BackTom Mix and "Tony" make special appearance
February 23, 1929
From 1926 through the 1960's, Shea’s Buffalo Theatre thrived as a cultural landmark, hosting Hollywood premieres and local events as part of the iconic 'Wonder Theatre' era.
The 1920's
Bing Crosby headlines
April 29, 1929
Jack Benny headlines
October 20, 1928
Shea's ushers dressed in their special grand opening uniforms.
October 18, 1928 - Ginger Rogers at Shea's Buffalo
Photo Credit: The Buffalo Times - Sunday February 7, 1926
Photo Credit: The Buffalo Times - Sunday February 7, 1926
The 1930's
Ray Bolger "The Eccentric Dancer" (later better known for playing the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz) headlines
July 7, 1930
Baritone George Dewey Washinton headlines
August 5, 1930
Michael Shea opened his first theatre in 1881 - and was still entertaining Buffalo by 1931!
Did You Know? Willis Haviland Carrier invented air-conditioning in Buffalo, NY!
George Burns and Gracie Allen headline
May 20, 1932
The Zany Ritz Brothers Headline
October 29, 1932
Dance team of Buck and Bubbles headline
June 27, 1933
Great Comedy Team of Smith and Dale appearing in "Crazy Quilt"
September 3, 1933
Great "Hoofer" George Raft headlines
May 26, 1934
July 26, 1936 - Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra featuring Harriet Hilliard (later better known for radio and tv series, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet) headline
Rudy Vallee "Voe-dee-od-does"
February 14, 1937
Phil Spitalny's "All-Girl Orchestra"
April 8, 1939
Glenn Miller and his Orchestra
October 14, 1939
December 15, 1939
"Show World Pays Tribute to Shea"
After over 50 years of show business and and giving his name to no less than 15 theaters, Michael Shea died on May 16, 1934 at the age of 72. His death was widely covered in local newspapers, which emphasized both his impact on the city’s cultural scene and his reputation as a beloved community leader.
From Michael Shea's Last Published Interview
"I've lived through worse times than these and come out on top, and I'm going to again. You can't keep a young Irishman down - at least, not a young Irishman who'll be 75 next All Fools' Day. Know what I'm going to do? I'm going to book more and better shows and forget about what money I've lost. I'm going to get it back."
"There's just one thing I wish you'd do, Mike." vaudevillian Joe Laurie Jr. urged. "I wish you'd let me write your biography."
"Not a chance, you young jackanapes. I don't want any books written about me. And what do you know about show business?"
"There's just one thing I wish you'd do, Mike." vaudevillian Joe Laurie Jr. urged. "I wish you'd let me write your biography."
"Not a chance, you young jackanapes. I don't want any books written about me. And what do you know about show business?"
“Mike Shea was a decent man and a great showman and the best liked and most popular theatrical manager in America. He was my friend for 40 years. He did all his own booking and in an amazing manner. Now here was a man, a simple soul from upstate, no continental sophisticate, and yet he's come down to New York and pick a foreign act at the snap of his fingers - and that act never failed. Why in those days his bills made his house in Buffalo the finest show shop in America. He had an astonishing flair for picking what the public liked.” - George M. Cohan
Shea's theaters
• Shea's Music Hall (1892 - 1893)
• Shea's Tivoli (????)
• Shea's Garden Theatre (1898)
• Shea's Teck Theatre (1900 – 1982)
• Shea's Vaudeville House (1905)
• Shea's Elmwood Theatre (1914 - 1965)
• Shea's Hippodrome (1914 - ????)
• Shea's North Park Theatre (1920 - today)
• Shea's Criterion Theatre (1920 - 1924)
• Shea's Riviera (1920 - today)
• Shea's Century Theatre (1921 - 1980s?)
• Shea's Buffalo Theatre (1926 - today)
• Shea's Kensington (1926 - 1979)
• Shea's Roosevelt (1927 - 1962)
• Shea's Bailey (1928 - 1977)
• Shea's Seneca (1929 - 1970)
• Shea's Great Lakes Theatre (???)
