avenue,
Newport News, VA 23607
fsweb.wm.edu/AMST370/instudy/ekrobi/paramount.html
This site courtesy of Dave
Spriggs ('64) of VA - 03/11/03
Thanks, Dave!
| THEN: | NOW: Fire Station | ||
|
|
|
|
|
| 1955 | 1959 Anchor, p. 178 | About 1962 | Friday, November 14, 2003 |
| Attached is a picture I made of The Paramount box-office when I was on the staff of The Daily Press. The year is about 1962. It was part of a series I did about what folks in NN do for entertainment. Hope you like it. | |||
|
Courtesy of
fsweb.wm.edu/AMST370/instudy/ ekrobi/paramount.html |
03/18/06 |
Image by John London (WHS - '57) of VA - 03/16/06 WOWZERS!!! Thanks, John! |
Image by Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 11/14/03 Thanks, Dave! |
It's no big
deal, but I do have a memory of "The Paramount, Elvis and Me".
At the time, I was not of legal age to be by myself, so I had a babysitter in
the afternoon after school for a bit.
Boy, acknowledging that really hurts a "macho man" such as I was! I was around
8-10 years old and my mother
had a teenage girl in the neighborhood watch after me until she could get home
from work.
As a reward
for the babysitter, my mother took her and me to the Paramount Theater to
see this new Rock and Roll
phenom that was beginning to sweep the country.
I think he had released one or two records by then
and was gaining popularity very
quickly. He was appearing "live", with some others on stage at the Paramount.
Remember, the Paramount had a stage?
To say the
least the place was filled with adoring teenage girls screaming to the top of
their lungs.
I didn't quite understand it. So, we get to the end of
the concert, and as my mother usually did,
we waited until the theater was
nearly empty before we left. We go out through the front doors,
take a right
toward 34th Street to head to the bus stop at 34th and Huntington to catch a
bus home.
I'll add here, if you recall, beside the theater and attached
restaurant, on the corner of 34th and Washington,
was an open lot with a cab
stand. There was no building there at that time,
and you could clearly see to
the back walkway behind the Paramount.
To make a
short story longer, as we left the theater, I noticed a huge group of people,
again mostly teenage girls, across the street, spilling onto Washington Avenue
in front of Patrick and Silk's.
Remember that place? I asked what that was
about and was told that some of the singers
were going over there to sign
autographs.
Taking a
right at 34th, headed toward Huntington, I noticed three guys come out of the back
of the Paramount
and head toward Washington Avenue in our direction. Turning
around to see what all the noise
was about across the street at Patrick and
Silk's, I kept walking ahead looking backward toward the noise.
The next thing
I know I've "run into" one of those guys who patted me on the head and said
something to the effect of, "Be careful there, big guy" or something to that
effect.
My babysitter says, "Do you know what you just did?", to which I
replied with something like, "I didn't mean it."
She said
(and again I'm paraphrasing), "No, no, it's OK! You just ran into Elvis
Presley!"
To which I'm sure I must have said something like, "Who's that?"
She quickly spread the word around North End of my encounter with Elvis, and
for a couple of weeks every teenage girl
in North End wanted to touch the
kid that had "run into Elvis!"
But, the fame was fleeting, as fame usually
is, and soon I returned to being nobody.
There you have it, "The Paramount, Elvis and Me", a true story.
Next, sometime, I'll have to tell you about Marlon Brando's version of Mutiny on the Bounty.
- Wayne Stokes
of VA - 05/22/03
WOW!!! Thanks, Wayne!
And the DEFINITE date of this grand event was February 13, 1956:
http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/02-23-05-NNHS-Chantilly-Lace.html
Thanks again,
Wayne!
Wayne's Elvis
story reminds me of one of my own.
While not nearly so exciting or dramatic, the fact that it has remained in my
head
all these many years is a sign of the impact it had on me at the time.
Mama
and Eleanor and I had gone to see "Love Me Tender" at the Paramount.
