A theatre operator by the name of Leon Hurst owned and operated this theatre, as well as the Highland. He was well-known in the business, and active in NATO of Tennessee. Leon had these theatres until the mid-1980’s when he sold them to Consolidated Theatres of Charlotte NC. The Varsity was already a twin theatre then, the Highland had also been ‘twinned’ under Leon. Consolidated added two screens to the Highland. Carmike bought out Consolidated in 1989. I believe Carmike focused on expanding the Highland location, as most of the areas restaurants, etc. was nearby. The Varsity may have still attracted good crowds as a discount house, but it’s difficult to a desirable profit like that. I’m sure Carmike wanted to drive all the ticket buyers to one location.
A gentelman by the name of Leon Hurst operated the Highland Cineams and Varsity Cinemas in Cookeville. When I knew of him, both were twin screen theatres. When Leon retired in the mid-1980’s, his family didn’t want to take over the businesses, so he sold the theatres to Consolidated Theatres out of Charlotte NC. Consolidated added two screens to the Highland Twin, making it the quad that is talked about above. Carmike acquired these theatres when Consolidated sold a bulk of their locations to them. I guess Carmike replaced the quad with the 12 screens. I’m sure they didn’t keep the Varsity open after this.
I don’t think Martin Theatres had these theatres, unless Leon bought them from them, but I think Leon was a theatre operator for a few decades, and was very active with NATO of Tennessee.
Fairlane-Litchfield Corp sold most of their screens to United Artists in the mid-late 1980’s. Their corporate management began operating and rebuilding a new company called Litchfield Theatres LTD, going in to markets they had not been in… Nashville, the Atlanta area, and Florida, and a few other locations. I worked for them, helping to open the Courtyard 8 in November of 1988.
Foster McKissack was the main man at the Litchfield organization. Ulmer Eady was head of operations. Originally located in Easley, SC… the operation later moved to Litchfield’s resort on the SC coast, Litchfield By The Sea.
McKissack was killed in a plane accident at the small airport there. The plane overshot, and landed in the ocean. I was told his body was never recovered. Shortly after that, Litchfield’s screens were bought by Regal… who also later bought United Artists.
McKissack would whip out his white gloves when he came to one of his theatres for a visit. And, yes, he used them.
So why isn’t Litchfield listed in the ‘chains’ listing?
Fairlane-Litchfield Corp sold most of their screens to United Artists in the mid-late 1980’s. Their corporate management began operating and rebuilding a new company called Litchfield Theatres LTD, going in to markets they had not been in… Nashville, the Atlanta area, and Florida, and a few other locations. I worked for them, helping to open the Courtyard 8 in November of 1988.
Foster McKissack was the main man at the Litchfield organization. Ulmer Eady was head of operations. Originally located in Easley, SC… the operation later moved to Litchfield’s resort on the SC coast, Litchfield By The Sea.
McKissack was killed in a plane accident at the small airport there. The plane overshot, and landed in the ocean. I was told his body was never recovered. Shortly after that, Litchfield’s screens were bought by Regal… who also later bought United Artists.
McKissack would whip out his white gloves when he came to one of his theatres for a visit. And, yes, he used them.
So why isn’t Litchfield listed in the ‘chains’ listing?
Consolidated actually added the two screens, not Carmike. They actually divided all three original houses up to make the five, and closed for a period of time to do this. This was always a high-grossing theatre, as there wasn’t hardly any competition nearby at all, just the Belle Meade.
This was originally being built as a Cobb Theatre. Regal bought many of the Cobb screens in 1998, and this was one of them. From what I remember, they were just about to open when Regal took this one.
GMNash
commented about
Bama 6on
Mar 12, 2011 at 12:08 pm
Oh wait, I’m sorry… I was referring to the Riverchase 6 that opened Thanksgiving 1982… the Bama Six at Centerpoint Rd was 1983. I had already transferred back to Nashville when that was opening up.
