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Revision as of 12:33, 29 January 2014
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (December 2009) |
The Pussycat Theaters were a chain of porn theaters in the 1960s to the 1980s. Pussycat Theaters had 47 locations in California. They were known for their cat-girl logo.
History
David F. Friedman and Dan Sonney founded the first Pussycat Theater. Dan Sonney invented the name, based on Woody Allen film What's New Pussycat. Friedman has also cited the Pink Pussycat burlesque club on Santa Monica Boulevard as having previously established the word "pussycat" in relation to "pink" porn, since the early 1960s. The first Pussycat Theater opened its doors in March 1966 on 444 South Hill Street, Los Angeles. Two years later there were almost a dozen locations, from San Diego to San Francisco.
In 1968, Vince Miranda bought a 50% share of The Pussycat. Miranda was unable to stop those outside California from using the Pussycat name. Miranda spent $1 million to improve the decor of the theaters. They were known for being cleaner and of higher quality than other porn theaters. The interiors featured red and gold carpeting, velveteen fixtures, beveled glass, mirror walls, chandeliers, oil paintings, murals, and merchandise bearing the Pussycat logo. Some Pussycat theaters sold popcorn from the box office to pedestrians on the sidewalk, with no obligation to buy a ticket.
Vince Miranda and George Tate (who were lovers) shared ownership of Walnut Properties, the company that owned the Pussycat Theaters. Miranda may have had exclusive California licence to show Deep Throat, a big moneymaker. His main competitors were the Mitchell Brothers.
Residents who lived near the theaters complained to the city governments that children could see the images of women on posters, ads, and cardboard stand-ups. The residents wanted the theaters shut down. The citizens groups and government sued Walnut Properties under a variety of laws, including obscenity, public nuisance, rezoning, eminent domain, The Red Light Abatement Act, and the US Supreme Court's "preponderance" redefinition of porn theaters. Walnut Properties was served with over 100 civil lawsuits filed between 1973 and 2005. Between 1977 and 1994, at the Pussycat Theater in Santa Monica, "the Los Angeles Police Department made 2000 arrests for lewd conduct on the premises." In 1981, an ordinance was passed banning adult movie theaters in Santa Monica.
In 1983, porn videotape sales began to compete with porn theaters, reducing theater attendance. At the age of 52, Vince Miranda died of complications related to cancer in 1985. George Tate and his new paramour Jonathan Cota inherited Walnut and the Pussycat Theaters. The IRS imposes a federal tax lien of $6,047,760.00 on Miranda's estate. The theaters were losing money fast. Many theaters are given to debtors in lieu of money, and/or converted to general admission theaters.
By 1990, less than 20 California Pussycats remained, and by 1992, only a dozen were still open. In 1994, Walnut Properties filed for bankruptcy, claiming liabilities of $17.7 million. George Tate spent all the money and died the same year. Jonathan Cota inherited Walnut and its debts.
By 2001, all the theaters were lost except one at 7734 Santa Monica Boulevard. Film maker Roger Corman saved the last Pussycat Theater by brokering a deal with an unnamed buyer. In 2004, Cota threatened to file a lawsuit against the Pussycat Dolls, for trademark infringement on the Pussycat name. The US Patent Office declared the Pussycat trademark to be "abandoned" and the case was dropped. Today, Cota runs the last Pussycat Theater, which now shows gay porn. The name was changed to the Tomkat, then to Studs.
Trivia
- In the 1980s, Quentin Tarantino worked at the Pussycat Theater in Torrance.
- A Pussycat Theater appeared in the background of the Hardcore (1979 film) starring George C. Scott.
- New Wave Hookers had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Pussycat Theater in 1985.
- In 2005 Jonathan Cota was sued by Barry Hartsfield who alleged that the theatres and other assets of Walnut Properties were jointly owned by Hartsfield and Cota and that Cota had embezzled the properties and their profits. A superior court judgment was entered in favor of Hartsfield and against Cota in which Hartsfield was awarded half of the assets belonging to Walnut Properties, specifically granting Hartsfield the Pussycat Theatre in West Hollywood, California. Since that date, Hartsfield and his partner, Max Cassing, have owned and operated the premises under the name of STUDS THEATRE. The theatre is now a multiplex of big screen porn theatres which feature both gay and straight movies. Jonathan Cota ceased any and all involvement in West Hollywood Pussycat Theatre in 2005, and is not associated with nor has any financial investment in STUDS THEATRE.