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==== 1960s and 1970s ==== [[File:Radio City Music Hall 3752216239 f93f8b8395.jpg|thumb|View of Radio City's proscenium]] Upon its 30th anniversary in 1962, Radio City had nearly 200 million total patrons to date, more than the entire U.S. population at the time.<ref name="Boxoffice 1963" /><ref name="Glover 1962">{{Cite news |last=Glover |first=William |date=December 23, 1962 |title=Radio City Music Hall Still Tops in Opulence |page=13D |work=The Atlanta Journal and the Atlanta Constitution |id={{ProQuest|163568202}}}}</ref> The theater had shown 532 feature films to date; the most frequent actor was [[Cary Grant]], who had appeared in 25 such films.<ref name="Glover 1962" /> Even so, officials had intended to close down Radio City Music Hall in 1962, one of several such unheeded announcements.<ref name="Press and Sun-Bulletin 1978">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26245176/radio_city_music_hall_will_close/|title=Radio City Music Hall Will Close|date=January 5, 1978|work=Press and Sun-Bulletin|access-date=December 15, 2018|location=Binghamton, NY|page=17|via=newspapers.com|archive-date=December 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216031700/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26245176/radio_city_music_hall_will_close/|url-status=live}}</ref> Radio City closed temporarily in 1963 due to fears of a power failure, and the first full-day closure in its history took place on November 26, 1963, following the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]].<ref name="Lucchese 1965" /><ref name="The New York Times 1965" /> By 1964, Radio City had an estimated 5.7 million annual visitors, who paid ticket prices of between 99 cents and $2.75 (equivalent to between ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=0.99|start_year=1964|r=0|fmt=c}} and ${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=2.75|start_year=1964|r=0|fmt=c}} in {{Inflation-year|index=US-GDP}}).<ref name="The New York Times 1964" /> The theater had evolved to show fewer adult-oriented films, instead choosing to show films for general audiences.<ref name="O'Haire 1982" /><ref name="The New York Times 1964" /> However, Radio City's operating costs were almost twice as high as those of smaller performance venues. In addition, with the loosening of regulations on explicit content, Radio City's audience was mostly relegated to families.<ref name="O'Haire 1982" /> Radio City was closed entirely for five days in March 1965 for its first full cleaning, which included changing the curtains and painting the ceiling.<ref name="Lucchese 1965" />{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=429}}<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/05/archives/music-hall-plans-a-5day-shutdown-ceiling-paint-job-and-change-of.html|title=Music Hall Plans A 5-Day Shutdown; Ceiling Paint Job and Change of Curtain Set March 1โ5|date=February 5, 1965|work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=December 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216040831/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/02/05/archives/music-hall-plans-a-5day-shutdown-ceiling-paint-job-and-change-of.html|url-status=live}}</ref> While the seating areas and floors had been cleaned regularly, the walls and ceilings had never been thoroughly cleaned and had accumulated a layer of dirt measuring almost {{convert|1/4|in}} thick.<ref name="The New York Times 1965" /> Two or three hundred workers cleaned the theater around the clock,<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 6, 1965 |title=Music Hall to Reopen After 5 Days' Repairs |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/06/archives/music-hall-to-reopen-after-5-days-repairs.html |access-date=April 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220544/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/06/archives/music-hall-to-reopen-after-5-days-repairs.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=March 6, 1965 |title=New Radio City Music Hall To Open Saturday |page=15 |work=New York Amsterdam News |id={{ProQuest|226669039}}}}</ref> and it reopened on March 8, 1965, with the film ''[[Dear Heart]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=March 8, 1965 |title=Screen: 'Dear Heart' Is at Music Hall:Geraldine Page Plays Old-Maid Postmaster |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/08/archives/screen-dear-heart-is-at-music-hallgeraldine-page-plays-oldmaid.html |access-date=April 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402002318/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/03/08/archives/screen-dear-heart-is-at-music-hallgeraldine-page-plays-oldmaid.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Repairs were also performed on the theater's organs during the nighttime.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/12/16/archives/radio-city-organ-gets-repairs-in-off-hours.html|title=Radio City Organ Gets Repairs in Off Hours|date=December 16, 1965|work=The New York Times|issn=0362-4331|access-date=December 15, 2018|archive-date=December 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216045859/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/12/16/archives/radio-city-organ-gets-repairs-in-off-hours.