Samuel Lionel Rothafel, known as "Roxy" (July 9, 1882 - January 13, 1936) was an American theatrical impressario and entrepreneur. He is noted for developing the lavish presentation of silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

s in the deluxe movie palace

Movie palace

A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...

 theaters of the 1910s and 1920s.

Biography

Born in Stillwater, Minnesota

Stillwater, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,143 people, 5,797 households, and 4,115 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,340.0 people per square mile . There were 5,926 housing units at an average density of 915.7 per square mile...

, Samuel L. Rothafel (born Rothapfel) was a showman of the 1920s silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 era. Best known by his nickname "Roxy", he was the impresario

Impresario

An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...

 who brought the great New York movie palace

Movie palace

A movie palace is a term used to refer to the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opened every year between 1925 and 1930.There are three building types in particular which can be subsumed...

s that he managed to fame and popular success. His career included running the Strand

Mark Strand Theater

The Mark Strand Theatre, also called the Strand Theatre, was an early movie palace located at 1579 Broadway,at the northwest corner of 47th Street and Broadway in Times Square, New York City. Opened in 1914, the theater was later known as the Warner Theatre and the Cinerama Theatre...

, Rialto, Rivoli, and Capitol

Capitol Theatre (New York City)

The Capitol Theatre was a movie palace located at 1645 Broadway, just north of Times Square in New York City, across from the Winter Garden Theatre. Designed by Thomas W. Lamb, the Capitol seated 4000 and opened October 24, 1919. It was one of the first of the large lavish movie theaters that...

 theaters in New York. His greatest achievement was his eponymous Roxy Theatre in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 which opened March 11, 1927. He later opened Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...

 in 1932, his last theatrical project. The Music Hall featured the precision dance troupe the Roxyettes (later renamed the Rockettes), which Rothafel brought with him from the Roxy Theatre.

Rothafel has been credited with many movie presentation innovations, including synchronizing orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

l music to movies (in the silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 era) and having multiple projectors to effect seamless reel changes. The book The Best Remaining Seats by Ben M. Hall

Ben M. Hall

Ben M. Hall was an author and theater historian. His 1960 book, The Best Remaining Seats, was a seminal work in the history of theaters...

 (1961), gives a good overview of the movie palaces of the 1920s and, specifically, of Roxy himself.

Rothafel died in 1936 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

and is buried in Linden Hill Jewish Cemetery in Queens.

Radio

Roxy also made a name for himself on network radio, where he began broadcasting in mid-November 1922. Through 1926, live broadcasts of his weekly variety show Roxy and His Gang from the Capitol Theatre in New York became increasingly popular. One estimate from 1924 placed his typical radio audience at about five million listeners, and he was said to receive thousands of pieces of fan mail weekly. After Rothafel left the Capitol, his radio show, now known as The Roxy Hour, was broadcast from the new Roxy Theatre on the NBC Blue network from 1927 to 1932.

External links

• Requiem for the Roxy American Theatre Organ Society website, via Internet Archives