The Fonda Theatre (formerly Music Box Theatre, Guild Theatre, Fox Theatre, and Pix Theatre) is a concert venue located on

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

in Los Angeles,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Designed in the

Spanish Colonial Revival Style The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

, the theater has hosted live events, films, and radio broadcasts.

History

On October 20, 1926, the

Carter DeHaven Carter DeHaven (born Francis O'Callaghan; October 5, 1886 – July 20, 1977) was an American film and stage actor, film director, and screenwriter. Career DeHaven started his career in vaudeville in 1896 and started acting in movies in 1915. H ...

Music Box opened with a

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...

called ''Fancy''. It had been planned to open the theatre two days earlier however a postponement was caused by the illness of Arthur Kay, a principal actor. Among the first investors in the new theater were

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

, John Gilbert, Reginald Denny,

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

, and

Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...

. The Music Box switched from revues to legitimate theater in 1927 with the west coast première of ''Chicago'', starring

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

and

Nancy Carroll Nancy Carroll (born Ann Veronica Lahiff; November 19, 1903 – August 6, 1965) was an American actress. She started her career in Broadway musicals and then became an actress in sound films and was in many films from 1927 to 1938. She was t ...

. Stage plays continued at the Music Box for nearly two decades—aside from a period beginning in 1936 when the site was used as a broadcasting studio by

Lux Radio Theater ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...

. In 1945, Fox West Coast purchased the building and remodeled it for film exhibition in a Streamline Moderne decor, which included covering the Spanish Colonial Revival façade with sheet metal. Opening in February 1945, the theater showed movies for 32 years; first as the Guild Theatre, then as the Fox Theatre, and finally as the Pix Theatre, before closing its doors in 1977. The Nederlander Organization reopened the house as a legitimate theater in 1985 and renamed it in honor of film and stage actor

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

. In ensuing years, productions such as the Pulitzer Prize winning play '' Glengarry Glen Ross'', and ''Driving Miss Daisy'' graced the stage. Efforts to restore the theater to its

Roaring Twenties The Roaring Twenties, sometimes stylized as Roaring '20s, refers to the 1920s decade in music and fashion, as it happened in Western society and Western culture. It was a period of economic prosperity with a distinctive cultural edge in the ...

glory began in 2002, culminating in the original name being placed back on the marquee. In 2012, Goldenvoice took over the Music Box and changed the name back to The Fonda Theatre. The theater was named the top venue in Los Angeles by ''LA Weekly'' in 2015.

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance ...

filmed a music video for the song "

Unholy Confessions "Unholy Confessions" is a song by Avenged Sevenfold, released as the lead single from their second album, ''Waking the Fallen''. It is the band's first official single after their 2001 debut EP release '' Warmness on the Soul'', and was the first ...

" on March 6, 2004 at the Fonda Theatre. '' The Bachelor'' was filmed live at the Fonda Theatre on January 7, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fonda Theatre Theatres in Hollywood, Los Angeles Hollywood Boulevard Cinemas and movie theaters in Hollywood, Los Angeles Music venues in Los Angeles Theatres completed in 1926