Got more to say? Share your memories of the Fox Theatre

It's 1963 and I am standing outside the Fox with my mom and little brother, looking at the movie poster, when a limo pulls up and stops in front of the ticket booth. The back door swings open and I see a head ducking out and then a figure towering over the car. It's the Duke, John Wayne, who is making the movie "McLintock!" at Old Tucson. He walks by us in his cowboy boots with that famous gait, hips moving side-by-side. He enters the lobby with a couple of other gentlemen and I run to the door and peer inside to see the commotion. I see him look around the lobby and he says something to the other gentlemen and then they proceed to start to walk out. He pushes on the door to exit and I stand back wanting to say something, but he passes me by and they enter the limo and drive off. I am glad the Fox is reopening as it will keep awake that memory of a young boy forever in my life. Don Valdez My most vivid memory of The Fox was seeing "The Wizard of Oz" there with a young man about town. He kept putting his arm around me during the show. Like most well-brought-up ladies of the era (about 1932), that was a no-no. Trying to avoid the physical contact, I remember having to sit on the edge of my seat during most of that wonderful movie. Suzanne Hamilton Voorhees, 87 My uncle took me and my cousin to see the Joe Frazier-Muhammad Ali fight on film. The second movie was called "The Statue," and it involved a wife who sculpted a larger-than-life statue of her husband: a nude statue with all its attributes intact. My uncle was mortified, and my cousin and I, being only 8 years old, broke out in hysterical giggles. Needless to say, we didn't see the end of the film. Eddie Polanco I grew up in Tucson in the '60s - going to the Fox Theatre was a luxury. Admission was 50 cents - the Lyric Theatre was a quarter. My uncle, Gonzalo Martinez, was the projectionist for many years at the Fox. Sometimes he would let me in free - I felt so special! When the first Beatles movie came to Tucson, it was shown at the Fox. I remember going and screaming with the rest of the girls. I remember the ushers dressed in their suits, making sure that no one put their feet up on the seats! Martha Vazquez When I was a child my mother took me and my sisters to the first showing of "The Sound of Music." Going Downtown was excitement enough, but to get to go the Fox Theatre was over the top! I remember the drapes and the seats and how just for one afternoon I felt like we were rich! I have been to many of the old theaters worldwide since then but none have compared with that first trip to the Fox. Connie Sadler-Nelson Every Saturday morning around 1954-55, my friend Bobby Kirsch and I would hitchhike down North Stone Avenue to Congress Street. We'd get our loafers shined at the shoeshine business right around the corner from the Fox on Stone for 50 cents. We would then go to the Fox Theatre for the morning cartoons and the feature serial. Each one lasted several weeks, so you kept coming back every Saturday until there was finally an ending to the story.  Jeff Mott I was the doorman at the Fox Tucson Theatre for several years in the late 1950s and I remember New Year's Eve, 1957 or 1958. In those years I sported a very long mustache, pure white and long enough to curl. A party of four people came to the midnight show and they had obviously been drinking and were feeling very happy. One of the ladies took one look at my mustache, reached out and grabbed it and then tried to rip it off my face. I was in great pain and complained loudly until she finally realized that it was real, not a fake mustache at all! My upper lip still tingles every time I remember that night. Happy New Year! John Davis I grew up in Barrio Anita so I had many opportunities to regularly visit the Fox Theatre. One of my best memories is watching the "Creature from the Black Lagoon" in 3-D. Those 3-D movies were a special treat, with the cardboard and plastic lens glasses that worked their magic to make the monster on the screen come out and touch you. I saw a few other 3-D movies but there was nothing like the first at the good ol' Fox! Long live the Fox. John Bernal In the early 1950s, I remember going to the Fox on Saturdays where I got caught up in the Superman serials. The endings were always suspenseful cliffhangers, and I had to go back each Saturday to see how Superman would extricate himself from some life-threatening predicament. I loved those serials even though the resolution of the situation always seemed too simple, even to a preteen. Raymond D. Love During World War II, Kate Smith came and sang "God Bless America." It was probably the Mickey Mouse Club where I saw her. Mary Frances Beal Doty My mother, Elizabeth Goodwin Larson, came to Tucson in 1937 from Indiana at the age of 13 and is still living here