Tiffany Theater
The Tiffany Theater was the legendary Rocky Horror theater located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, CA. Built in 1966, the theater opened to new management in March of 1977. On June 10 of that year, The Rocky Horror Picture Show began playing Friday and Saturday at Midnight, running through March 13, 1983 when the theater ceased to be a cinema.
The theater was located at 8532 Sunset Boulevard. The building itself was originally the Mary Webb Davis Modeling School before it was converted into a theater. The building became famous as 77 Sunset Strip, as its original facade served as the front door to the fictional TV detective agency. Located less than a mile up the road from The Roxy Theatre where The Rocky Horror Show had first played in the U.S., The Tiffany Theater rapidly became a sought-out destination by Rocky Horror enthusiasts all over the world, and the theater itself gained a well-earned reputation early on as one of the most boisterous venues for Rocky Horror screenings. At its peak, the line began forming before 10 PM, as it was generally sold out long before the doors opened for the Midnight show, creating a need for 2 AM screenings on both Friday and Saturday (and Thursday at Midnight during the summer months). During the height of it's popularity, an average of 1500 people saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Tiffany every single weekend. The Tiffany Troupe was the cast for the theater. The Tiffany was the first (and then only) venue to screen a restored "Super Heroes" print of Rocky Horror as part of an exclusive, limited engagement in the summer of 1979. In 1982, Shock Treatment was added at Midnight on Thursdays and Fridays at 2 AM in place of Rocky Horror, with the by-then more structured cast doing double-duty.
The party atmosphere at the Tiffany's Rocky Horror screenings began out on the street, as early arrival was the only way to guarantee a ticket. The wait to get in was often longer than the movie itself, though the crowd always found ways of entertaining themselves, and being right on the famed Sunset Strip created a lot of excitement in itself. Do-it-yourself merchants walked up and down the line selling badges, t-shirts and bags of rice. By 1979, there were "audience callbacks" going on outside the theater. Sunset Strip traffic moved slowly on the weekends and upon occasion, cars were pelted with rice. The Hollywood location made the Tiffany ground-zero for LA's huge Rocky Horror following, and there were visitors from other theater's fans and casts from all over the world. One of the unique attributes of the theater was a low screen with an aisle mid-way through the theater, that made a perfect platform for making shadow-figures on the screen. The crowd would erupt in gales of laughter and cheers when giant letters "J-A-N-E-T" magically appeared on the screen during "Dammit, Janet," or when giant hands caressed Janet's breasts during "Toucha-Toucha-Touch Me." Possibly the most memorable antics involved a real motorcycle riding around the theater during "What Ever Happened to Saturday Night" --which was amazing to see, but rather hard on the lungs, and not so easy to pull off as there were generally huge packs of un-ticketed performers seated on the floor and in the aisles.
A variety of famous faces turned up in in the audience, as well, including various cast members from the movie and play. One Saturday night, TV's Kung Fu, David Carradine came to a screening, blazing on acid, and another time, Jane Fonda came in with her daughter and a friend, carrying a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. One of the oddest sightings was Bob Keeshan, famous to the world as Captain Kangaroo. Kristy McNichol showed up one night, but left in terror as the line outside began chanting "Kristy's a virgin, Kristy's a virgin..." Rod Stewart got pelted with Rice as he drove by one night, and magician David Copperfield appeared on at least one occasion. Both Susan Sarandon and Tim Curry made visits to the Tiffany at the height of Rocky's popularity.
The Tiffany Theater closed it's doors on March 13, 1983 after its final screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Artifacts from the lobby were auctioned off that night, including a lobby poster signed by Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick, and Brad's Shorts (really!), a pair of Tightie-Whities, autographed and given to the Tiffany by Barry Bostwick on the 4th anniversary of the Midnight run.
After a period of refurbishing, The Tiffany became a live theater, where a revival of The Rocky Horror Show played in 1999, though it remained empty for over a decade after that venture ceased. The Tiffany Theater was demolished on August 30, 2013 to make way for a block-long multi-purpose high-rise. Although nothing remains on the site, a marker placed on the sidewalk commemorating the TV show 77 Sunset Strip did survive the razing, and a small group of Tiffany alumni helped to save the theater's flashy marquee, which is on display at the Valley Relics Museum in Chatsworth, CA.
