Salvatore Calderone (1876–1929) was an early American movie theater magnate and founder of the Calderone chain of theaters located on Long Island, New York. He was noted as being the "Master Showman of Nassau County."
Early life
Calderone was born in Sicily, Italy and came to America in 1893 to work as a newspaperman. He was employed first by the New Orleans newspaper, The Picayune, and six years later in 1899 came to New York City to work for the newspaper, Il Progresso. During this period of his life he was also known as having an interest in a California fruit producing enterprise.
Entry into the Theater Business
He became interested in the theater business, and in 1907 partnered with his brother to acquire and manage the first of a number of theaters located in the lower part of Manhattan. In 1910 his theater located at 331 Bowery was badly damaged in a fire that broke out in the upper floors of the building it occupied. The brothers built up a successful enterprise, acquiring several movie houses which they managed until the outbreak of World War I, when attendance dropped off enough for them to end their interests in the theater business of New York City.
Expansion
Not long after the war began in 1914, Calderone decided to leave New York City, and came to Hempstead, located in Nassau County, Long Island, where he acquired the Strand Theatre, located on Front Street. This new enterprise prospered under his management and he soon decided that Hempstead and the surrounding villages of that part of Long Island retained great promise for an expansion of the movie theater business. Along with other prominent individuals he formed a corporation named the "Calderone Corporation" that built the first big movie house, named the Hempstead Theatre, which was built c. 1920. With this success, Calderone and his partners either built or acquired a number of other theaters within a very short period of time, quickly becoming the largest movie theater chain located in Nassau County.
Like so many other theater owners and managers, Calderone was in favor of allowing his theaters to open up for showings on Sunday, which was against the law in New York State in the 1920s. He, along with several other Long Island theater owners, were indicted for breaking the law and showing movies or theatrical performances on a Sunday during the spring of 1923. All involved plead guilty except Calderone, against whom the charges were dismissed, while the others received suspended sentences, however popular momentum was with the theater owners. A few years later, local municipalities on Long Island began using their power to let theaters show movies on Sundays - which was allowable under the parameters of the state law. Calderone's St. James Theatre, located in St. James, Suffolk County, Long Island, began showing films on Sundays in 1930.
By 1927, the Calderone chain operated more than half-a-dozen theaters in Nassau County, including two in Hempstead, one in Lynbrook, one in Valley Stream, one in Glen Cove, one in Westbury, and one in Mineola. Calderone soon became "...a powerful figure in the theatrical field...," and acted as the guiding hand behind the chain. During the late summer of 1927 unionized workers threatened to strike against Calderone if they did not receive higher wages, while other nearby theater owners agreed to the unions demands, Calderone refused, and the strike ensued. From late 1928 through early 1929, Calderone entered into negotiations to sell his five large Nassau County theaters to the Fox Theatres Corporation. The negotiated price was said to have been $3 million.
Movies vs. Vaudeville
During the period of Salvatore Calderone's management of his theater chain (called during his day the 'Calderone Theatre Circuit') he aggressively promoted films and vaudeville acts. Each of his theaters could accommodate both genres, and allowed Calderone to offer an immense variety of acts. Nearly every act would be booked across one or more theaters in the chain, moving from one community to another, as was noted in many advertisements during the 1920s. African American performers, who were usually part of revues or cabarets, were featured regularly. Calderone's Rivoli Theatre in Hempstead was advertised as featuring "Vaudeville Always."