today at the young age of 82. When my girls were young, they asked her, "Grandma did you ever ditch school?" After a long pause, my mother answered: "Once my best girlfriend and I left school - Tucson High - and walked to the Fox Theatre to see ‘Gone With The Wind.' " Gail Underwood I was a young Tucson Police officer who was assigned to walk a beat between Stone Avenue and Main Street South of Congress on the busy shift (6 p.m. to 2 a.m.). It was an accepted procedure for the walking beat officer in the area to seek shelter at the Fox during periods of inclement weather, which included rain or extreme heat or cold.My memories are of standing in the back and watching the latest movie, dry and cool, while the monsoon stormed outside. John Lyon We had to save our pennies to go to the Fox - it was cheaper to go to the Lyric and they showed more teen movies. The Fox was upscale and it made you feel special walking in that plush, beautiful lobby. In junior high, I tried to sneak in on a Bridget Bardot movie and got caught. Another time, we were asked to leave because we were too loud - I can't remember the movie but I do remember the usher - he was so cute! Ushers kept a tight ship in those days. Christina Leon-Benitez My fondest memory is as a child going to the Fox Theatre on Saturdays for cartoon morning. It was great fun. Those were the days my sibling or friend and I could walk to the Downtown area from the Barrio Historico on our own, watch the cartoons and window shop on our way to the library. The huge red velvet curtains always fascinated me. I used to wonder what or who was behind them! Carolyn Allen January 1946. It was a double date: after dining we went to the movies at the Fox, the nicest of the theaters in Tucson. In the middle of the first movie my date excused himself, not once but several times. He felt sick to his stomach but wouldn't say anything, lest we have to miss the movies. You would think it was the start of a bad year - not so. The following month we married and, God willing, we'll celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary on Feb. 1, 2006. Rosalie Rendon Smith In the early 1970s, the Fox showed triple-features for, I think, $2. I can't recall what the movies were, but the place was a godawful mess. No one cleaned the place between shows or even day to day. The ventilation was terrible and it smelled something awful, although every now and then someone would light up a joint. I never saw more than 50 people at a time in the Fox. Thankfully, in 1974, the Fox went into a prolonged coma. Tom Miller The Fox was the coolest place in town. In the 1940s and '50s it was about the only place with air conditioning. It was so cool inside that when we exited after the double feature into the oven of a Tucson July afternoon we almost fainted right there on Congress.  From Saturday morning Kids Club to Friday date night, the Fox was where we leapt over the wall of reality. (And where, in the balcony, I kissed a ninth-grade boy wearing braces for the first time. Ouch!) It was our sanctuary, our escape, our window on the world - we loved it!  Marilyn Pate I remember going to the Fox to see the newly released "Ben Hur" in 1959 or '60. Also saw many Saturday morning kid movie specials for a quarter that featured a live show with local TV personalities. Most of all, I remember "Sky King" episodes in the serial format that made you want to come back week after week to see the conclusion. Alan Barreuther My late husband, Jim Milne, was a young lad and had gone Downtown to see the stars at the Fox Theatre who had filmed a production at Old Tucson Studios. There was a huge crowd, so he hopped up on a lamppost just in time to see the lovely Barbara Stanwyck emerge from her limousine. At that moment, his 15-year-old heart fell in love and from then on, he never missed any of her movies or television programs. Bette Milne I went to the Fox in the '50s and '60s. I loved walking through the curtains and seeing the beautiful, darkened theater. One fond memory of my youth was having my Uncle Kenny take me and my future girlfriend Sandy Plotin to see "Spencer's Mountain." I got the nerve up to put my arm around Sandy's shoulder and left it there for two hours. It started to tingle, hurt, and later go numb, but here was no chance I was going to move it. That was 44 years ago, and Sandy and I are still friends. Steve Parker I attended the premiere of "Arizona" with Jean Arthur and William Holden. It was a big night. . . . I also remember Dick Drachman in the ticket booth. Margot Jácome, 95 I shall never forget the special feeling of privilege getting to see "Gone With The Wind." (The cost was $2.50 to $3 as I recall.) Added to this thrill was holding hands with my high school boyfriend. Adalyn Chaffin Mains, San Antonio, Texas My father, Joseph H. Ebner, was the assistant night manager of