Paying Homage to MJ
Owners of The Palace Theatre at 630 S. Broadway near the Los Angeles Fashion District paid respect to Michael Jackson by re-creating its marquee as it was in 1983 during filming of Jackson’s “Thriller” video.
The façade and marquee of the theater were used in key opening scenes of the famous video. The marquee now reads “Vincent Price, THRILLER” as it was seen in the video.
“I thought it would be a special gift for those people to look up at the marquee and to have the realization that you are standing where Michael Jackson once stood while filming the greatest video of all time,” said theater owner Shahram Delijani, whose family owns the Palace, as well as the Los Angeles, State and Tower theaters.
Delijani said that the Palace marquee can be seen in the opening musical sequence in the video.
“Michael Jackson comes running outside with a glowing smile on his face to tell his date, ’It’s just a movie.’ This image is imprinted on the minds of all Michael Jackson fans,” he said.
The marquee will remain as is for one month.
The Palace was also the site for the filming of “Gypsy” in 1993, “Sinatra” in 1992, “The Prestige” and “Dreamgirls” in 2006, starring Jennifer Hudson.
The theater was built in 1911 as the third Los Angeles home of the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit. It was originally known as the Orpheum and is the oldest remaining Orpheum theater in the world. Renamed the Palace Theatre in 1926, it became a silent-movie house and later added sound. Delijani’s theaters have been used for numerous fashion events. For more information, visit www.losangelestheatre.com.
