ROCKY HORROR "ABSOLUTE PLEASURE"
TIFFANY THEATER
WEST HOLLYWOOD CA - 1981
Everything
you ever heard about The Tiffany Theater is true.
It was Absolute Pleasure.
On Friday & Saturday nights, The Tiffany Theater was one of the hottest
spots on the Sunset Strip.
ROCKY HORROR fans came from all over to The Tiffany Theater because of
it's notorious party atmosphere.
Booze, dope, sex, music, and ROCKY HORROR...it was all there right in
front of you.
I started going to The Tiffany Theater with EROTIC NIGHTMARES in October
1979.
The Tiffany Theater is located at 8534 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood
CA.
That's on the south side of Sunset Boulevard, just west of La Cienaga
Boulevard.
The rear parking lot has one of the most spectacular views of Los Angeles.
There were 2 shows nightly...at Midnight and at 2 AM.
The Midnight shows were always SOLD OUT, and the 2 AM show was usually
full, too.
It was a very exciting and creative time.
The infamous L.A. Punk scene was still raging, and it definitely inspired
and motivated us.
At that time, West Hollywood was still an unicorporated area of Los Angeles
County.
That meant the LAPD would not hassle you, but you had to steer clear of
the Los Angeles County Sheriff.
I got in trouble with them a bunch of times.
You could park across the street in the liquor store parking lot if you
were hip to it and got there early enough.
One night we hung out with a group of girls. They said that they were
a band called The Go-Go's.
TROY
MARTIN, JULIE FORD, DAVID JAMES
JOANNA MORALES, RICHARD GIFFORD
TIFFANY THEATER -1980
JULIE
FORD & DAVID JAMES
TIFFANY THEATER -1980
JOANNA
MORALES, RICHARD GIFFORD
TIFFANY THEATER -1980
A
TROYSYLVANIAN
TIFFANY THEATER -1980
In
front of the theater, a crowd had already started to gather by 9 PM.
For the rest of
the night, it was one great BIG party.
The line for the show would start at the entrance of the theater, and
eventually stretch west down Sunset Boulevard,
turn south on Alta Loma Road, and sometimes it stretched halfway down
to Holloway Drive.
Those folks at the end of the line were turned away, or they waited
until the 2 AM show.
Around 11:30 PM would come the legendary "Tiffany Push". It
was the most dangerous part of the night.
The crowd would surge towards the entrance in a frantic 10-minute non-stop
"push" towards the entrance.
To this day, I am amazed that no one got pushed through the glass doors.
Many people passed out before they even got in the door, but it was
worth it if you got in.
It was here that you met some of the most devoted and hardcore ROCKY
HORROR fans.
Christine Grisanti was always first in line.
She was 9 years old at the time and she played Eddie.
MICHELE
MORRIS, CHRISTINE GRISANTI, & JAY
TIFFANY THEATER -1980
LORI
RIZZO & CHRISTINE GRISANTI
TIFFANY THEATER -1982
2
"GORGEOUS GALS", Jill
McManus & Michele Morris came down from Thousand Oaks.
They were a great Magenta & Columbia team, and they were always
second in line.
Devoted...honest...beautiful...fun...and
full of spirit. I
will love those 2 forever!
Jill & Michele are among the most
hardcore ROCKY HORROR people I've ever known.
Avco
Embassy filmed part "Vice
Squad" in front of The Tiffany.
Michele made the final cut of the film in full Columbia costume.
Julie Ford is the blonde girl behind her, along with David James.
Louis The Button Man also appears with his dog.
BONNIE,
CATHY, & CHELSIE
THE DENTON AFFAIR
TIFFANY THEATER -1980
THE
DENTON AFFAIR from Hermosa Beach were among our friends, as were
the cast from Long Beach.
Once you entered the lobby, you passed by a "He's The Hero...That's
Right!...The Hero!" one-sheet poster for the film.
It had been signed by Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, and Barry Bostwick.