the Fox Theatre around 1949. My mother, Brownie Ebner, would meet my father outside the Fox at the end of his evening shift so that they could go out for ice cream or just for a nice walk. Sarah Frieden (née Ebner) Growing up in the late '40s and early '50s, the Fox Theatre was one of our favorite hangouts. There was an emergency exit that led into an alley next to the building. We'd pool our money and buy one ticket. The selected member of our group would go in and open the exit for the rest of us. The plan worked great until we were caught one night. As we were escorted out, we were warned that we had committed a federal offense by avoiding the admission tax. We never did it again. Tom Foust When I was a child in the early '60s, the neighborhood kids and I would go to the Christmas tree burning that was sponsored by the City of Tucson Fire Department. We would get free tickets to go to the Fox Theatre to see a lot of cartoons, and movies. Rick Villegas  My memories of the Fox Theatre are going there with my older sister and her friends. There would be an Elvis Presley movie showing, and the line would be around the block. We would first go over to Pat's Chili Dogs that used to be at the bus station Downtown and buy a family order of hot dogs and fries. My sister would bring a big purse and stuff all that food in there. We would go into the Fox and the whole place smelled like Pat's chili dogs. Betty Fimbres I once entered a yo-yo contest put on by the Duncan Yo-Yo company. Made the finals of the "loop the loop" portion of the contest. Admission and treats for a buck. Double features every day. You could enter any time and if you wanted. You could watch both movies twice at no extra charge.  Phillip A. Hooper John Wayne was bigger than life, but he was never bigger than when he was on the screen in the Fox Theatre. I was about 12 - armed with popcorn, soda, candy and sole charge of my little sister. We huddled together in the squeaky seats below the balcony as the Duke barked orders to his Green Berets. The smell of buttery popcorn, sugary candies, and something sticky on the floor will always remind me of those treasured, childhood moments, watching movies that made the blistering summer heat outside a distant memory. Mike Alvarez I vaguely remember going to a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert there. I think it was around the summer either of '73 or '74. I was amazed at the décor of the theater - it was just so beautifully ancient. I also couldn't get over the size of the theater. Al Davis My family and I have always been big fans of the Indianapolis 500. Back in the days when it wasn't televised, we would sit around the Magnavox and listen to the entire race. The first year it was provided via closed circuit, it was held at the Fox, and some friends and I were in attendance. Glenn Jonas It was the middle of November 1938. I was 7 years old. I went with my dad to the Fox Theatre to watch the news - the manager let my dad in free for the showing of the news. I remember looking at the big screen in terror, watching smashed windows, burning books, young men kicking and beating an elderly man. I cried to my father, "Why doesn't someone stop them?" My father replied, "People are too afraid to do anything to help. Don't you ever be afraid to speak out when bad things happen." That few minutes of newsreel recording the events of Crystal Night perfectly depicts the theory that evil can take root only if good people do nothing. Rowena Silver Ettinger Senior year in high school, 1968, I remember saving my $15 to ditch classes and go to the movies with a lunch from Pat's Chili Dogs, aka Jake's. Steve Conrad Gonzales My family attended a stage presentation in 1940; I was about 4 or 5. Betty Furness and Art Linkletter were on stage showing off the new item of electric refrigerators. They showed how it operated and how it looked, and that was something, since most of us had ice-filled refrigerators in town. Rose Marie Hanley Franks It was the summer of 1956, and I and my teammates were strutting proudly through the streets of Downtown Tucson for the annual Little League parade. After the parade, we were taken to the Fox Theatre, where we loaded up on lots of candy and popcorn. We were shown "Roogies Bump," the story of a 10-year-old who gets to pitch at Ebbets Field for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Man, we were the happiest kids in Tucson that day. I still watch that film from time to time and once again I'm a 10-year-old Little Leaguer at the Fox Theatre. Gregg Cross I was almost always the first in line for the Mickey Mouse Club Saturday morning show. Twenty-five cents got you a serial ("Zorro's Black Whip"), cartoons and a feature-length film. I remember one Saturday being called to the stage when my raffle ticket was drawn. What an experience it was to gaze across