Reply #6: I didn't write this but it is right happened at the Yale Theater. [View All]

[texanwitch]

Some of my most vivid and happy childhood memories revolve around this old theater located at the entrance to the Heights section of Houston.
I think the first time I went there was in 1959 with my two older brothers and continued going there with them until the start of the Viet Nam war when they both got drafted and I began going alone.
The first movies I actually remember seeing there were the Elvis movies which were followed by the Surfer movies and the Horror movies and then the Hells Angels on Wheels type movies following later. The last movie I remember seeing there was the original showing of Bonnie and Clyde with Warren Beaty and Faye Dunnaway
..a true first run at that time.
I learned to twist at the Yale as Mr. Bodenhiemer (not Gugenhiemer), the manager, actually had a twist contest during the intermissions during the Saturday matinees programs (which consited of a cartoon, a re-run and then the main feature). Yes, Mr. Bodenhiemer would jump up on the stage there in front of the screen on Saturdays and thank us all for showing up and then go into his famous "I'll give two movie passes for anyone who is wearing one red sock and one blue sock!!" And sure enough there would be a winner!! Then he would say "Alright Boys and Girls who can do the twist?" Come on up here and we will have a twist contest and the winner will get five movie passes and a free popcorn and soda from the conssecion stand!!" Man it was the cats meow and the most hillarious thing I ever saw to see a line of 8 to 14 year olds up on that stage doing the twist to the old Chubby Checkers song...and I too even went up to try to win at the urgings of a girl I had met there that day. What fun those intermission activities use to be. Eventually Mr. Bodenhiemr even let area garage bands up on the stage to play two or three songs and Louie Louie and Wild Thing and Wooly Bully never sounded so good as being played by kids with out of tune guitars and missed drum licks..but you couldn't tell as the kids were wild.
Eventually the lights Mr. Bodenhiemer would remind us how great we all were and that it was time for the next show and that good behaviour was the best way to stay for the next show...what fun we had at that theater. I learned to sing like Elvis, dance like I was at the Beach with Annette Funnichello, and kick like Billy Jack and ride my bicycle like I was a Hells Angel Unchained!! Yes the Yale theater was a classic and God Bless Mr. Bodenhiemer and his crew for allowing us kids to have such a good time on Saturday.

posted by swampsterman on Dec 14, 2005 at 8:44am