Part 1
"It Was Great When It All Began"


Part 2
"Erotic Nightmares"


Part 3

"
Absolute Pleasure"

Part 4
"Didn't We Pass A Castle?"


Part 5
"Not A Sequel, Not A Prequel,
Not An Equal"

Part 6
"We Return To Transylvania"

Part 7
"Perhaps Even Time, Itself"

Part 8
"Superheroes"






 

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.

In May 1980, Velvet Magazine did a 3-page photo spread on us for their November issue.
We had no idea that there was going to be a photo shoot that night...we were "just dressed up for Rocky".



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.


JILL McMANUS & MICHELE MORRIS
TIFFANY THEATER - 1980


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.


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Rocky Horror




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