a sea of children cheering and others moaning because they were not as lucky. Larry A. Padilla My most vivid memory of the Fox Theatre happened on Dec. 7, 1941. I was at a matinee when, right in the middle of the picture, the screen went dark, the lights came on and the manager of the theater appeared with a microphone in his hand. "Will all members of the military please return immediately to their base." The message was not repeated. There were a good number of military people in the theater, and all of them stood up, looking very concerned, and left the theater. Very quickly, the lights went down again and the picture resumed right where it had stopped. Afterwards, we saw a special edition of the Arizona Daily Star, which had big headlines about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Patricia Smith Barnes, Phoenix I was probably 12 years old and my little brother was 6 or 7 when my Dad would take us every Saturday morning to the Mickey Mouse Club. We would always try to sit under the beautiful orange chandelier. My brother was afraid it would fall someday, but it is still there. My brother passed away in August. I am now 82 years old, but God willing, I will get to see my Fox again and try to sit under the orange chandelier. Dee Dee Holland Eshelman My best memory was in monsoon season one late summer night in 1956. The exciting film of rain and Indian mutiny near Delhi was "Bhowani Junction," with an exciting cast of Ava Gardner and Stewart Granger. The Fox sound system did justice to the shouts of the actors and pseudo gunfire, but the furies were heard overhead from our own fierce storm of thunder and lightning, missing us, it seemed, by inches. Charlotte M. Cardon In 1961, the Catalina High School senior prom participants attended a late-night showing of the premiere of the movie "Cimarron" at the Fox. William H. Callaway The Saturday morning kids cartoons and movies at the Fox were the highlight of the week, and our sons, Neal and Layne, and their friends took the city bus to and from the entertainment, which also gave them the experience of independence. Corene Hanna "Blackboard Jungle" was showing at the Fox. My friend (we were 12 or 13) and I went to see it - a very special treat for us; we had never been to the Fox Theatre. I will never forget the thrill of just walking through the doors. I sat there with butterflies in my stomach and goosebumps all over my skinny body. I felt like laughing, crying, screaming. Then the excitement of watching the beautiful red curtains open so slowly. I have never felt those emotions all at one time again. Lydia Moreno My brother, Paul, and I were at the Fox Tucson Theatre sometime in the mid-1950s watching a Marilyn Monroe movie. Monroe was doing a song and dance number - I think it was, "We're Having a Heat Wave" - when smoke started pouring out from behind the screen and we were all asked to exit safely. The smoke was from a fire at Paulos Restaurant, which was a few doors to the west. As the fire progressed, the liquor bottles were loudly popping - it was quite a scene. When we went back to our car it was covered in soot. That was a real night to remember. Felicia (Samoska) Dutiel In high school in the early '70s, we used to take the bus to the Fox Theatre. I and three best friends (Lenette, Patty and Alane) had the pleasure of watching "American Graffiti" and "Willie Wonka" at the Fox. We were under 16 and it was great fun. Georgia Lacy When I was a college student in the mid-'50s, I had a job as ticket seller in the front box office of the Fox Theatre. The tickets were 75 cents for adults and I earned 75 cents an hour. I am sure one of the reasons the Fox eventually went out of business was because of my pathetic change-making skills. In those pre-automatic- cash-register days, we depended on doing fast math in our heads to make change and whenever lines were long and there was a question about accuracy, I always erred on the side of giving more change than less. After all these years, I still feel a pang of guilt for my role, tiny as it might have been, in contributing to the financial ruin of The Fox Theatre.  Barbara O'Brien When I was a small girl in the '50s, my grandmother, who was from Sweden, would take me downtown to the Fox Theatre to watch all the Elvis Presley movies. She was a huge fan. She didn't feel she could go alone so I was the chosen one. I grew to "love" Elvis and, of course, I loved my Grandmother. Gale (Walden) Drudge My sister and I always looked forward to Saturday mornings at 9 because that was when we went to the "Saturday Morning Mickey Mouse Club" at the Fox. I would pay 10 cents admission and buy my 5 cents Mr. Goodbar in the lobby near the entrance before selecting the closest seat in the front, just behind the huge Wurlitzer organ in the orchestra pit. Roy Drachmen was the moderator and sponsor who would