Hudson Theater

I sometimes do public speaking at industry events or at company meetings. I'm told that I am, at best, a mediocre speaker unless I'm really passionate about something. That passion seems to give me the words and to animate me in a way that makes me much more interesting than usual. It also seems to enable me to even deliver a joke properly when normally I'm terrible at telling jokes.

So what does all that have to do with The Hudson Theater in New York? I was staying at the Millennium Broadway hotel next door recently and I just happened to come across the write up below about the history of The Hudson Theater. It brought back a wonderful memory. Sort of my "fifteen minutes of fame" kind of thing. Here's the story.

In the 1950's I once attended a live airing of The Tonight Show (when Steve Allen was host) at The Hudson Theater. I don't remember that much about the show but there was one funny line from the guest comedian George Gobble that has stuck with me all these years. George's funny line was:

"Have you ever felt like the world was a Tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?"

I've never forgotten that line because it fit George Gobble's personality so perfectly and also I think because I always kind of related to it myself. Many years later, I had the opportunity to deliver a talk to an industry group at that same Hudson Theater. I stood exactly in the center of the photograph above looking out, addressing a packed house. From somewhere inside me I'm told that I really rose to the occasion and delivered a passionate address. I even told George's joke turning it on myself as a way of setting the audience's expectations low, and I got a big laugh. It was one on the best moments of my life.

The Hudson Theatre was built by Henry B. Harris, an up and coming producer who later perished aboard the ill-fated RMS Titanic. The theatre was then managed by Harris’ wife, Irene Harris, the last known Titanic survivor to be rescued in a lifeboat, who went on to become the first woman ever to produce theatre in New York City. With over 90 plays performed on the Hudson Theatre stage in 20 years, it was known as one of the finest playhouses in the city. One such play, Hot Chocolates in 1929 introduced the world to Louis Armstrong who went on to become a legend in his own right.

In the 1950’s, the Hudson Theatre was home to NBC’s The Tonight Show with Steve Allen as host. During this time legends such as Bob Hope, Elvis Presley, Ernie Kovacs, Milton Berle, Sammy Davis Jr., Barbara Streisand and Vincent Price graced the theatre’s stage. The long-running daytime game show, The Price is Right also made its debut at the Hudson Theatre.

In recent years, the theatre has hosted a wide range of events and meetings including product launches by Microsoft®; American Idol® auditions; NBC’s Last Comic Standing; and Bill Maher’s “Victory Begins at Home” show, which was broadcasted on HBO®.

The Millennium Broadway Hotel’s management were hoping to recapture the elegance of turn-of-the-century New York City when they embarked on the restoration of their 102-year old historic landmark, the Hudson Theatre. They are getting that…and much more. Based on a lead from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, internationally acclaimed restoration experts from Jablonski Berkowitz Conservation, Inc. conducted tests under the painted walls, where they discovered beautiful turquoise Tiffany glass mosaics that have been forgotten over the years.

Not that the Hudson Theatre didn’t already have a distinguished association with Tiffany, the world-famous designer who New Yorkers embrace as their own. The theatre, used by the Millennium Broadway for special events and corporate meetings and presentations, has Tiffany ceilings and spectacular chandeliers, all of which are being gloriously restored to original condition. The surprise was the extraordinary Tiffany mosaic tiles around the theatre’s proscenium arch and decorating the mezzanine and balconies that had been plastered and painted over. All are being lovingly brought back to their opening night appearance in 1903.