The Cornwall Local Thursday, February 18, 1960
Attend Meeting on Better Movies
Among the Cornwall persons who attended the 20th Century-Fox screening session in Newburgh last week were: Mrs. Michael I. Donahue and Mrs. Jack Reilly; and, standing, Owen McGorman, manager of Storm King Theatre; Brig. Gen. Nelson R. Dingles III, superintendent of NYMA; Jack Reilly; and Walter Peck.
The group viewed Dog of Flanders, 20th Century-Fox’s "family picture" for the month of February, enjoyed a buffet lunch, and participated in a discussion on how to raise the standards of films.
Cornwall Local April 14, 1960
Chicken Thief Detecting Society Easter Egg Hunt Saturday Morning
The Cornwall Chicken Thief Detecting Society (CCTDS) will hold its annual Easter Egg Hunt for the children of the area on the Town Hall grounds this Saturday morning, starting at 10 a.m. In the event of rain, the event will be held in the Storm King Theatre.
Last year, over 200 children attended; even more are expected this year. Over 500 prizes will be given out, and 800 Easter baskets are being prepared for the youngsters.
The CCTDS committee includes Mr. Joseph Kinsler (general chairman), Mr. Howard Moulder, Mr. Matt Westall, Mr. John Blaine, Walter Earl, and Bud Robinson.
The committee plans to hide the eggs over a larger area this year. The management of the B & K Restaurant will treat CCTDS members to a bacon and egg breakfast before the hunt.
There will be three age groups:
2 to 4 years – in charge of Howard Moulder
5 to 8 years – in charge of Matt Westall
9 to 12 years – in charge of John Blaine
Prizes will include a bicycle (grand prize), a radio, large stuffed bunnies, games, hats, and toys of all kinds. Some of the prizes are now on display at the Canterbury Snack Shoppe and the B & K Restaurant.
Joseph Kinsler asks all members of the organization to be on hand Saturday morning to help place the eggs and assist the committee.
Cornwall Local, May 24, 1962
Mazzarelli Buys Storm King Theatre Building Here
It was learned this week that Owen McGorman has sold the Storm King Theatre building in Cornwall-on-Hudson to Samuel Mazzarelli, a Newburgh real estate investor, as of April 26.
According to Mr. Mazzarelli, Mr. McGorman will continue to run the theatre until such time as he [Mazzarelli] takes over its management. He has elaborate plans for redecorating and renovating the interior, and asks the patrons of the theatre to bear with him until the work is completed.
Mr. Mazzarelli said he hopes to install a roll-up screen, which would enable him to present live shows in addition to films. He also noted that Walter Peck, the projection equipment operator, will be retained when he assumes management of the theatre.
The building currently houses:
McLaughlin's Bar and Grill
The Roland Ashcroft Insurance and Real Estate Agency
One vacant store, which is expected to be rented soon.
Mr. McGorman has owned the building since 1953
The Cornwall Local
October 25, 1962
AN APPEAL
An appeal to some of the parents of Cornwall was issued this week by Mrs. Ella Katz, proprietor of the Storm King Theatre, who reports that loud talking and misbehavior by a small group of teenagers have been disturbing the enjoyment of other patrons.
“It’s only a small group of 8 or 10,” Mrs. Katz said on Monday. “The majority of the boys and girls are well-behaved.”
She indicated that, moving forward, those who continue to cause disturbances will not be welcome in the theatre.
Mrs. Katz recently took over management of the Storm King Theatre and has great hopes of making it a fine community theatre and cultural center — something the town can be proud of. She is working to book the best of American films, particularly those written by respected American authors.
She also has plans to clean and renovate the theatre to make it more attractive and comfortable for all.
The Cornwall Local November 1, 1962
TO THE PEOPLE OF GREATER CORNWALL
A Letter to the Editor
The Storm King Theatre appealed to you through our beam of light — The Cornwall Local — and you, good people of Cornwall, gave me your answer by appearing in 200+ at the Theatre on Sunday night. People I know never went to this Theatre before.
As a means of deep appreciation, I will read to you a story from my sketchbook of stories about your children. Here it is:
It was a lovely Sunday afternoon. We were showing “Big Red” at the Theatre, and it was filled with joyous children tense with expectation.
During intermission, the children were running in all directions — upstairs, to the soda machine, to the candy counter — but amidst this avalanche of action, of children’s emotion...