sometimes have special events like a yo-yo championship, or Bozo the talking dog, or Kate Smith singing "God Bless America." Before the movie we would always say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing "God Bless America," with words and pictures on the screen. Josie Paver I remember as a child, looking forward to the Saturday Morning Matinee at the Fox Theatre. My parents would drop off me and my brothers and sister, and we would anxiously stand in line waiting to go inside and see the feature movie. How wonderful those memories are for me and now to be able to share this with my four daughters. Janice Guthrie Having just graduated from Flowing Wells ≥High School in 1965, one of my best friends, Ruthie, and I walked into the Fox Theatre to apply for a job as a "candy girl." The manager interviewed both of us and said that he only had one position to fill. We talked him into hiring us both on the spot. We earned a whopping 85 cents an hour with which we bought our entire UA wardrobe around the corner at Lerner's. Kathy Chavez My memories of the Fox Theatre in Tucson began over 70 years ago. Every Saturday morning, for 10 cents, my brother and I were admitted to the Fox as members of the Mickey Mouse Club. That beautiful, silky-looking curtain parting slowly to reveal the silver screen was always met with shrieking and clapping kids. In those days, Tucson only had four movie theaters: the Rialto on the South side of Congress, and on the North side, the Paramount, the Fox and the Lyric.  Only the Fox stood out as special to us. Exciting to enter the plush, carpeted lobby and smells that fascinated. The grandest entrance, however, was inside where the seats were and the rush to get to our favorite one. Glen L. Carroll The Fox Theatre holds a special place in my heart as it was the beginning of my experiences in the work world in 1958. I had just turned 16 and a friend and I went job hunting. It was only part time at first because of school but certainly an adventure behind that candy counter and in the ticket booth as Tucson came by. It is exciting to see its rebirth. Helen Spicer I grew up on Copper Street, and I was allowed to ride my bike to the Catalina Theater for the Saturday morning cartoons and serials, but it was always a treat to catch the Park Avenue bus for a trip downtown to the Fox Theatre. In my memory, it was the most grand of Tucson's theaters, but by 1965 it was looking pretty shabby. A friend of mine from high school, Janet Russell, called to invite me to the first Beatles documentary at the Fox. Her father Ralph managed the downtown Woolworth's and he had received complimentary passes. The Fox was jammed with dancing, screaming, silly girls watching John, Ringo, George and Paul. It did not matter if the seats had gotten "rump sprung" because I don't believe that we ever sat in them. Victoria Schoder-Clark My husband, Phil DuBois, worked at the Fox Theatre as an usher when we were dating, so we spent a lot of time there. We saw many movies so many times we could tell someone coming in late exactly what was going on. In 1961, the world premiere of the movie "Deadly Companions" was shown at the Fox Theatre for the first time and stars Maureen O'Hara, Steve Cochran, Chill Wills and Brian Keith, all came for the premiere showing. Maureen O'Hara was very nice to all the young people who worked there, Chill Wills cracked jokes with us, and Steve Cochran took some of us for rides in his red convertible.  Brian Keith didn't seem to be very friendly even though he was a very good actor. Jean and Phil DuBois I was a member of Safford Elementary School Safety Patrol from the fourth grade on. I'd made captain by fifth grade and what that really meant was Saturday morning kiddie shows for 10 cents at the Fox Theatre. We were treated to tons of cartoons and some pretty awful B movies - usually black and white and involving some space alien. My daddy would pick me and my pals up after the show and treat us to 10 orders of hamburgers, fries and Cokes for just a couple of dollars at Jake's. Ah, who can forget the grease? The tough grown-up kids went to Kippy's, but we were happy with Jake's. And, my dad was the true hero of Saturday morning Fox Theatre kiddie shows. Julieta Gonzalez Living somewhere on Glenn, during the first half of the fourth grade in 1954, I, along with hundreds of other Tucson kids, collected Carnation milk carton tops to trade for tickets for a chance to win a prize at the Fox each Saturday morning. We went for the cartoons (two or three), the serial (Batman or Superman, maybe), then the drawing for prizes and then the main event, the feature movie.  Usually a western with Hoppy or Gene or Lash or Roy.  