168:, the eight-story complex had a large 2,300-seat theatre at ground level and a smaller theatre of about 900 seats occupying the top four floors beneath the roof. This fairly narrow building contained only the lobby of the larger theatre, which had its auditorium behind it. Very little has been reported about the operation of the upstairs theatre, which was apparently seldom used until the early 1960s, when it was renovated for the presentation of "foreign" films as the Penthouse Cinema. But the main theatre, with its cavernous two balconies, was always one of Newark's leaders, first with vaudeville only and eventually taken over by movies exclusively. When all of F.F. Proctor's theatres were acquired by
143:, where his father was a physician. According to vaudeville historian Joe Laurie Jr., Proctor broke into show business when a performer known as "Levantine" noticed him working out at the YMCA and recruited him as a partner in his act, which involved juggling barrels with his feet. Proctor later made a successful foray into European variety under the name "Levantine" before moving into theatrical management. From 1880 to 1889 he and his partner H. Jacob opened and operated theaters in Albany, Schenectady, Rochester, Utica, Buffalo, Syracuse, Brooklyn, Troy, New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford, Lancaster, Lynn, Wilmington and Worcester. In 1889, he opened his most famous theater,
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F. F. Proctor Dead. Dean of
Vaudeville. Founded a Chain of Theatres Recently Sold to RadioKeith-Orpheum Circuit. Gymnast of Note at First. Had to Help Support Family as Boy at Father's Death. Fortune Estimated at $ 16,000,000. Starts a Chain of Theatres. Introduced Continuous Shows. Tributes From
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Inside was a $ 50,000 Wurlitzer organ. Over 7,100 paid admissions were collected. In 1928, sound equipment was installed for the "talkies". On May 22, 1930, Proctor's was the site of the first public demonstration of television. An orchestra led by the image of a conductor that was sent from the
172:, it became known as RKO Proctor's. The theatre eventually fell victim to the urban decline of Newark and to RKO's merger with Stanley-Warner, which operated the nearby and larger Branford. The new management decided to close Proctor's, and it has been standing more or less derelict ever since.
151:'s innovation in Boston, Proctor began presenting "continuous vaudeville" on 23rd Street. He later teamed up for a time with Keith but the partnership broke up. At his height, Proctor had a chain of fifty theaters. In 1929, he sold his remaining eleven to RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum).
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Frederick
Francis Proctor, prominent for more than half a century in New York theatricals and dean of vaudeville managers, died at his home in
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impresario who pioneered the method of continuous vaudeville. He opened the Twenty-third Street
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Proctor's in downtown Newark was one of the rare 'double decker' theatres. Designed by architect
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Freeman Proctor was born to Alpheus Proctor and Lucy Ann Tufts in
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Vaudeville, Old & New: An
Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America
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The Making of
American Audiences: From Stage to Television, 1750-1990
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In 1929, the chain was sold to the Radio-Keith-Orpheum
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He built and lived at 90 Park Avenue in
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280:Learn how and when to remove this message
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