Waukegan Movie Theaters and Actors and Movies

During Waukegan's history, there have been a total of 43 movie theaters at 23 locations in the city.  Sadly, today there is not a single Waukegan theater showing first-run films, the nearest place to see one of those is nearby Gurnee.

Three famous ones were the Elite Theater, originally a vaudeville stage, the Academy and the Genessee which was built in 1927 and still stands.

One famous Waukegan person in the movie business was Jack Benny who appeared in the movie "Man About Town" which had its world premier in Waukegan in 1939 at the Genessee Theater.

Dorothy LaMour, George Chandler and Ray Bradbury also were from Waukegan.

"The Navy Way" movie was filmed a lot at Great Lakes Naval base near Waukegan in North Chicago, and had its world premier at the Genessee.

--Cooter