A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: The Follies Closes

Posted on July 20, 2009 by lmharnisch
July 20, 1942, Follies Closes

July 20, 1942: The Follies Theater, 327 S. Main St., which was once the Belasco, closes. I have another address for the Belasco of 335 S. Main, which I'm guessing was part of the same building.

Update: Michael, you raise a good point. The Times says the  Follies reopened in September 1942 to "brisk weekend business."

"A military number using the chorus of 40 feminine charmers and a display of neon lighting were novel and effective. Later in the revue a Chinese number with the showgirls lavishly robed in Oriental gowns was another standout sequence."

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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times
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4 Responses to A Kinder, Simpler Time Dept.: The Follies Closes

  1. Chris Morales's avatar Chris Morales says:
    July 20, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    The first four paragraphs are an example of some excellent feature writing!

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  2. MichaelRyerson's avatar MichaelRyerson says:
    July 20, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    Well, I don’t know what to make of this. It appears the article is from 1942 (Earl Warren was still State Atty General) but I’m here to bear witness the Follies ultimate demise was still decades in the future. In my youth (largely misspent) one of the several rites-of-passage held sacred in my cohort was having in one’s billfold a cancelled or torn ticket from the Follies. I dutifully collected my torn ducat on a deliciously tawdry evening in 1962. From the stage none other than Tempest Storm sashayed her way down to a pair of high heeled mules, a dark blue sequinsed G-string and matching pasties (taselled, of course), to the workmanlike accompaniment of an unseen ‘live’ band. I was 18 years old. I had arrived.

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  3. Mary Mallory's avatar Mary Mallory says:
    July 20, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    Larry,
    Run more about the State being solvent in spite of the Governor. Sounds like all we’ve being going through for the last several years, but especially the last several months. What other financial problems has our state had?

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  4. howard decker's avatar howard decker says:
    July 20, 2009 at 10:41 pm

    Love hearing about the ever-popular Edmund Breese who made over 100 flickers.

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