• Shea's Niagara (1940 - 1960)
• Shea's Tivoli (????)
• Shea's Garden Theatre (1898)
• Shea's Teck Theatre (1900 – 1982)
• Shea's Vaudeville House (1905)
• Shea's Elmwood Theatre (1914 - 1965)
• Shea's Hippodrome (1914 - ????)
• Shea's North Park Theatre (1920 - today)
• Shea's Criterion Theatre (1920 - 1924)
• Shea's Riviera (1920 - today)
• Shea's Century Theatre (1921 - 1980s?)
• Shea's Buffalo Theatre (1926 - today)
• Shea's Kensington (1926 - 1979)
• Shea's Roosevelt (1927 - 1962)
• Shea's Bailey (1928 - 1977)
• Shea's Seneca (1929 - 1970)
• Shea's Great Lakes Theatre (???)
• Shea's Niagara (1940 - 1960)
The 1940's
Red Skelton with Harry James and His Orchestra
January 1, 1940
Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra (with Frank Sinatra and Buddy Rich) headline
April 21, 1940
Theater Organists
Some of the most famous theater organists of the day played the Shea's organ at one time or another including Lloyd Del Castillo who dedicated the instrument when the theater first opened in January of 1926; Harold Ramsay, a well-known Canadian organist; Henry Murtagh who played it for several years; the renowned Jesse Crawford who played it for two weeks during the theater's eleventh anniversary celebration in January 1937 and a host of others. With the outbreak of World War II the organ ceased to be used on a regular basis, the last musician to have played it being Arthur Crosson, a well-known local organist. The last time the organ was played professionally during this time was in July of 1964 when the American Theater Organ Enthusiasts held their annual convention in Buffalo, played by Pearl White, Gaylord Carter, and Lowell Ayars during their convention.
Photo Credit: Buffalo Evening News - April 4, 1947
Advertisements for various Shea's theatres playing Easter Weekend
United States vs. Paramount Pictures
When Shea's Buffalo Theatre first opened, Hollywood film studios sold their films to movie houses under a practice called "block booking", where a movie theater was obligated to buy all of the studio's films to show - until 1948, when the Supreme Court ruled in United States vs. Paramount Pictures, a landmark antitrust case that lead to the decline of the Hollywood studio system and forced the ownership of Shea's Buffalo to be eventually sold to Loew's theatre chain.
Photo Credit: The Buffalo Courier-Express - February 20, 1949
Following the fallout of United States vs. Paramount Pictures, the Shea's theater chain was divided and sold off, with Shea's Buffalo Theatre acquired by Leon Lawrence Siddell of Loews Inc.
Vincent McFaul
As twelve-year-old boy growing up around Vermont Ave, Vincent McFaul already knew he wanted to work in a theater. His neighbor suggested that he try taking a job during his summer vacation at the theater box office - that theater being Shea's Garden Theater and that neighbor being Michael Shea.
Vincent McFaul continued working for Shea's - and when he graduated college, he became the manager of the Shea's Criterion, the Shea's Hippodrome, the Shea's Buffalo, and after Michael Shea's death in 1934, now in charge of the Buffalo Theaters Inc. "It's the only job I've ever had and it's the only business I know anything about."
Photo Credit: The Buffalo Times - May 16, 1926
"You need grit and gumption to get anywhere in the theater business!"
Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - March 2, 1949
“A properly conducted theater is of the same importance to a community as a school or church. Such a theater contributes to the general welfare of the community, because wholesome recreation is essential to its well being.”
- Vincent McFaul
Photo Credit: The Buffalo Times - July 15, 1934
The 1950's
Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - April 7, 1950
The iconic (original) Shea's blade sign came down after 25 years of lighting up Main Street. It was a new era for Shea's Buffalo, now known as Loew's Buffalo.
This photo shows the new blade sign being installed in 1951.
At the time this photo was taken, Laube's Old Spain (the future site of Shea's Smith Theatre) had moved in next door. That mural on the brick wall is still here today!
Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - July 18, 1955
In 1955, Shea's Buffalo suffered another loss: the death of Vincent McFaul, who had headed the Shea's theaters since Michael Shea had passed. Vincent had worked at Shea's Buffalo Theatre as its manager since opening day and had guided it through the end of vaudeville to the birth of the television
Main Street at night, 1950's
Photo Credit: December 1962
Photo Credit: December 1960
Shea's Buffalo Theatre employees posing for a picture during a Christmas party.
The Marketing of Ed Meade
Ed Meade (1908 - 1988) was hired in 1928 to work for Shea's (then a chain of 13+ theatres) in its publicity-advertising department as Assistant Advertising Manager. By the late 1940's, after Michael Shea had died and Shea's Buffalo Theatre was managed by Loew's and Paramount Pictures, Ed Meade was now the Advertising and Publicity Manager, and would later by promoted to Supervising Manager (and eventually City Manager) of Shea's Buffalo from 1956 - 1961. Under Meade's guidance, Shea’s navigated both the highs of the golden age of cinema and the shifts in the industry, remaining a thriving hub for entertainment in Buffalo. Thanks to Ed, we have these firsthand historical archives of the advertising efforts being promoted by Shea's Buffalo Theatre throughout the 1950's from his personal scrapbooks, that were donated to Shea's Performing Arts Center by his family.
Ed Meade (left) and Ed Miller, were long-time friends and business associates. This photo was taken in Meade's advertising office in the Wurlitzer Building, looking over autographed photos of Hollywood stars who appeared in Buffalo theatres during their carees.
During the 1950's, Ed Meade embraced Hollywood promotional stunts tailored to the movie’s setting, including themed giveaways, models, and elaborate lobby displays.
Promoting the courtroom drama Trial, Shea's Buffalo used street marketing stunts, like this character in a mock juror's outfit, inviting passersby to experience the suspense as part of the 'public jury.'
Shea's Buffalo Theatre pulled out all the stops to promote Valley of the Kings, bringing camels to Main Street to capture the spirit of ancient Egypt.
Note the ticket price - $0.70 for Adults and only $0.35 for Children!
Marketing for the film Alexander The Great, Ed Meade's notes detail his elaborate publicity - including personal appearances by the actress Ramsey Ames, radio giveaways, study guides from the University of Buffalo given out to public high schools, an exhibition of Grecian wrestling, costume displays, and even a parade of elephants down Main Street!
Behind the scenes filming of an elephant advertising for Alexander The Great at the WGR-TV studios on the Helen Neville show.
Preparing for the screening of Alexander the Great, Shea's City Manager Ed Meade shares a moment with the actress Miss Ramsey Ames.
Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - March 26, 1956
The Fall of the Wonder Theatre
By the late 1960's, the likes of Michael Shea, Vincent McFaul, and Ed Meade were long gone, as were the old vaudeville shows and film studios. Now under the ownership of Loew's Theatres, Shea's Buffalo Theatre was falling into decline and disrepair. It was beginning to seem more and more likely that Shea's Buffalo Theatre would share the fate of the other Shea's theaters and would soon be demolished entirely...
During World War II, the organ fell into a state of extensive disrepair...the Loew Corporation had no interest in using the grand organ and the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of North Tonawanda had ceased production of new Wurlitzer organs by 1942. So the instrument sat in Shea's Buffalo Theatre, unplayed for some thirty years, rotting away. Massive leaks in the theater's roof during the 1960's caused severe water damage to the pipes and for a time there was serious thought of junking the instrument, now literally held together with baling wire and rubber bands while mushrooms had actually begun to grow in the chambers!
Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - August 27, 1969
Before Shea's Performing Arts Center had their Broadway Season, we had the Shea's Buffalo Attractions: in 1969, Loew's tried offering a subscription series for touring shows, including many touring Broadway productions like Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Neil Simon's Plaza Suite, 1776. But Loew's had trouble with booking productions, with shows being cancelled and by July 1972, the Shea's Buffalo Attractions were no longer being offered.
Photo Credit: The Buffalo Courier - July 11, 1970
Photo Credit: The Buffalo News - June 4, 1975