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 1965, Will Irwin and Rayburn Wright replaced Raymond Paige as the theater's musical directors following the latter's death.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 15, 1965 |title=Music Hall Chooses Two to Replace Paige |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1965/09/15/archives/music-hall-chooses-two-to-replace-paige.html |access-date=April 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402003820/https://www.nytimes.com/1965/09/15/archives/music-hall-chooses-two-to-replace-paige.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Russell V. Downing retired as Radio City's president in 1966 and was replaced by James F. Gould.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=January 21, 1966 |title=Russell Downing, Music Hall President, To Retire; Leaving Film Theater After 32 YearsโHis Successor Will Be James F. Gould |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/01/21/archives/russell-downing-music-hall-president-to-retire-leaving-film-theater.html |access-date=April 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402050528/https://www.nytimes.com/1966/01/21/archives/russell-downing-music-hall-president-to-retire-leaving-film-theater.html |url-status=live}}</ref> As president of Radio City, Gould expanded its programming to include events such as rock concerts and wrestling matches before he retired in 1973.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 8, 1973 |title=James Gould Retiring Jan.31 As President of Music Hall |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/08/archives/james-gould-retiring-jan-31-as-president-of-music-hall.html |access-date=April 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220543/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/08/archives/james-gould-retiring-jan-31-as-president-of-music-hall.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Radio City had its 200 millionth visitor in January 1967, a little less than two years after its renovation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 6, 1967 |title=Mr. 200-Million Walks Music Hall's Red Carpet |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/01/06/archives/mr-200million-walks-music-halls-red-carpet.html |access-date=April 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402003819/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/01/06/archives/mr-200million-walks-music-halls-red-carpet.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=January 16, 1967 |title=Radio City Music Hall Has Its 200 Millionth Patron |volume=90 |issue=13 |page=10 |id={{ProQuest|1705101675}} |magazine=Boxoffice}}</ref> Tourism to New York City started to decline by 1969, which affected the theater's attendance.<ref name="The Atlanta Constitution 1975" /><ref name="Shales 1975">{{cite news |last=Shales |first=Tom |date=March 2, 1975 |title=Radio City Music Hall: Alive and Still (Shakily) Kicking: Radio City Music Hall: Alive and Still (Shakily) Kicking |page=109 |newspaper=The Washington Post |issn=0190-8286 |id={{ProQuest|146437533}}}}</ref> Even in the early 1970s, Radio City had five million visitors a year, more than the [[Empire State Building]] and [[Statue of Liberty]] combined.<ref name="Pinkerton 1971">{{cite news |last=Pinkerton | first=W. Stewart Jr. |date=May 4, 1971 |title=Memory Lane: Radio City Music Hall Still Knocks 'Em Dead With a 1933 Formula Vast Theater, Lavish Sets, Rockettes and Bland Flicks Lure New Yorkers, Others But the Critics Wonder Why Memory Lane: Radio City Music Hall Still Knocks 'Em Dead |page=1 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133598886}}}}</ref> However, the proliferation of subtitled foreign movies had reduced attendance at Radio City.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=429}} Changes in film distribution made it difficult to secure exclusive bookings of many films, forcing Radio City's managers to show reruns.<ref name="Gelmis 1970" /><ref name="Jaynes 1978">{{Cite news |last=Jaynes |first=Gregory |date=January 6, 1978 |title='No Hope' Seen For Music Hall To Stay Open |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/06/archives/new-jersey-pages-no-hope-seen-for-music-hall-to-stay-open-no-hope.html |access-date=July 8, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=July 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708170029/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/01/06/archives/new-jersey-pages-no-hope-seen-for-music-hall-to-stay-open-no-hope.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Radio City preferred to show only family-friendly movies, which further limited their film choices.<ref name="Shales 1975" /><ref name="Pinkerton 1971" /><ref name="Gelmis 1970">{{cite news|last=Gelmis|first=Joseph |title=Exhibitionists and the Games They Play|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8uICAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56|access-date=January 18, 2013|magazine=New York Magazine|date=August 31, 1970|page=56}}</ref> As a result, popular films such as ''[[Chinatown (1974 film)|Chinatown]]'', ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'', and ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'' failed Radio City's screening criteria.