Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Candy Man at LCE METREON

This is topic The Candy Man at LCE METREON - SF in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=004429

Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 01-07-2006, 12:18 AM:

Here's another reason why that cash cow LCE METREON in San Francisco is so popular. I've seen him 'perform' once (Before Episode 3), and it was quite fun.

http://www.ebar.com/arts/art_article.php?sec=film&article=102

The candy man can!
Joe Rukus plies his wares at Loews Metreon

One doesn't usually go to a multiplex cinema to watch stand-up comedy. But to patrons at Loews Metreon in San Francisco, concession-cart attendant Joe Rukus has definitely become part of the show.

On weekends and select holidays, Rukus wheels his concession cart into the theatre's 16 screening rooms. People waiting to see King Kong, Munich or The Chronicles of Narnia are, courtesy of Rukus, treated to a live performance, the likes of which have not been seen in a local theatre since the glory days of vaudeville.

"Good evening and Happy Saturday," Rukus proclaims in a loud, happy voice, a cheerfully zany smile on his face. "As the operator of your concession cart, I'd like to share with you a few thoughts on the New Year. New Year's is a time of deep personal reflection. It may be a time of finally conquering those frustrating computer spreadsheets. Or maybe vowing to build a replica of Michaelangelo's David out of marshmallows!"

Many in the audience are stunned. Others applaud even before Rukus starts speaking. When he's done, he has his audience literally eating out of his hands, which fares well for his concession-cart sales.

Joe Rukus, candy man, who never contemplated a life in show business, has become a local celebrity with a cult following. He was listed in the SF Weekly's "Best of the Bay" last year.

So who is Rukus? What moves him to add this much-needed touch of old-fashioned stand-up comedy to the often-bland multiplex experience?

Rukus is 39 years old, and has been in San Francisco for about a decade. Born in Colchester, Connecticut, he came here after running a travel agency in Cincinnati. It was his own business, which he sold because he felt it was time to leave.

"I felt I could be gay here," he says. "I came here often on business. I love the climate, the diversity, the creative, liberal attitude."

How did his highly unusual act come about?

"I was wheeling my cart around. I found myself staring at people. I could always talk to anyone, it's a gift I have that I truly appreciate. I thought I'd put a little personality into a situation that can be very impersonal. So I'd go out and see what could work. People loved it!

"I've always admired live shows. I do this 20-30 times a night. There's a challenge to keeping it fresh each time that I like. I love to see the reaction of people, the crowd carries me. I draw off the applause. It's the best high in the world!"

When going about his daily life, Rukus keeps his eyes wide open, looking for things that can inspire his routines. He tries to keep his monologues topical and seasonal, and changes them monthly. He rehearses all day long, sometimes aloud, sometimes quietly in his head. He plays his act to perfection, and has become, in a sense, a working actor in San Francisco.

Rukus can also attract quite a bit of attention in the Loews hallway. It is not unusual, as he wheels his cart from theatre to theatre, to hear him singing the Brady Bunch or Gilligan's Island themes, or the classic Sammy Davis, Jr. tune "The Candy Man." Rukus has learned how to command the attention of his audience.

But how does the Loews management team feel about their new star?

"They think the act is awesome. I thank them for being so supportive. I started doing this without permission. I owe them for allowing me to develop this and for not editing me."

And what about taking his now fully-developed act on the road, perhaps to a comedy club?

"Oh, I've thought of that," says Joe Rukus, with a smile. "Let me work up the nerve first!"

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 01-07-2006, 03:06 AM:

It seemed that Cineplex Odeon was real big with the "hawking carts".

About the only company at the time that would push those turquoise hawking carts into the auditorium and concessionairs carrying around hawking trays to service the people who didn't want to stand in line at the snakbar - just that with this individual, he's made an enjoyable profession at hawking.

I remember when the hawking came out 1980 or so. Carrying around that customized "cigarette tray" with holes in it to hawk drinks and popcorn, wearing the moneybag and change clicker around the waist, selling my goods to the passerbys by the entranceways of the auditorium....

-Monte

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 01-10-2006, 02:29 AM:

quote: Monte L Fullmer
remember when the hawking came out 1980 or so.

They've been selling concessions by folks wandering through the auditorium with a tray or cart for hundreds of years, & still do! It seems like when it gets revived, someone "remembers" it from before.

Usually they'll sell in the auditorium if the concession stand is too mobbed. I heard a guy in NYC call the roving concessions guy the SAME THING he was called back in the vaudeville & burlesque house days: a candy butcher.

They've got a couple of shots of selling concessions in the auditorium in "The Smallest Show on Earth".

Posted by Dick Vaughan (Member # 540) on 01-10-2006, 03:07 AM:

quote: Monte L Fullmer
I remember when the hawking came out 1980 or so.

"Hawking" goes way back in cinemas and live theatres in the UK. The ice cream girls would appear at the front of the cinema in each of the side aisles in the interval between the shorts/B feature and the main feature.

Check out the Monty Python Albatros Sketch for a different slant on this

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 01-10-2006, 08:38 AM:

Indeed, many booths of a certain age here in the UK will have a wee switch someplace labelled 'sales spot' or something similar. The usher/ette would stand in position, and you switch on a wee spotlight so the audience could come and buy without breaking their necks.

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 01-10-2006, 10:50 AM:

At Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, young women hawked fruit in the "pit" during performances, to the standing "groundlings", in what would be the orchestra floor today.

These "orange girls" had a bad reputation, as many were thought to sell their favors as well as fruit.