Didn't really matter. They were all heroes. This morning, I must have had a couple zillion milk tops and therefore a whole bunch of tickets and chances to win. Nothing through the preliminary baseball bats and hats and BB guns and stuff. Then the big one, the brand new Schwinn 26-inch bicycle. It was red and had those big, fat tires and swept-back handlebars and a wide seat. Nothing Lance would like to ride these days, but boy, it looked good to me. Then the number was called. There was a long hush while all of us looked at our tickets and, lo and behold . . .  I won! I won! Man, what a dream come true. I already had a bike, but not like this. I had one of those English three-speed jobs that my mom got me at Stienfields, I think. Skinny little tires, a funny long seat and a gear change thingy for going up hills. But now I had a red Schwinn with wide tires and fat seat and all. I was very happy. Raymond St. Clair During the 1950s, my brother and I rode the bus on Saturday from the East Side to the Fox for a nickel. Then watched the puppet show with Uncle Mack & Squeaky from Channel 13 for a dime. Some weeks Marshall KGUN was there. We then stayed for cartoons. The lovers always sat upstairs. Dick Pittman Old Man Witt's large brood of children and grandchildren spent many a Saturday morning at the Fox Tucson Theatre. We remember catching the early bus to beat the rush and then standing in a line that traveled both east and west on Congress Street and meeting in the alley behind the theater. For the sum of "two bits," (that is 25 cents for you later boomers), we could finance the bus trip from Stone and Fort Lowell - paying admission to the picture show and having the option of buying an ice cream bar or a bus token for the return trip.  We didn't seem to mind the five-mile walk back home. Marilyn J Steeber (Joyce Witt) Great memories when Tucson was a little sleepy town. Each Saturday morning in the early '50s, my cousins and I would get on the city bus (25 cents) at Broadway and Swan and go Downtown to the Fox. There were always two cartoons before the double feature, one of which was always a "series." Steve Sutherland Another Saturday. Another yo-yo contest. The Fox Theatre stage was packed. Follow the Duncan yo-yo pro's lead without mistakes and the shiny red Schwinn bicycle was mine. Eight remained for the final elimination round. The loop-to-loop seemed to go on for an hour. Then it's one guy and me. Then it happened. My yo-yo was flying out into the audience and I realized my string had broken. I was sure I would be given another chance, but no, the other guy won "my" shiny new Schwinn. As second-place winner, I was given a special 6-inch yo-yo and the opportunity to perform some special tricks for the audience. I have to tell you, that day, the cartoons just weren't very funny. Jack Hammond One of my fondest and earliest memories of the Fox Theatre was the time my mother entered me in the Shirley Temple Look-Alike Contest at the Saturday morning Mickey Mouse Club. There was no singing or dancing involved, thank goodness, for I had no talent for those skills. The memories are dim, but a few things I've never forgotten. I remember going Downtown to buy a Shirley Temple dress and black patent leather shoes. That was very special, for it was the Depression years. I do remember especially having to sit still while my mother curled my hair around her finger to make 49 long curls just like Shirley wore. Another memory was standing backstage waiting for my turn to walk out on that big stage all alone. I was scared to see so many faces in the audience looking up at me. Finally I remember being called out on stage again as the winner of The Shirley Temple Look-Alike Contest. The prize was a photo portrait of myself. The photo always hung on the wall of my bedroom. I still have the photo. In the photo I had all my front teeth so I had to be 5 or 6 years old. Barbara Lent Lovett My husband, Forrest, and I both moved to Tucson in 1942. We moved into the same neighborhood. All of the neighbor girls wrote to the boys, because they had all joined the Navy after graduating from Tucson High School. My husband served in the South Pacific and when he returned home, he asked me for a date. I was 16 and he was 20. Our first date was at the Fox Theatre. He didn't know that I had attended the same show in the afternoon with another boy! But he was special, and we went to many shows at the Fox, because my mother managed the Emporium, a fabric shop just a few doors away. We have celebrated 57› years of marriage.  Forrest and Jean Smith When I attended Helen Keeling elementary school in the 1950s, every Saturday morning I faithfully boarded the Stone Avenue bus and headed to Congress Street, the main intersection in town. The Fox Theatre,was in the heart of downtown Tucson. The weekly programs of cartoons, main features and the periodic yo-yo contests sustained and enriched my life. Because I honed my yo-yo skills - I loved to compete on the Fox stage, winning various pins, patches, and lots of applause from my peers in the audience.  