With seemingly endless mountains of publicity and scandal surrounding the studio-bankrupting production of “Cleopatra,” the Los Angeles premiere was guaranteed to attract legions of fans, press, and onlookers when it took place at the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Blvd on June 19, 1963 (which was a Wednesday, which seems an odd day for something like this.) As we can see, the crowds packed the sidewalks of both sides of the street, and a string of 12 valet parkers are lined up outside the front waiting for the stream of VIP cars that I imagine snaked along Hollywood Blvd for miles.

Casey W. said: “But, back then, Wednesday was the day new movies came to theaters to run for the week. But yes, it does seem odd that a major premier would be staged on an ordinary day.”

Casey also said: “The post-production for Cleopatra was a boon for studio musicians and non-studio musicians in L.A. at the time. My dad got plenty of work doing the music for the movie, but then he would have anyway–dad played bass in just about every Twentieth Century movie, (and every one scored by Alex North) except those with exclusively jazz scores. The orchestra for Cleopatra was huge, and many musicians at the periphery of the motion picture industry worked on it, particularly percussionists. I remember my kettle drum lessons were cancelled because Bob Kraft, my instructor, along with every other top-notch percussionist in L.A., was busy recording the score for Cleopatra’s entry into Rome.”

This is how the Pantages looked in June 2021. Not too different from 58 years before. Even the Frolic Room looks exactly the same!