Overview

Meet the Grand Dame of popular culture. In 1928, the Brooklyn Paramount became the world's first motion picture theatre built expressly for the ""Talkies."" For more than three decades, this cinematic palace presented four genres of entertainment: film, Vaudeville, Rock and Roll, and Jazz-and many other unusual events. In The Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, Professor Michael Hittman, historian for the revival of the Brooklyn Paramount by Live Nation, presents the comprehensive history of this storied theatre. From the first screening of Manhattan Cocktail through Rudy Vallee and Ethel Waters in vaudeville, from all the early rock stars, Duke Ellington and other Jazz legends, to the last showing of Hatari in 1962, the Theatre's opulent past saturates every page. Richly illustrated with vintage Brooklyn newspaper lithographs and never-before-seen photographs, The Brooklyn Paramount Theatre invites you to explore the vital stories of the people and events enshrining the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre's continuing legacy and legend.

Full Product Details

9781544550718

Table of Contents

Reviews

""With forgotten information and behind-the-scenes tales, this book invites you to step back in time and experience the magic of an incomparable cinematic cathedral from the golden age of entertainment."" -Keith Wilosek, Principal Associate of Arcadis Engineering and Landscape Architects. ""The Brooklyn Paramount Theatre does a great job documenting those four ""faces"" and more about the legendary wonder theatre!"" -Gary Giddins, author of Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, winner of the National Book Critics Award for Visions of Jazz, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jazz Journalists Association, and a Grammy for liner notes. ""Wonderful information about the history of the Brooklyn Paramount, a venue I wish I could have played."" -Walter Theodore ""Sonny"" Rollins, legendary ""Saxophone Colossus"" and four-time Grammy winner.

Author Information

Michael Hittman is an anthropologist and professor emeritus at Long Island University, home of the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre. He has authored numerous academic articles in leading journals and books about Native Americans, including Wovoka and the Ghost Dance. He has also conducted research and taught on popular culture and mass media. His anthropological-like study of the Brooklyn Paramount, the world's first motion picture theatre built expressly for the ""Talkies,"" channels his background in Jazz as an NPR radio host in recounting the Theatre's fabled history. He lives with his wife in Manhattan and Southold, New York.

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