Samuel Roxy Rothafel
Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel | |
---|---|
Born | Samuel Lionel Rothapfel July 9, 1882 Prussia |
Died | January 13, 1936 (aged 53) New York City, US |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Theatrical impresario |
Spouse | Rosa Freedman |
Children | 2 |
Relatives | Amanda Peet (great-granddaughter) |
Samuel Lionel "Roxy" Rothafel (July 9, 1882 – January 13, 1936) was an American theatrical impresario and entrepreneur. He is noted for developing the lavish presentation of silent films in the deluxe movie palace theaters of the 1910s and 1920s.
Life and career
Samuel Rothafel (originally Rothapfel, meaning ‘‘Red Apple’’, the modern German spelling is: Rotapfel)
In 1908 he first began his show business career in
Often considered his greatest achievement was his eponymous Roxy Theatre at Times Square which opened March 11, 1927. He later opened the Radio City Music Hall and the RKO Roxy (later the Center Theatre) in 1932, his last theatrical project. The Music Hall featured the precision dance troupe the Roxyettes (later renamed The Rockettes), which Rothafel brought with him from the Roxy Theatre.
Rothafel has been credited with many movie presentation innovations, including synchronizing orchestral music to movies (in the silent film era) and having multiple projectors to effect seamless reel changes. The book The Best Remaining Seats by Ben M. Hall (1961), gives a good overview of the movie palaces of the 1920s and, specifically, of Roxy himself.
Roxy grew up with a Jewish background[5] that continued to influence him throughout his life. In 1923 a journalist noted that Rothafel’s the Regent Roxy theater attempted to appeal to Jewish audiences with its spectacular music capabilities.[5] Roxy also hired Hungarian Jewish violinist Eugene Ormandy to play and conduct in his theaters, which boosted Ormandy’s career.[5] Roxy was also the target of anti-semitism, as seen in the diary of American author Theodore Dreiser who wrote: “clever Jew who has become managing director of three great movie houses in New York,'' as well as other racial slurs after Dreiser made a 1916 visit to one of Roxy’s theaters.[8]
Rothafel had health issues in his later life, mainly
His wife was Rosa Freedman. His son was Arthur Ingram Rothafel, journalist, writer and ski reporter. His daughter, Beta Rothafel, married Lawrence Harold Levy, the son of Samuel Levy, a New York City lawyer, businessman, and public official, who served as Manhattan borough president. Through Rothafel's granddaughter, Penny (Levy), he is the great-grandfather of actress Amanda Peet.[3][9]
Radio
Roxy also made a name for himself on network radio, where he began broadcasting in mid-November 1922. Through 1925, live broadcasts of his weekly variety show, Roxy and His Gang from the Capitol Theatre (New York City), became increasingly popular. One estimate from 1924 placed his typical radio audience at about five million listeners, and he was said to receive thousands of pieces of fan mail weekly.[6] After Rothafel left the Capitol, his radio show, now known as The Roxy Hour, was broadcast from the new Roxy Theatre on NBC's Blue Network from 1927 to 1932.[10][11]
References
- ^ Ken Bloom, Broadway: An Encyclopedia, Routledge, 2013, p. 460.
- ^ a b Samuel Rothapfel, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, S/S Rugia, 24 May 1886
- ^ a b "Who was who in America with World Notables – Marquis Who's Who Staff, Marquis Who's Who". 2009-03-03. Retrieved 2016-07-03 – via Google Books.
- .
- ^ Jewish Daily Forward.
- ^ a b c Melnick, 221
- ^ a b Times Staff (14 January 1936). "S.L. Rothafel dies; 'Roxy' of the threatre". New York Times. p. 21. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ISSN 0048-7384.
- ^ [ Displaying Abstract ] (7 April 1967). "Charles Peet Jr. And Penny Levy Will Be Married – Lawyer Is the Fiance of '63 Smith Graduate – Bridal in July". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-07-03.
- ^ Bloom, 462
- ^ "American Idols: 'Roxy,' Major Bowes, and Early Radio Stardom | Antenna".
Further reading
- Ken Bloom. Broadway: Its History, People and Places. New York: Routledge, 2004.
- Ben M. Hall, The Best Remaining Seats; The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace. New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1961.
- Ross Melnick, American Showman: Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel and the Birth of the Entertainment Industry, 1908-1935. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012.
- Ross Melnick. "Station R-O-X-Y: Roxy and the Radio." Film History, vol. 17, # 2/3, 2005, pp. 217–233.
External links
- Requiem for the Roxy at the Wayback Machine (archived February 3, 2004) American Theatre Organ Society website
- Samuel Roxy Rothafel at IMDb