King Theater closing

King Theater, where Elvis Presley’s "Blue Hawaii" had its world premiere, will close Sunday after more than 50 years of vaudeville and film entertainment.

Royal Theaters of the West, Island motion-picture chain and owners of the King twin-theater operation, said yesterday that the property had been sold to Watkins Hawaii Ltd.

It was not clear what plans the new owner has for the theater. A spokeswoman for Watkins said a buyer was in the wings.

Watkins obtained a 55-year lease on the property in the early 1980s from the Von Holt family. There were plans at that time to build a 21-story condominium, but the company has since changed hands, the spokeswoman, Maggie Parks, said yesterday.

"The property is now in escrow with an agreement to sell to a party that I cannot name at this point, Parks said. "The deal is due to close on March 17."

The theater opened in December 1935 as a combination motion picture and live-entertainment facility. The then 1,000-seat theater originally featured a semimonthly change of program, featuring first-run films from Hollywood, independent producers and Republic Studios.

The first movie was "Cuppy Ricks Returns" and the stage show was by the Franch and Marco precision dancers and trumpeter Rube Wolff and his orchestra. It was Honolulu’s last vaudeville theater.

In the 1950s first-run films from Paramount, Universal, United Artists and other major Hollywood motion picture companies were shown at the theater.

In addition to "Blue Hawaii," which set a record attendance, there were world premiere engagements of "Hawaiian Paradise" and Girls, Girls, Girls."

The theater’s fortunes declined in later years. In 1983, plans to show X-rated movies there precipitated a City Council proposal to license movie theaters and arcades operating in business districts. The city Planning Commission rejected the measure because of constitutional questions.