GMNash
commented about
Bama 6on
Mar 12, 2011 at 12:06 pm
This theatre actually opened at Thanksgiving, 1982, or maybe a couple of weeks afterwards. I helped with the booth training as it was being installed and fixtured. At the time I was the Assistant Manager at the Bama Six in Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa had opened earlier that year, June 1982.
I missed that. I wonder if Carmike removed all their fixtures? I’d love to get my hands on a piece of screen. And, thanks tls… I’ve been reading comments for some time on here, just never registerd to add my two cents.
I think I have some of the exterior of Bell Rd 4-5-6, but from what I recall, there are people in them. These are from April or May of 1982. I also have some from Cinema South from the ‘80’s as well. Will try to locate them.
I began working for Consolidated in 1979 at the Bell Rd 4-5-6, so really didn’t know any employees of the chains before that. I grew up in Columbia, and worked at the Polk, later twinned as the Polk Cinema 1 & 2, and the Sundown Drive-In. Would love to chat sometime with you about the theatre days here in Nashville and the area. Maybe there are a few others around that would like to get together and compare notes.
I’m hearing the theatre is supposed to open later this year. Regal’s Bellevue 12 location was also flooded, and is still closed. The flood here wiped out nearly 1/3 of Regal’s screens here…. that’s alot of lost revenue. Has anyone heard of when they are going to reopen for sure?
This theatre had one 70mm house. I remember the manager, Dana, invited some of the competition’s managers to come see ‘Indiana Jones/Temple of Doom’ the night before it opened, summer of 1984. I worked for Consolidated at the time. We never got Paramount product, as our buyer had ticked them off over something. That eventually changed, but can you imagine not getting any of Paramount’s films?
Carmike closed 1-2-3 when they opened Hickory 8 where the Bell Road Cinemas (4-5-6) used to be. I worked at the Bell Rd in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Hickory Hollow Mall was a new mall that opened in 1978…. it was the place to go in the 70’s and 80’s. Carmike also built a 6-plex across Bell Rd (Bell Forge)to compete with Consolidated’s 6 screens. They eventually expanded it to 10 screens. All of these theatres are closed now, except for Hickory 8, which is now a discount theatre, a buck fifty. Malco is now the area theatre to go to down in Smyrna, south of Antioch. They have 14 screens, all stadium and digital projection.
Correction… this was an 8-plex, so there were 4 other films in addition to the above titles that we opened with. I’m thinking ‘filler’ until more titles came about over the Christmas season of 1988.
This theatre was a nice theatre when it opened. Litchfield Theatres Ltd., opened it in November of 1988. We opened with ‘Scrooged’, ‘Oliver & Co.’, ‘Cocoon The Return’, ‘Land Before Time’… and two others. Litchfield’s main man, Foster McKissick, died in a plane crash at Litchfield Beach’s airport in the early 1990’s. Right after this, the chain sold to Regal. The late 90’s brought about many ‘reorganizations’ in the industry. Regal decided to close allot of their multiplexes that were 8 screens or less. The Courtyard was one of them. This area could still support this theatre… especially since Opry Mills 20 and IMAX have been closed since May of 2010 because of floods. They are still closed.
Too bad AMC sold out here in Nashville. AMC runs a top operation, and was such when they had FS14. Once Carmike got it.. well, like it’s posted, it closed a few years later. If you want your theatre to go down hill… sell it to Carmike.
Cinema North was at 705 Two Mile Pike, Cinema South was at 3760 Nolensville Rd. They were the first multiplexes built as such in Nashville. Oh, and auditorium 1 at the South was the same size as auditorium at the North. All four auditoriums had nice sized screens. The South’s sound systems were all mono, never any upgrades. When the North added on two screens, Consolidated updated the sound systems, somewhat…. the largest auditorium had full stereo, all the others had ‘pseudo-stereo’… a system that took a mono track and created a stereo effect, but never had true channel separation. Better than mono, though.
CORRECTON TO ABOVE…. the man I speak of, his name was Leon Delozier, not Hurst.
CORRECTION TO ABOVE…. The owner’s name was Leon Delozier, not Hurst.
