Which theaters did Joel C. Cohen consolidate into the chain that entertains Hawaii today?
When I asked executives at Consolidated, they didn’t know.
By chance, I came upon a magazine advertisement from the early 1930s that listed the five theaters. They were the Bijou, Liberty, Empire, Hawaii and Palama.
The Bijou stood where the current Hawaii Theatre now stands. The Liberty was built in 1912 on Nuuanu Avenue makai of Beretania Street. The Empire opened in 1909 at Hotel and Bethel streets, and the old Hawaii Theatre was on Hotel Street between Fort and Bethel streets. This earlier Hawaii Theatre had been built in 1910 as the Savoy. The Palama was on North King Street, Ewa of Liliha Street.
The company whose slogan is "Entertaining Hawaii Since 1917" actually began in 1899. That’s when Cohen got into the theater business.
Cohen rented the Orpheum Theatre on Fort Street, near Kukui Street, in 1899. It would later become the Princess Theatre (1925-1969) and today is Kukui Plaza’s Diamond Head Tower. Cohen’s vaudeville acts performed to enthusiastic audiences, and business boomed.
His Orpheum Co. had 14 directors, including Prince David Kawananakoa, Prince Jonah Kuhio and Gus Schuman.
In 1899, however, a bubonic plague hit Honolulu. If ships docked, they could not leave. By happenstance, one of the greatest black entertainers of all time stopped in Honolulu on the way back to the mainland from a tour of Australia with his troupe of performers in March 1900.
Ernest Hogan was a dancer, musician and comedian. He was the co-founder of the musical genre of ragtime and the one who gave it its name. He also was the first African-American to produce and star in a Broadway show.
Hogan’s ship stopped short of the dock. Thousands in Honolulu had come down to greet it, including Cohen.
Cohen asked the troupe to perform at the Orpheum. He offered $650 a week and lodging for the troupe. The quarantine would soon be lifted, he told them.
Hogan demurred, then reconsidered. "Let me see the color of your money, mister," he shouted to Cohen.
This might not have been the first time "show me the money" was uttered, and it probably was not the inspiration for the movie "Jerry McGuire," but it got Cohen racing to the bank, he told The Honolulu Advertiser in 1931. He returned with $5,000 in gold coins that he set on a table.
Hogan hesitated, moved forward, backward and finally agreed to perform in Hawaii. Cohen put them up in the Orpheum Theatre where they put on performances for four weeks to packed houses.
When it came time to leave, some British passengers complained, and the Canadian-Australian shipping line refused the black troupe passage because of their race. Cohen suggested they sue and offered to pay the legal costs. They would split any amount recouped.
Thirty separate suits were filed. It was probably the first successful racial discrimination claim brought to Hawaii courts. The first case was heard the next week. Justice was quicker then. Hogan and Cohen won.
After the shipping line lost the second and third cases, the Canadian-American Line realized it couldn’t dock in Honolulu without risking the ship being seized for payment.
Smartly, they settled all the cases for $15,000 in gold. Hogan’s company performed for a total of 14 weeks in Hawaii and left rich men.
Motion pictures became popular around 1910, and Cohen shifted to them from live entertainment.
He acquired the assets of the Honolulu Amusement Co. in 1914 and incorporated under the name Consolidated Amusement in 1917, hence the aforementioned slogan.
The major event for the chain was the opening of the new Hawaii Theatre on Bethel Street on Sept. 6, 1922, 90 years ago this week.
The original plan was to tear down the Bijou Theatre on the same property and build a palatial New Bijou. A small, dank theater on Hotel Street was called the Hawaii Theatre. At the last minute they decided to call the new movie house the Hawaii Theatre.
The Hawaii Theatre was designed for motion pictures, vaudeville, symphonies and stage productions. It was the finest theater of its day in the islands.
Concerts and festivals are planned this week to commemorate its 90th anniversary, says theater center Director Sarah Richards.
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Bob Sigall, author of the “Companies We Keep” books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
