O.C. Theater Magnate James Edwards Sr. Dies

James Edwards Sr., the theater magnate whose name was synonymous with motion pictures for many Southern California moviegoers, died Saturday after being pulled from the waters off of his home on Newport Island.

Edwards, 90, apparently suffered a heart attack and fell into the bay about 1 p.m. while tending to powerboats moored at his home, family members said. Edwards was discovered by his wife, Bernice, and was pulled from the water by neighbors who heard her screams for assistance.

He died shortly after being taken by paramedics to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian nearby in Newport Beach, said Lt. John Blauer of the city’s fire and marine departments.

Edwards had a history of heart trouble, but he remained active as chairman and chief executive of the family-owned and operated Edwards Theatres Circuit Inc. Although he had reached the age long ago when most business executives are content to enjoy retirement and grandchildren, Edwards still reported to work daily at his offices near the chain’s flagship theater at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

“He was involved day and night with the company,” said his son, James Edwards III.

Edwards, whose long career paralleled Southern California’s burgeoning love affair with “the talkies,” opened his first theater in his hometown of Monterey Park during the height of the Great Depression.

Edwards once said that he and Bernice, his wife of 64 years, squeezed a profit from that theater by collecting tickets, serving refreshments, running the movie projector and cleaning up after patrons. “And the next day we’d get up and do it all over again,” he said.

Edwards gradually began to open additional theaters, parlaying his initial, risky investment into one of the nation’s largest regional chains with more than 500 screens stretching from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.

“He just kept going and he was always able to keep one step ahead of the others,” said Don Barton, one of Edwards’ grandchildren. “He was born in 1906 and he’d seen it all.”

Edwards moved to Newport Beach during the 1950s after suffering a major heart attack. He loved the water, family members said, and enjoyed being on and around the boats during time away from work.

But the planned retirement didn’t stick. After two years, he charged back into the theater business. Edwards once quipped that he was “sicker in those days from thinking about being sick than I was from being sick.”

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Edwards’ reentry came at a fortunate time. As Orange County’s population mushroomed during the 1960s and 1970s, Edwards opened theaters and cineplexes in newly created residential developments. By 1981, Edwards had 51 screens at 24 locations--as well as a reputation as a fiercely competitive businessman, a stern boss and a tough negotiator.

When a competitor once won a bidding war for a key theater location in Irvine, Edwards still kept pushing to buy the complex. Just hours before the theater opened, Edwards made his final offer, which the competitor accepted. As patrons lined up for popcorn, Edwards’ crews changed the marquee to the now-familiar Edwards logo.

Edwards, who saw his first movie in the early 1900s in the back room of a Pasadena storefront, never doubted that movies would survive challenges from other forms of entertainment.

“He was building theaters like gangbusters, even when people thought VCRs were going to kill movie theaters,” said Newport Beach City Manager Kevin J. Murphy. “He knew they wouldn’t.”

In recent years, he correctly identified the ongoing industry trend toward huge cineplexes with elaborate lobbies, massive snack bars and more-comfortable seating. In 1995, Edwards celebrated his 89th birthday by opening the Irvine Entertainment Center, which boasts 21 screens--including a massive IMAX theater--and 6,000 seats.

Edwards also has been solidifying his presence outside of his Orange County stronghold. He recently opened theaters in Ontario and West Covina and broke ground on the chain’s first out-of-state venture, a 21-screen theater in Boise, Idaho, which is near one of Edwards’ favorite vacation spots.

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Edwards said in past interviews that he had no intention of selling his business to United Artists or another big competitor. He encouraged his children--and grandchildren--to join the family-operated business.

James Edwards III now serves as president and chief executive; Joan Edwards Randolph, a daughter, is senior vice president and chief financial officer; another daughter, Carole Ann Ruoff, is assistant treasurer, and Don Barton, a grandson, is vice president and marketing and general sales manager.

Edwards had nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Family members said Saturday that the founder’s death would not change how the theater chain is run.

“He will be sorely missed, but the company will go on,” James Edwards III said Saturday. “Right now we’re dealing with this a moment at a time.”

In addition to being active in the local Power Squadron search-and-rescue team, Edwards also played a role in civic matters.

Robert Shelton, a retired Newport Beach city manager and former City Council member, said Edwards played a pivotal role more than 30 years ago in his adopted city by helping to gain passage of a bond issue to establish a much-needed reservoir.

“He was obviously a marvelous entrepreneur who built a theater empire from scratch,” Shelton said. “And he was a civic-minded resident who made many contributions to the community.”

But competitors and friends said that it was always obvious that the movies were Edwards’ enduring interest.

“Dad was a showman,” James Edwards III said. “He loved show business.”

Also contributing to this report was Times correspondent John Canalis.

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James Edwards Sr.

Cinema magnate James Edwards Sr., 90, died Saturday after a career that began with a one-screen theater and most recently included the industry charge into massive cineplexes like the Irvine Entertainment Center, with 21 screens and 6,000 seats. Here are a few highlights:

Oct. 9, 1930: Edwards, at age 23, opens his first theater in Monterey Park, a year after the collapse of the stock market and as the country plunges into the Great Depression. The movie: Howard Hughes’ “Hell’s Angels.” Admission: 25 cents for adults, 10 cents for children.

1934: Renovates and reopens the Raymond Theater in Pasadena, relying on what would become a blueprint for future Edwards theaters--a combination of comfort and presentation. A newspaper article at the time describes the theater as “a masterpiece of modern artistic decoration.”

1939: Opens what is believed to be the nation’s first multiplex, a two-screen venue in Alhambra. “Everyone since who says they invented [the multiplex] is wrong,” Edwards once said.

1961: With two partners, Edwards expands his empire to 90 screens. But he suffers a heart attack, sells all but 10 screens he owned outright in San Gabriel Valley, and retires to Newport Beach.

1963: With one eye on boredom and the other on burgeoning development in Orange County, Edwards jumps back into the theater business, opening a business at Harbor Boulevard and Adams Avenue in Costa Mesa. His son, James Edwards III, joins the family business--as doorman, usher and floor sweeper.

1967: Edwards opens Newport Cinema in Newport Beach. The chain’s flagship also becomes company headquarters.

1987: After 20 years of steady growth, Edwards totals 140 screens, then announces plan to add five more in Mission Viejo and six in Rancho Cucamonga.

1989: The chain reaches 220 screens in Southern California, including a 16-screen complex in Ontario--believed at the time to be the largest in the world.

1996: Edwards opens the first IMAX 3-D theater in Southern California as part of its 21-screen complex at the Irvine Spectrum.

March 25, 1997: Edwards announces plans for a 22-screen, 5,000-seat cinema complex at Huntington Center. When opened, it will bring Edwards Theaters Circuit to 500 screens in 85 complexes.