Then came the rush for seats. After everyone was seated, the show
started.
We would de-flower any Virgins that were present, and do our pre-show
down in front of the screen.
After that the lights went down.
The projectionist would crack jokes during the safety announcement,
and ask "Are you ready?!!!"
A&M Records had sent over 2 promotional clips for Tim Curry's
new album, "Fearless".
The girls would scream when these films would start, and they
all got up and danced.
TIM CURRY - "Paradise Garage"
TIM
CURRY - "I Do The Rock"
From
here it got really nuts. Then the film rolled.
Audience participation was great at the Tiffany.
The Tiffany's screen was set at eye level, so during the film, the
cast would perform on the sides of the screen.
Since the screen was so low, you could interact with the film with
your hands and other objects.
One night, Hale rode his motorcycle inside the theater during "Hot
Patootie".
There was an alcove to the left of the screen that led to an exit
to the street.
The alcove had a curtain in front of it, and you had the area of
small room.
It was a convenient place to "engage".
I lost my virginity in that alcove during a ROCKY HORROR performance,
in costume, minus my trousers.
She was beautiful. I still snicker when I drive by the place and
see the door.
There...is that punk enough for you?
One
night, the manager of the theater refused to let Steve, one of our
Transylvanians, into the theater.
Steve was really pissed...so after the crowd went in, he re-arranged
the marquee letters out in front.
It originally spelled "Neighbors...Starring John Belushi".
By the time Steve was finished re-arranging the letters, it read
"Nigors...Starring John Bushi"
He threw the remaining marquee letters into a mail slot of the adjoining
office building.
It caused a tremendous stink, and Steve was banned from the Tiffany
for a long time.
"That's
Hollywood!" used us in their "Cult Films" episode.
Richard is the first ROCKY HORROR fan that is interviewed.
I appear 4 times in the final cut.
An
original production of "THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW"
soon opened at the Aquarius Theatre in Hollywood.
"Original Production" meant that it used Sue
Blane's costumes, Brian Thomson's set design, and all the other
elements of the original London, Roxy and Broadway productions.
We were excited...we had never seen the play before!
We all went on opening night. There was a lot of press. We wound
up on TV!
Frank Gregory played Frank, and he electrified the audience. Kim
Milford played Rocky.
The cast came out to greet us afterward, and drove the actor who
played the Narrator back to
his room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
It was great to finally see the play! We went back several times,
and managed to get front-row seats.
By
late 1980, EROTIC NIGHTMARES were seeing less and less of each other.
We were not immune from the inevitable in-fighting, drama and natural
growth.
Richard & I had made a strong impression on the Hollywood crowd,
and we eventually joined the Tiffany cast.
We set up "The Secret Headquarters Of F.A.T.S.O." in the
marquee room underneath the projection booth.
Sometimes, we would sleep in a storage bin in a carport across the
street, or in the marquee room.
By
April 1981, I had a large office at The
Crossroads Of The World on Sunset Boulevard.
It became our Transylvanian Party Castle. There was plenty of sex, drugs,
and rock 'n' roll for everyone.
THE
TIFFANY TODAY.
STERILE...VACANT...DEAD.
A WASTE OF GOOD MATERIAL.
In
1983, the Tiffany Theater stopped showing ROCKY HORROR.
For almost 20 years, there were attempts to re-model it and make it a
vital part of the creative community.
It still had live theater performances until 2002, but from what I heard,
it was a roller-coaster keeping it afloat.
"THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW" played there for a while in the
late 1990's.
Management wanted the actors to pay $30.00 per day to park there.
And they wanted the $30.00 each time that anyone pulled out of
the lot and came back later.
Needless
to say, that was pretty much the final stake in it's heart.
As of this writing, the theater is slated for demolition.
It saddens me to see it empty as I drive past it. I can only hope that
it will be put to use again someday. The Tiffany Theater
truly died after ROCKY HORROR left.