I saw a lovely little blonde girl of 5 or perhaps 6 years old, picking papers from the floor hurriedly.
As I watched her doing it, I suddenly understood how painful it must be for her to be in such an untidy place... and how many more well-behaved and well-tired little folk there are in the Theatre whose feelings are hurt in the same way.
Can you help?
The following thought dawned upon me: if only every child that comes to the Theatre would bring along a paper bag or two to put in the front of the seat and keep the place in — how wonderfully it would work out!
I've tried it out on Saturday night and it worked well. Please, let us try it on Sunday afternoons.
This is what your child taught me. Truly, as the saying goes: “And a child shall lead us.”
P.S. If the young lass of the story will appear at the Theatre to identify herself, there is something waiting for her.
MRS. ELLA M. KATZ
For: Storm King Theatre
Cornwall Local – 11/8/1962
Long Experience in Theatre Aids Mrs. Katz Plans for Storm King
“To make a simple movie house become the heart and soul of a community: a clean, warm, cozy place… something thought-provoking.” In her own words, this is how Mrs. Ella Katz feels toward her work making Storm King Theatre in Cornwall-on-Hudson “a family theatre, not just a place to escape.”
Mrs. Katz assumed the proprietorship duties of the theater in early September and, although this is her first position in this capacity, she brings with her a wealth of experience and quite a few interesting plans for the future that may make the local moviegoers sit up and take notice.
Mrs. Katz, who has acted on stage since age 12, written a play, and put together a few short stories in the time she has been around the theater, is by no means a newcomer to the entertainment field.
Jewish by birth, Ella Katz was born in Lithuania during the time when the mighty Czars ruled everything from castles and palaces to cold, barren peasant farmhouses. The daughter of a lawyer and a mother who had written numerous literary articles, she became acquainted with her career work in the theater when she made a trip with her parents to the Middle East. There she was enrolled in a school of drama. Some years later, she returned to her homeland and attended college in Petrograd (now Leningrad). Although it was against the law for a Jew to live in this city, Ella Katz did, took her chances, and completed her studies. When she finally graduated, Ella Katz was engaged with a theatrical company in the northern part of Russia. Suddenly, the director of the company wanted to know what her stage name was and gave her five minutes to come up with one. Knowing that she would give herself away as a Jew, she assumed the namesake of a prominent French novelist at the time, Marion, and this she adopted as her permanent stage name.
Travel
With this company, she traveled a great deal, performed in many of the capital cities of Russia, and became used to the ways of the stage. “At first I was very, very happy, then they found out I was Jewish and in the middle of the night I fled for my life.”
Shortly thereafter, she was taken on by another company that toured Poland, Lithuania, and White Russia. Things were going well again as she became increasingly adept in her work. But, as before, a crisis arose and this time put a complete stop to her acting. The Germans were on the move and had seized a part of western Russia, cutting off communications and supply lines. Bombs fell and towns crumbled under the might of the iron cross. The First World War had begun.
“It was a terrible time then and life didn’t mean a thing to them (the Germans),” she said. It was only determination—and perhaps her youth, too—that inspired her, she continued, because she went to the head of the military government then and personally requested that she be able to perform in an “artistic theater.” She then recited from the famous Polish writer Mizkevitch, “a Lord Byron in his time,” and eventually was given permission to stage her plays in any language she wished, and in any part of the occupied zone.
The door to a new and bright career opened for Ella Marion then. From this time on, she produced, directed, and acted in every one of her small plays. They were done in Jewish, which for the times was dangerously uncommon. Mrs. Katz is proud that she had something to do with the actual theater reformation in Europe at a time when entertainment on this level was truly neglected.
Mrs. Katz said that her enthusiasm and desire to bring to the Jewish stage a more professional way of producing plays was the drive that she had in making her performances good.
To the U.S.
In 1920, Ella Marion came to the United States. With her came her mother and a trunkload of plays she had taken part in, and news clippings that had been written about her performances.
“I did not want to come to America when I did. I had hoped to remain in Europe and finish the work I was doing. But my mother was coming here to join her family and she would like me to be with them. I thought that someday soon I would return to Europe and continue with my career.” Continue her career she did, but in New York. She made her first stage appearance in America with the Yiddish Art Theater in a play by Osip Dymov, then in a play by Sholem Asch, the author of The Nazarene and God of Vengeance.
She made numerous other appearances in the city after this, but spoke highly of her role in Uriel Acosta, played in Hebrew in the old Madison Square Garden in the 1920s.