Bill Jaap, retired Saturday mornings were always special. Wearing our mouse ears and clutching a dollar, my sister and I, along with other neighborhood kids, would walk the four blocks to the Broadway bus stop and take it Downtown where it would let us off in front of the Fox Theatre. Eating candy, popcorn and soda, we'd gleefully sing "M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E," watch Looney Toon cartoons and Hopalong Cassidy and Lone Ranger serials. My mom would pick us up, and we'd have lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs and ice cream sodas at either McClellan's or Walgreen's counter. The 1963 Rincon senior high school after-prom was held at the Fox Theatre. I don't recall who my date was, but I do remember sitting in the balcony watching "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and wishing I was as chic and elegant as Audrey Hepburn. Barbara LaWall In the early '60s, I parked my car in a garage and went to a movie at the Fox. I was told to leave the keys in the car, as they sometimes needed to move cars to make room for others. After the movies I found my car was gone. No attendant, and I was panicked. Suddenly, a lady drove into the garage in my car. With many apologies, she said that hers was the same color and make as mine. A fond memory in that my car wasn't stolen. Jean Lang Specific memories of the Fox: I was a tall child, and I remember having to insist upon my "real' age," regularly, because the ticket sellers would almost always doubt that I was telling the truth about my age. In those days, what child could prove her age without an adult along to verify the truth of the matter? (It seemed very unfair to me that if an adult vouched for my age, there would not be another word said, but that if another child said I was telling the truth, that carried no weight, at all!) We were sent to the theater with only a little bit more than exact change, so not to be able to talk oneself in would have been a major tragedy. (It seems to me that I ALWAYS got in, but had to go through embarrassing and uncomfortable inquisitions, first.) Walking into the foyer of the Fox, itself, was an exciting thing, after successfully getting past the ticket booth. The delicious smells of popcorn, the delightful choices of candy and soft drinks (I was not allowed to drink soft drinks, except on great occasions, ginger ale. So only candy was allowed to me in small quantities. I remember picking life-savers, or other candies in multiples, whatever I thought would last the longest.) The beautiful, thick carpet seemed elegant. And, of course, the Fox was cool, inside. Then, of course, where to sit? I don't think it ever occurred to us to sit up in the balcony for many years. (As youngsters, we believed that part of the theater was reserved almost exclusively for lovers engaged in 'mushy' activities.) We didn't want to be too close to the screen but somewhere comfortably in the middle. A group of us would sit in a row, chattering like magpies, enjoying the first sweet taste of candy, and looking around at all the marvelous wonders painted on the walls and ceilings. The enormously high ceiling with its fabulous chandelier, and what we later realized were Art Nuveau designs. I seem to remember a deep red curtain over the screen, most of the time. When the moment came that the lights dimmed, and the curtain opened, and the first signs of life on the screen delighted our eyes, we squirmed a little deeper into our seats and prepared ourselves for the wonders ahead. There was always The News of the Day, and a cartoon before the main feature began. (And, usually, there were two movies to be seen: the major feature, and a second, lesser, film. What a Bargain!) After World War II was engaged, there were pleas for people to buy War bonds and Savings stamps, and the ushers walked the aisles during intermissions, or between the pictures, so that people could contribute money to the war effort. My mother was fearful about the risks of my catching Polio amid crowds of children, and I was one of the few Tucson urchins who was not allowed to go to the Saturday Morning Matinees which were a major weekly event at the Fox. I would listen avidly to my friends talking about their matinee experiences, but never, ever went myself. I felt this lack keenly, but probably went as often to the Fox as any of them did, in the long run. My Grandmother was devoted to 'going to the pictures' and she would take me shopping, to lunch, and a 'picture show' almost every Saturday afternoon. (The thought of polio dangers for me never entered her mind, she was a devout Christian Scientist, and was sure that couldn't possibly happen. One of them was right, I never caught Polio.) Margaret Clampitt Bath Got more to say? Share your memories of the Fox Theatre