Stanford Theatre celebrating 100th birthday in classic fashion

The Stanford Theatre is going back to the silent era for a week of films June - to celebrate the th anniversary of the iconic movie palace on University Avenue in Palo Alto Known as the New Stanford when it opened to differentiate it from a predecessor next door the seat theater was built for The opening celebration included a speech by Palo Alto Mayor E A Contrell and an appearance by British film star Reginald Denny whose newest comedy I ll Show You the Town was the first feature shown An old-fashioned ticket booth stands at the entrance of the Stanford Theatre on University Avenue in Palo Alto The classic movie palace will celebrate its th anniversary on Monday June Sal Pizarro Bay Area News Group As you might expect that s also the movie that ll be shown June along with Denny s comedy That s My Daddy The inimitable Dennis James will be at the Stanford s Mighty Wurlitzer organ Elmer Vincent who also worked the keys at the Garden Theater in San Jose was the organist on opening night Of syllabus Denny who died in after a long career as a Hollywood character actor won t be making an encore But his granddaughter Kimberly Pucci will be there and will have an on-stage conversation with David W Packard the man who resurrected the theater in the late s and has kept it alive despite the advent of TCM DVDs and streaming and the challenge of the COVID- pandemic Pucci has literally written the book on her grandfather Prince of Drones The Reginald Denny Story The actor had a fascinating life beyond the silver screen He was an aviation pioneer who loaned a plane to Howard Hughes to use in Hell s Angels opened a hobby shop in Hollywood that sold model kits and inventing a radioplane an early remote control drone aircraft that he hoped could be used in World War II On June Pucci will return to the Stanford along with Suzanne Lloyd the granddaughter of film comedy pioneer Harold Lloyd That night s activity consists of Lloyd s classic The Freshman and Denny s comedy Rolling Home It s worth noting that Rolling Home is considered by several online sources to be a lost film I guess those sources don t know how serious David W Packard is about film preservation Advance tickets for the June event will be available for starting May along with passes for the silent-week film for By the way there s particular poetry to the Stanford having its anniversary celebration right on the heels of its current Fred Astaire festival which opened this week and has The Gay Divorcee and Roberta showing this weekend Packard rented the Stanford then falling into serious disrepair for a festival of Astaire s films following the actor and dancer s death in June That led to his two-year effort to restore the theater which reopened in with The Wizard of Oz You can get the full lineup for both the Fred Astaire festival and the silent-film week at www stanfordtheatre org HIGH-FLYING NEWS It s been a while since we ve checked in with the Peregrine falcons that roost at San Jose City Hall but here s an update if you haven t paid attention in a while Related Articles Priceless ers helmet gets another Hall of Fame autograph San Jose s Levitt Pavilion effort gains steam as it rolls into summer San Jose Woman s Club celebrating th anniversary in style Coming soon to downtown San Jose Coffee amaro cocktails and stuffed mice Dogs get glammed up for Humane Society Silicon Valley s Fur Ball The current two adults are Hartley the female and tiercel Monty who arrived in This season their clutch of eggs produced four eyases or falcon chicks who were banded May by the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group The quartet were named in the past week The male is Chico and the females are Willow Ocatvia and Emma Fledge watch will begin May after the Memorial Day holiday and you can keep tabs on them at www sanjoseca gov news-stories city-hall-falcons Speaking of news that s strictly for the birds the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo is holding a birthday party Tuesday for Sequoia the bald eagle that lives there and turned years old last month The hourlong celebration which is included with museum admission includes cupcakes and eagle-themed exercises for kids PAYING RESPECT Monday is Memorial Day and there are a pair of South Bay events happening to honor members of the military who have given their lives in utility to their country Campbell will have a commemoration hosted by the Campbell Veterans Memorial Foundation at the memorial next to City Hall N First St beginning at a m Campbell Vice Mayor Dan Furtado will serve as the emcee for the event Oak Hill Memorial Park in San Jose also will have its annual Memorial Day ceremony beginning at a m which will include a display of vintage military vehicles live entertainment and support for veterans JOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY The story of San Jose s Japanese locality is a riveting one that can t be informed often enough And there s a new retelling coming our way at the end of this month thanks to a collaboration among the Japanese American Museum of San Jose Wesley United Methodist Church and Contemporary Asian Theater Scene Japantown Returnings is a staged reading accompanied by live music taking place at p m and p m May at Wesley United Methodist Church in San Jose s historic Japantown Written by Mark Teagle and directed by Tasi Alabastro the experience takes audiences back in time from contemporary Japantown through five key moments in the public s past going back to the late th century More details and tickets are available at www jamsj org upcoming-events