I just checked the release date, and it was on November 15, 1956, so it was
sometime shortly after that.
Suffice to say that I was nine years old, and it was a very chilly night.
"Love Me Tender"
is, of course, a tear-jerker, culminating with Elvis' death, and I emerged from
the theater crying bitterly.
The frosty air was freezing the tears as they fell on my cheeks.
Mama told Eleanor and me (if I was nine, Eleanor was 15) to wait outside while
she went to get the car for us.
Unfortunately, I just couldn't stop crying. I cried and cried and cried.
There was a young
good-looking soldier standing nearby in his uniform.
He took pity on me, and took a tissue and wiped my tears.
I was deeply touched by his considerate gesture to a little girl he didn't even
know.
And y'all wonder why I'm such a sucker for a man in uniform!
- Carol Buckley Harty of NC - 05/22/03
(This image enlarges.)
This great piece of memorabilia
courtesy of Janice McCain Rose of VA - 05/30/03
Thanks, Janice!
Reviewing the "now" photos of our
old beloved theaters brought forth two thoughts -
well, more than that but only two that I can share!
One is a question, the shot of the "now" Paramount Theater (Fire Station)
appears to be on the corner of 34th & Washington, right?
The theater was more toward 33rd. No big deal! It's the same area.
- Wayne Stokes of VA - 11/18/03
Thanks, Wayne!
My best memory of this old theatre is when I was in 10th grade and a girlfriend
and I skipped school
and went to see "Cool Hand Luke".......I loved that movie. My mother found out
I had skipped school
and she called the school office and told on me and I got into trouble!
- Dianne Hunter Preston ('64) of FL - 02/02/05
Thanks, Dianne!
- Jack Nelson
('54) - 02/11/06
WOWZERONI!!! Thanks, Jack!
Carol
I have another story that I would like to see if anyone can clear up. Back in
the late 50's or could have been in the 60's but I think Elvis was in Newport
News and sang at the Paramount Theater and I think I heard that he got caught
driving drunk. Is that a true story or can anyone remember that happening? It's
funny the older you get how all these flashbacks seem to come to you.
-
Glenn (Dye
('60) of TX -
07/29/07
Thanks, Glenn! I tend to think it is totally apocryphal, but we'll need to
turn it over to the group.
- Wayne Stokes of VA - 08/03/07
Thanks, Wayne!
Carol...
Here's a story for
Glenn Dye
('60 - of TX)
about Elvis that probably very few people know about...It goes like this...
This the only thing I remember about Elvis being in Newport News is Pam
Pennington's ('58) insane crush on him. One day, soon after Elvis' visit, I saw
tiny little Pam struggling on Washington Avenue with
this huge cardboard cutout. I couldn't tell what if was from the back so I
tapped her on the shoulder and as she turned around I saw that it was a
life-sized cardboard Elvis. Pam, also life-sized was no match for the "Hunk 'a
Burning Love" she was trying to wrestle it to the bus stop so she could take it
home. She said it was for her room, and with tears glistening in her eyes, from
frustration, I watched as she, all by herself, got Elvis up the bus steps and
took him home. I hope she still has him stashed somewhere because that was quite
a PRIZE for a smitten 'teen as Pam definitely was! This is the only story I know
about Elvis being "STIFF" in Newport News, and HE wasn't driving...the bus
driver was!!!!
If Elvis was playing in Newport News I doubt he had a car, He and his group
probably came in on a bus...I know I saw him leave on one, and he was with Pam
Pennington!!!!!!
Love from Sepi a.k.a. "Dimples"
I still don't know how she got this marvelous cutout; small but determined, our
tiny Pam!
- Sepi Dinwiddie Prichard ('58) of
NC - 08/03/07
Thanks, Sepi!
Paramount Studios Theme wav file courtesy of http://www.internetstart.nu - 11/18/03
Sparkling Theater Lights clip art courtesy of http://gifsnow.com/ - 05/22/03