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|p=429}} By 1972, Radio City had fired the performers' unions as well as six of the 36 Rockettes. The theater's management donated a painting by [[Stuart Davis (painter)|Stuart Davis]] to the [[Museum of Modern Art]] to reduce Radio City Music Hall's tax burden.{{sfn|Okrent|2003|pp=429โ430}} That October, Radio City was closed temporarily after officials could not reach an employment agreement with the theater's musicians.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 12, 1972 |title=Radio City Music Hall Shuts; Labor Woes Cited |page=26 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133725999}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=October 12, 1972 |title=Dispute Shuts Music Hall |page=11 |work=Newsday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98917737/dispute-shuts-music-hall/ |access-date=April 2, 2022 |via=newspapers.com |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402181437/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98917737/dispute-shuts-music-hall/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Though the theater reopened a few days later,<ref>{{cite news |date=October 13, 1972 |title=Radio City Will Reopen; Talks Set on Labor Pact |page=18 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133612232}}}}</ref> this was the first time it had ever been closed due to staffing issues.<ref name="Shales 1975" /> Another labor dispute in 1973 forced Radio City to cut back its policy of mixed films and stage shows.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gent |first=George |date=September 5, 1973 |title=Music Hall Seeks Cutback of Shows |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/05/archives/music-hall-seeks-cutback-of-shows-talks-with-musicians-center-on.html |access-date=April 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204151718/http://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/05/archives/music-hall-seeks-cutback-of-shows-talks-with-musicians-center-on.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Wall Street Journal 1973">{{cite news |date=September 14, 1973 |title=Radio City Music Hall Extends Pacts 5 Days |page=29 |work=Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |id={{ProQuest|133757177}}}}</ref> A total shutdown was only avoided when the musicians' union agreed to a three-year contract in which musicians would be paid for 38 weeks per year, rather than 52.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 18, 1973 |title=Music Hall Orchestra Accepts Cut in Annual Work Guarantee |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/18/archives/music-hall-orchestra-accepts-cut-in-annual-work-guarantee.html |access-date=April 2, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=April 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402181436/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/09/18/archives/music-hall-orchestra-accepts-cut-in-annual-work-guarantee.html |url-status=live}}</ref> This allowed Radio City's managers to schedule other forms of live entertainment for the theater during the remaining 14 weeks.<ref name="Shales 1975" /><ref name="Wall Street Journal 1973" />{{sfn|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|p=581}} These live shows were split into two periods of seven weeks.<ref name="The Atlanta Constitution 1975" /> Radio City's managers attempted to draw patrons by using the stage for rock concerts, pop festivals, and telecasts of boxing matches.{{sfn|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|p=581}} Nonetheless, Radio City continued to lose $600,000 a year by early 1975. It cost $55,000 a week just to rent the theater, plus another $20,000 for employee salaries.<ref name="Shales 1975" /> There were just 3.5 million visitors annually, despite high attendance during Christmas, Easter, and the summer. Yet again, rumors spread that the venue would close, but Radio City's managers denied these claims.<ref name="The Atlanta Constitution 1975" /><ref name="Shales 1975" /> Architectural critic [[Ada Louise Huxtable]] wrote that Radio City was still more popular than other visitor attractions, such as the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], the [[American Museum of Natural History]], and the [[Bronx Zoo]].<ref name="Huxtable 1978">{{Cite news |last=Huxtable |first=Ada Louise |date=March 19, 1978 |title=Architecture View |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/19/archives/architecture-view-is-it-curtains-for-the-music-hall-architecture.html |access-date=July 8, 2022 |archive-date=July 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708173935/https://www.nytimes.com/1978/03/19/archives/architecture-view-is-it-curtains-for-the-music-hall-architecture.html |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Stern|Fishman|Tilove|2006|p=582}}
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