It opened with a musical entitled Piggy. Produced by William B. Friedlander, Piggy had a weak script, but the popular comedian Sam Bernard played the starring role and carried the show for 79 performances. Bernard died soon after the show closed. Built as part of a three theater complex, alongside the 800-seat Theatre Masque, the 1,600-seat Majestic, and the Lincoln Hotel (now the RowNYC Hotel and previously the Milford Plaza Hotel), the theater features an ornate stone facade, with vaulted large windows above the street frontage. With a seating capacity just over 1,100, the theater has been home to both plays and musical productions in its 93-year history.
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| Royale Theater |
Producer John Golden leased the theatre and renamed it for himself from 1932 to 1937. The Shubert Organization then assumed ownership and initially leased the theatre to CBS Radio as the CBS Radio Playhouse. In 1940, the Royale was restored to use as a legitimate theater under its original name. On May 9, 2005, it was renamed for longtime Shubert Organization president Bernard B. Jacobs.
➦In 1947... “The Amazing Mr. Malone” (aka “Murder and Mr. Malone”) debuted on ABC radio. The half-hour weekly program starred Frank Lovejoy.
➦In 1964...‘Louie Louie’ by Seattle’s The Kingsmen was the number one song on the Cash Box music chart. For a while, the record was banned by a handful of US radio stations because of its indecipherable lyrics, which were rumored to contain some naughty words. Even the FBI investigated the song, but finally concluded that they could find nothing wrong.
➦In 1973...actress Isabel Randolph died at age 83. She was best known as the prickly Mrs. Abigail Uppington on NBC Radio’s “Fibber McGee & Molly” in the 30’s & 40’s. She played similar recurring characters in the TV sitcoms “Meet Millie,” “Our Miss Brooks,” “December Bride” & “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” plus dozens of guest spots.
➦In 2006...Chicago radio personality Mancow sidekick Cowboy Ray Hoffstatter died from injuries sustained in a hit-and-run accident in November. The driver, described as a woman who appeared to be drag racing a black Honda Civic, has never been found.
The crew on Mancow's Morning Madhouse on Q101 mostly had fun at Ray's expense because he was mentally handicapped, but he was often the funniest part of the show. After the accident, Mancow offered $5,000 of his own money as a reward for the arrest of the driver.
➦In 2013…Pittsburgh/Los Angeles radio deejay Jimmy O’Neill, the host of ABC-TV’s Shindig in the 1960’s, lost his long battle with a diabetes-related heart condition and died three days after his 73rd birthday.
