COUDERSPORT – In an era when small-town movie theatres have all
but disappeared from the American landscape, the Coudersport
Theatre continues to provide entertainment to hundreds of local
residents and visitors each week.

Its owner, 81-year-old John Rigas, continues to operate the
theater against formidable odds – changes in the public’s
entertainment appetites and Rigas’s own personal challenges. He and
one of his sons face lengthy prison terms following their 2004
fraud convictions in federal court.

The Rigases remain free, pending appeal, and the grandfatherly
figure has made certain that “the show must go on” at the little
theater where he got his start in business several decades ago.

Most recently, the Coudersport Theatre has embraced new
technology in the form of an interesting and informative Web site,
located at www.coudersporttheatre.com. In contrast to the generic
theater complex Web sites, which list show times and provide links
to movie trailers and Hollywood patter, the Coudersport Theatre Web
site is chockfull of nostalgia and other information.

There are photos of previous operators and the theater itself in
its earlier days. One section is devoted to a roster of theater
employees dating back to the 1920s, as well as personal
reminiscences.

David Snyder, who started working at the theater almost 25 years
ago, is the theater manager and the webmaster. He welcomes
additional information to fill out the ranks of former employees
and insert more reminiscences, keeping the Web site vibrant and
interesting. Snyder can be reached by e-mail at
sunpower@zitomedia.net.

Coudersport’s first theater was built about two blocks away from
the current structure after an 1880 fire that destroyed much of the
town’s business district. Others came and went over the next
half-century.

Today’s theater was built in 1922-23 at a cost of about $25,000.
It opened its doors on Jan. 16, 1923, with a showing of “A Wise
Fool,” a silent movie that required a piano accompanist.

Vaudeville acts started performing there in the late 1920s,
heavily promoted by owner E. C. Clawson, who puttered around town
playing a calliope and distributing handbills.

The Spanish motif of the theater and the bright marquee, still
present today, were Clawson’s handiwork. His P.T. Barnum style was
matched by his concessionaire, “Popcorn Joe” Nasto, whose favorite
trick was to blow the small of popcorn into the theatre through a
hole in the wall to tempt movie-goers to visit the snack bar.

“Talkies” arrived in 1930 with great fanfare and, in the ensuing
years, Hollywood produced higher quality movies such as “Mutiny On
The Bounty” and “Gone With The Wind.”

Visitors to the Web site can read about the 1941 visit to
Coudersport by actress Joan Crawford on the same night her film, “A
Woman’s Face” was showing at the Coudersport Theatre. There are
also details of the damage sustained in the 1942 flood and Rigas’s
arrival in 1951.

A wider screen was installed in 1962 and yet another new screen
took its place in 2002. A system of fully automated film projectors
was installed and a stereo system added.

Something that hasn’t changed is the curtain, installed in 1928.
It depicts the legendary Spanish knight Amadis de Gaula on the
left, and Spanish dancers beneath the mystic blossoms of a tree on
the right. The two sides portray contrasting dramatic and
philosophical ideals that can be found in every culture in every
generation.

When Rigas bought the theatre, there were movie houses in
Galeton, Shinglehouse, Austin, Port Allegany, Smethport, and
Emporium. These have all since closed. A drive-in theatre that
opened in Roulette in 1957 has also been closed for many years.

Rigas has kept admission and concession prices reasonable,
making the theater a break-even business. To Rigas, it’s more of a
service to the community and a tribute to days gone by.