In 1927, Ella Marion left the theater to get married. As Mrs. Ella Katz, she settled down in St. Albans, Long Island. For twenty years, she was inactive from any theater work and devoted her time to her husband and two sons. During the Second World War, she worked as a Jewish translator for the United States until the war ended, then as a civilian employee with the U.S. government in Germany.
The Theatre Again
A few years later, her husband was killed in an automobile accident and, when her sons married, she again took up her first love—the theater. She traveled throughout the United States, wrote a book called Here We Are, dealing with the Gold Star Mothers, submitted short stories for publication in various magazines and publishing houses, and wrote a play which just recently was considered for television. While living and working in New York City with various theater groups, Mrs. Katz took up a course of study at the Columbia University School of Drama, then at New York University and at City College.
During the past summer, she was asked by a friend in the motion picture business if she would “consider taking a look at the movie house for sale in Cornwall.” She did—and “fell in love with it.”
Mrs. Katz leased the theater, began to refurbish it, and on September 16 opened the doors with her first showing, The Notorious Landlady.
“For a beginning,” Mrs. Katz said, “I want to bring the public to a full awareness of our great American writers. I hope in the future to be able to illustrate this purpose by the types of films offered.”
To accomplish this end, Mrs. Katz has scheduled for showing the works of Hemingway, London, Hawthorne, Steinbeck, and other great American writers. Her first showing of its kind was an adaptation from Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man.
“It was a total success and I want to thank one and all who made it so,” she said.
The next showing of this type will be William Faulkner’s The Long, Hot Summer, which will be shown during the Thanksgiving period.
Mrs. Katz is no crusader. She comments with some modesty:
“I work close to 17 hours a day sometimes and it doesn’t even bother me. Maybe my desire to make good… to succeed for e.j. what I am doing. To me the stage is like a temple and if one is to be good in any part of it they should dedicate themselves to it almost as religiously.”
Cornwall Local – January 10, 1963
S.K. Theatre Head Plans for Bright New Year
Storm King Theatre is looking forward to a new year filled with fine, interesting movies and some additional unusual activities, according to a release this week from Mrs. Ella Katz, manager.
Mrs. Katz outlines her hopes for 1963 as follows:
The Storm King Theatre is announcing its program for the year 1963. Based upon our immediate experience here, the management is convinced that the people of Cornwall and the vicinity appreciate and respond to a good show.
What is a good show? A show means the united efforts of an outstanding writer, director, artist, and a set of capable, talented actors — together they produce a show of lasting value which the people support and appreciate.
In the past six months, we have enjoyed huge talents such as Hemingway, Kramer, Howard Fast, Capra, and William Faulkner in superbly produced shows.
There is no reason why the year 1963 should lag in effort. On the contrary, the coming year is a very promising one. Young, talented Americans are coming to the forefront with a huge force of creative power for us to enjoy. Already, the gifted Tennessee Williams has burst into the new year with a new comedy, and a new set of young talents are spreading their wings in his Period of Adjustment.
The Storm King Theatre management is presently filled with activities for the coming year. We plan to show at least 12 dramas and comedies by outstanding Americans, five or more musicals, and several historical productions.
We are also ambitious to show a number of biographical films — the lives of great Americans from Tom Paine to Justice Black, from Emma Lazarus to Mrs. Roosevelt. Someday, a mammoth Walt Whitman will look at us from the screen.
We are rich in our national art and culture, and we haven’t even scratched the surface yet. But a whole army of young Americans are at the forefront now, and they are digging diligently.
Last year, a small group of them produced a play about George Washington on 42nd Street — and so captivating was the play, filled to the brim with laughter and thought and true artistic form, that in spite of the old, slipping newspapermen who are allergic to young noise and young minds, the finest art gallery in New York exhibited the scenery and script of that play and sold it at a good price to lovers of true art.
This is a fact.
There are other encouraging facts — in the East and in the West, in the South and in the North — and those who do not recognize the fate staring them in the face will wake up at the boom of “I Hear America Singing.”
The Storm King Theatre does not exclude, however, the accomplishments on the world’s horizon. Whenever something truly good appears, be sure that the Storm King Theatre will have it — regardless of cost.
But the town of Cornwall — where every tree, every bush, every blade of grass is permeated with history — is bound to look toward our nation for the fulfillment of its cultural and artistic needs as a stepping stone to a higher level of understanding.