A theatre operator by the name of Leon Hurst owned and operated this theatre, as well as the Highland. He was well-known in the business, and active in NATO of Tennessee. Leon had these theatres until the mid-1980’s when he sold them to Consolidated Theatres of Charlotte NC. The Varsity was already a twin theatre then, the Highland had also been ‘twinned’ under Leon. Consolidated added two screens to the Highland. Carmike bought out Consolidated in 1989. I believe Carmike focused on expanding the Highland location, as most of the areas restaurants, etc. was nearby. The Varsity may have still attracted good crowds as a discount house, but it’s difficult to a desirable profit like that. I’m sure Carmike wanted to drive all the ticket buyers to one location.
A gentelman by the name of Leon Hurst operated the Highland Cineams and Varsity Cinemas in Cookeville. When I knew of him, both were twin screen theatres. When Leon retired in the mid-1980’s, his family didn’t want to take over the businesses, so he sold the theatres to Consolidated Theatres out of Charlotte NC. Consolidated added two screens to the Highland Twin, making it the quad that is talked about above. Carmike acquired these theatres when Consolidated sold a bulk of their locations to them. I guess Carmike replaced the quad with the 12 screens. I’m sure they didn’t keep the Varsity open after this.
I don’t think Martin Theatres had these theatres, unless Leon bought them from them, but I think Leon was a theatre operator for a few decades, and was very active with NATO of Tennessee.
Anyone have any other knowlege about this?
Oh, wow.. thanks, Jack. I think that is next door to what used to be ‘Bert’s Dress Shop’, all of this across from ‘Lucille’s Restaurant’.
I grew up in Columbia. Worked at the Polk, then the Polk Cinema I & II, and the Sundown Drive In.
Fairlane-Litchfield Corp sold most of their screens to United Artists in the mid-late 1980’s. Their corporate management began operating and rebuilding a new company called Litchfield Theatres LTD, going in to markets they had not been in… Nashville, the Atlanta area, and Florida, and a few other locations. I worked for them, helping to open the Courtyard 8 in November of 1988.
Foster McKissack was the main man at the Litchfield organization. Ulmer Eady was head of operations. Originally located in Easley, SC… the operation later moved to Litchfield’s resort on the SC coast, Litchfield By The Sea.
McKissack was killed in a plane accident at the small airport there. The plane overshot, and landed in the ocean. I was told his body was never recovered. Shortly after that, Litchfield’s screens were bought by Regal… who also later bought United Artists.
McKissack would whip out his white gloves when he came to one of his theatres for a visit. And, yes, he used them.
So why isn’t Litchfield listed in the ‘chains’ listing?
Fairlane-Litchfield Corp sold most of their screens to United Artists in the mid-late 1980’s. Their corporate management began operating and rebuilding a new company called Litchfield Theatres LTD, going in to markets they had not been in… Nashville, the Atlanta area, and Florida, and a few other locations. I worked for them, helping to open the Courtyard 8 in November of 1988.
Foster McKissack was the main man at the Litchfield organization. Ulmer Eady was head of operations. Originally located in Easley, SC… the operation later moved to Litchfield’s resort on the SC coast, Litchfield By The Sea.
McKissack was killed in a plane accident at the small airport there. The plane overshot, and landed in the ocean. I was told his body was never recovered. Shortly after that, Litchfield’s screens were bought by Regal… who also later bought United Artists.
McKissack would whip out his white gloves when he came to one of his theatres for a visit. And, yes, he used them.
So why isn’t Litchfield listed in the ‘chains’ listing?
TLS…. could you post the link you speak of from above, Tenneessee Cinemas link? Thanks.
Consolidated actually added the two screens, not Carmike. They actually divided all three original houses up to make the five, and closed for a period of time to do this. This was always a high-grossing theatre, as there wasn’t hardly any competition nearby at all, just the Belle Meade.
This was originally being built as a Cobb Theatre. Regal bought many of the Cobb screens in 1998, and this was one of them. From what I remember, they were just about to open when Regal took this one.
Oh wait, I’m sorry… I was referring to the Riverchase 6 that opened Thanksgiving 1982… the Bama Six at Centerpoint Rd was 1983. I had already transferred back to Nashville when that was opening up.
