Gray Theatre
Brodhead,
KY
40409
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The Gray Theatre was named after owner and operator Mr. Dan Gray, and opened its doors on August 6, 1940 with Lana Turner in “We Who Are Young” along with a few unnamed short subjects.
The Gray Theatre however had two incidents during the same month, one involving owner Mr. Dan Gray, and the other being a protest over the city’s tax. After running Dan Dailey’s “When Willie Comes Marching Home” along with a short entitled “Stop, Look and Listen”, Gray closed the theatre for 19 days beginning on April 10, 1950 due to him being served with a fourth warrant charging him with operating without a license. The ordinance which was passed 13 days prior imposed the license tax on all persons, firms, and corporations operating any type of theatre, such as opera houses, indoor theatres, and drive-ins among others. Gray was served as the first warrant on April 14, 1950 after the ordnance had gone into effect two days prior. He was charged from the warrant but was released on $25 bond without notice.
Mr. Dan Gray was so fired up at his town placing the restricted rule. He wrote up an angry statement on April 11, 1950 and was sent to the Interior Journal of Sanford three days later, as he wrote:
“As a citizen of the town and operator of a legitimate business, we bear without complaint the taxes which are paid by all - But we resent and properly oppose being singled out for discriminatory treatment. IT IS MOST UNFAIR AND UNJUST. Why should one business in town be picked to pay an extra and excessive tax, and other business places not pay, especially when that business is an asset to the town. It brings in more people and more business to the town, and benefits the town collectively as much as it does me. Mt. Vernon, Livingston, Crab Orchid, and Stanford do not pay this tax (I pay the same as they do) so why should the Town Board think I should pay it.”
The Gray Theatre then finally had a chance to reopen on April 29, 1950. This didn’t apparently go well pretty long at all. A few years later the theatre went into closure, and closed its doors for the final time in the middle of the decade.
Contributed by
50sSNIPES
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