Whoever ignores the abundance of creative and productive capacities of our youth — whoever looks toward world markets and foreign films as a panacea — is himself in a world of abstraction. The reality is here, in our great land, in our hardworking people who strive for achievement and who have one passionate urge — to grow ever stronger, ever higher, ever better.
Who will stop them?
A declining industry? Men who are out to make a fast buck? Or a foreign industry with men who are not even out to make a fast buck — they want the fast buck to come to them on a silver platter. And they get it, too. In return, they add vile, scandalous stories of cheap affairs and farm scenes on the screen we cleansed.
Those in the movie field who do not see it will have their own “Requiem to a Headlight.” They had better submit, cooperate, and lend a hand to capacities beyond our expectations. The names of the talented individuals mentioned above will come to our screen in their full splendor.
A Children’s Program
No sad fare for the children.
We shall never show the blond-dripping monsters and all the worlds tortured with a rape rod.
No — the movie industry underestimates the cleverly developed little ones. They want a feeling of love, tenderness, and above all, purity and good, healthy humor.
Is that asking too much?
This is a plea to the movie industry from an exhibitor.
Thus, we are girding ourselves to stand on our own, with a number of real fine shows, some musicals, three live shows, one or two filmed operas, perhaps a ballet, and stories of poets and patriots by women poets — in person — and a number of pets, catching jolly socials, and an outstanding children’s program.
We have every reason to hope our distinguished public will be with us through with flying colors, and may the new year advance us all to a richer level of human dignity, happiness, and a deeper understanding of life itself.
— Ella Katz
Cornwall Local – March 26, 1965
To the Editor:
The Cornwall Local
Cornwall, N.Y.
We wish to express our appreciation to Mr. Demoriac, the remarkable English teacher at N.Y.M.A., for his initiative in bringing the motion picture "Henry the Fifth" to our theater for his students.
Our deep appreciation is also due to the untiring efforts—at personal sacrifice—of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert DeFreest, who made it possible for their students to see this important film.
We also extend our thanks to Police Officers Ernest Riley and James Craig for helping to maintain order in the theater.
Because the public response was unusually great and the theater became overcrowded, some people were unable to fully enjoy the show. Therefore, the management of Storm King Theatre has decided to bring Henry the Fifth back once more. Those who purchased tickets but were unable to enjoy the film thoroughly will be admitted free to the new showing. The date will be announced in this newspaper.
In all sincerity,
For the Storm King Theatre
Mrs. Ella M. Katz
Cornwall Local – May 27, 1965
OPEN LETTER TO VILLAGE CHIEF OF POLICE MAHER
Today it was brought to my attention that on Monday evening, May 17, while I was absent from the theatre due to illness, a young boy climbed up to the balcony of the theatre and was engaging in mischief. Fortunately, you noticed it, and by your quick action, you have probably saved that boy from a terrible accident.
The projectionist, not knowing you and not being aware that you are also the inspector of the theatre, was most uncooperative and ill-mannered toward you. I therefore wish to publicly express my regret and my apologies to you, Mr. Maher. I also want to extend my appreciation for the excellent services you and your men have rendered the Storm King Theatre—and, most importantly, for saving a youngster’s life.
Mrs. Ella M. Katz
Storm King Theatre
Cornwal Local 1963 Theter Help Wanted Ad
Help Wanted – Male
HELP WANTED
Part-Time.
Sober, honest, mature male attendant needed.
Cornwall Local – December 2, 1965
Darien Youth Fined for Taking Theatre Posters
Frank M. White, 18, of Darien, Conn., a student, was arrested on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. by Police Chief Harry J. Maher on the charge of malicious destruction of property.
The chief had received a call reporting that someone had broken the lock on the display window at the Storm King Theatre and had taken the large posters advertising coming attractions.
White was picked up near the theatre carrying the rolled-up posters.
He was arraigned that same evening before Justice of the Peace A. John DeMiceli. White was fined $25 and ordered to pay Mrs. Ella Katz, the theatre owner, an additional $25 for the broken lock and ruined posters.
White’s mother drove from Darien to Cornwall and paid both the fine and the cost of the damages caused by her son.
Cornwall Local – April 28, 1966
Police Did Not State Malarkey Cut by Brother
In the April 21 issue of the Cornwall Local, it was erroneously stated that George Malarkey, 18, of 52 Willow Avenue, had been stabbed by his brother during an altercation in a car at the Village Square on April 14.