This theatre actually opened at Thanksgiving, 1982, or maybe a couple of weeks afterwards. I helped with the booth training as it was being installed and fixtured. At the time I was the Assistant Manager at the Bama Six in Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa had opened earlier that year, June 1982.
This is the cinema that I remember my grandmother taking me to in the late 1960’s. I believe it was a Charlie Brown film.
Yes.
Would be great if anyone has some pictures of these theatres, interior or exterior.
I missed that. I wonder if Carmike removed all their fixtures? I’d love to get my hands on a piece of screen. And, thanks tls… I’ve been reading comments for some time on here, just never registerd to add my two cents.
I think I have some of the exterior of Bell Rd 4-5-6, but from what I recall, there are people in them. These are from April or May of 1982. I also have some from Cinema South from the ‘80’s as well. Will try to locate them.
I began working for Consolidated in 1979 at the Bell Rd 4-5-6, so really didn’t know any employees of the chains before that. I grew up in Columbia, and worked at the Polk, later twinned as the Polk Cinema 1 & 2, and the Sundown Drive-In. Would love to chat sometime with you about the theatre days here in Nashville and the area. Maybe there are a few others around that would like to get together and compare notes.
I’m hearing the theatre is supposed to open later this year. Regal’s Bellevue 12 location was also flooded, and is still closed. The flood here wiped out nearly 1/3 of Regal’s screens here…. that’s alot of lost revenue. Has anyone heard of when they are going to reopen for sure?
This theatre had one 70mm house. I remember the manager, Dana, invited some of the competition’s managers to come see ‘Indiana Jones/Temple of Doom’ the night before it opened, summer of 1984. I worked for Consolidated at the time. We never got Paramount product, as our buyer had ticked them off over something. That eventually changed, but can you imagine not getting any of Paramount’s films?
Carmike closed 1-2-3 when they opened Hickory 8 where the Bell Road Cinemas (4-5-6) used to be. I worked at the Bell Rd in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Hickory Hollow Mall was a new mall that opened in 1978…. it was the place to go in the 70’s and 80’s. Carmike also built a 6-plex across Bell Rd (Bell Forge)to compete with Consolidated’s 6 screens. They eventually expanded it to 10 screens. All of these theatres are closed now, except for Hickory 8, which is now a discount theatre, a buck fifty. Malco is now the area theatre to go to down in Smyrna, south of Antioch. They have 14 screens, all stadium and digital projection.
Correction… this was an 8-plex, so there were 4 other films in addition to the above titles that we opened with. I’m thinking ‘filler’ until more titles came about over the Christmas season of 1988.
This theatre was a nice theatre when it opened. Litchfield Theatres Ltd., opened it in November of 1988. We opened with ‘Scrooged’, ‘Oliver & Co.’, ‘Cocoon The Return’, ‘Land Before Time’… and two others. Litchfield’s main man, Foster McKissick, died in a plane crash at Litchfield Beach’s airport in the early 1990’s. Right after this, the chain sold to Regal. The late 90’s brought about many ‘reorganizations’ in the industry. Regal decided to close allot of their multiplexes that were 8 screens or less. The Courtyard was one of them. This area could still support this theatre… especially since Opry Mills 20 and IMAX have been closed since May of 2010 because of floods. They are still closed.
Too bad AMC sold out here in Nashville. AMC runs a top operation, and was such when they had FS14. Once Carmike got it.. well, like it’s posted, it closed a few years later. If you want your theatre to go down hill… sell it to Carmike.
Cinema North was at 705 Two Mile Pike, Cinema South was at 3760 Nolensville Rd. They were the first multiplexes built as such in Nashville. Oh, and auditorium 1 at the South was the same size as auditorium at the North. All four auditoriums had nice sized screens. The South’s sound systems were all mono, never any upgrades. When the North added on two screens, Consolidated updated the sound systems, somewhat…. the largest auditorium had full stereo, all the others had ‘pseudo-stereo’… a system that took a mono track and created a stereo effect, but never had true channel separation. Better than mono, though.