However, upon double-checking with Patrolman James Craig, from whom the Local secured the information on the incident, he said it was a misunderstanding and that he did not report that the younger brother had stabbed the older brother.
John Malarkey, father of the two boys, made a statement to The Local on Friday night to clarify what had happened.
According to Mr. Malarkey, his son Larry had been given permission to attend the Storm King Theatre on the understanding that he would be home by 11 p.m. His brother George had gone to pick him up.
Young Larry, according to his father, exited the theater around 8:45 p.m. and was sitting in the passenger seat of another boy’s car when George arrived and approached the vehicle to persuade his brother to come home with him.
Larry told George he had permission to stay until 11 and would walk home. An argument ensued, and George attempted to force his brother to leave, but Larry resisted, putting his hands behind his back and lying down on the seat, Mr. Malarkey reported.
While George was attempting to pull his brother from the car, Patrolman Craig, noticing a disturbance, arrived on the scene and attempted to pull George away from his brother. In some unknown way, the 18-year-old boy (George) was stabbed in the back — through a heavy Army jacket — causing injuries that required hospitalization for three days. One wound required nine stitches, according to Mr. Malarkey.
He further told The Local that there were only seven boys in the Square at the time and that they were not fighting.
Mr. Malarkey also stated that, at the arraignment of his older son (George) on a disorderly conduct charge for having caused a disturbance, held before Justice of the Peace John DeMiceli, he asked to have the part about the boys “fighting or struggling in the Square” stricken from the police information. Judge DeMiceli confirmed this on Monday.
Mr. Malarkey declared that there was no animosity between his sons and that they were very fond of each other.
"A stabbing by either of them is beyond a question of doubt," he said.
“I want to get to the bottom of this and have the assailant apprehended,” he told The Local
Cornwall Local – November 24, 1966
Following Complaint, Mayor Orders Inspection of Storm King Theatre
Following a complaint regarding an alleged disturbance at the Storm King Theatre on October 21, Mayor Peter C. Faurot has ordered a full inspection of the theatre premises.
The complaint referred to a fracas allegedly involving 50 teenagers, during which firecrackers were discharged, a smoke bomb was set off, and a near-riot ensued. Chief of Police Harry J. Maher confirmed that he and Patrolman Robert Cooney were called to the scene that evening and dispersed more than 50 teenagers, escorting the bulk of them to the village line. Chief Maher noted that most of those involved were from outside the village, and since there was no clear evidence of a law being broken, no arrests were made.
The Night Mrs. Katz Left the Theater
(As remembered by Tom Hagood, not from The Cornwall Local)
This incident marked the end of Mrs. Katz’s time at the Storm King Theater. The last movie ad to appear in The Cornwall Local under Mrs. Katz ownership was for Dear John. She closed the theater in December 1966, not long after what became known as the Fantastic Voyage riot — a night that effectively chased her from operating it as a movie theater.
Tom Hagood was there that night — October 21, 1966 — and he remembers it vividly. It was a big deal in town. Despite rumors over the years that the trouble came from “out-of-towners,” Tom clearly recalls seeing kids from Cornwall High School in the audience. He can still picture their silhouettes against the blank movie screen.
The film was Fantastic Voyage, but it was abruptly interrupted when the second reel didn’t thread properly. It was going to take some time to fix — too much time for a restless audience of teenagers.
The crowd started yelling, “Give us our money back!” — then came the popcorn and candy, flying through the air.
That’s when Mrs. Katz entered the auditorium, trying to calm the kids down, explaining what was happening. But by then, the mood had shifted. She wasn’t the most patient or articulate business owner, and the insults and shouting may have been the last straw.
“I think she’d had enough of people screaming obscenities at her,” Tom recalls. “She just said, ‘Movie’s over! Time to go.’”
That did not calm things down. People got up — not to leave, but to head for the lobby demanding their fifty cents back, while others started rocking the seats. That’s when Tom left.
He remembers standing — he thinks it was on the corner of Duncan and Hudson — watching as police arrived and crazed teenagers spilled out onto the street, still yelling, still fired up.
“I’m pretty sure my brother was with me — I’ll ask him what he remembers,” he says. “But I felt bad for Mrs. Katz. I didn’t know her story, but I always suspected she’d had some hard knocks.”
It was a big night in the village — and when the curtain closed for Mrs. Ella M. Katz at the Storm King Theater.