Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Another Ghost: Mr. Popcorn

Standing in the frontlines of popcorn here.

I can report that the concession at the newly – fantastically – refurbished Village Theater in Coronado is dishing out Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, with real butter.

I was there at the last opening ceremony, the ten o’clock, and totally blown away by what they’ve done (see Matt Lickona’s Big Screen blog), and authentic popcorn hands – greasy – to prove it.

But who gets the credit/blame for the choice of popcorn? I’m guessing Joe Ditler, buddy of mine who, one, organized the press for this event, but, two, actually was a buddy of the man himself, Orville Redenbacher.

Turns out Orville lived out his last years in Coronado. He and Joe looked so similar, people thought Joe was his son.

They got along famously too. Joe would go and – yes – share a bowl of popcorn with the affable old guy at his ocean-hugging condo.

So would he have cared whether they serve his popcorn at another institution brought back from the dead?

“He’d be thrilled,” says Joe. “He was a kid at heart. He’d look at me with those eyes and go ‘Joe…this your doing?’”

!

Joe Ditler, friend of Orville Redenbacher. Does he look like a (okay, younger) Orville or what?

Village Theater Coronado's new/old popcorn stand. Who is the happy kid? See "Miracle Kid" story, coming next

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate
Next Article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest

Standing in the frontlines of popcorn here.

I can report that the concession at the newly – fantastically – refurbished Village Theater in Coronado is dishing out Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn, with real butter.

I was there at the last opening ceremony, the ten o’clock, and totally blown away by what they’ve done (see Matt Lickona’s Big Screen blog), and authentic popcorn hands – greasy – to prove it.

But who gets the credit/blame for the choice of popcorn? I’m guessing Joe Ditler, buddy of mine who, one, organized the press for this event, but, two, actually was a buddy of the man himself, Orville Redenbacher.

Turns out Orville lived out his last years in Coronado. He and Joe looked so similar, people thought Joe was his son.

They got along famously too. Joe would go and – yes – share a bowl of popcorn with the affable old guy at his ocean-hugging condo.

So would he have cared whether they serve his popcorn at another institution brought back from the dead?

“He’d be thrilled,” says Joe. “He was a kid at heart. He’d look at me with those eyes and go ‘Joe…this your doing?’”

!

Joe Ditler, friend of Orville Redenbacher. Does he look like a (okay, younger) Orville or what?

Village Theater Coronado's new/old popcorn stand. Who is the happy kid? See "Miracle Kid" story, coming next

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Movie theater popcorn in your home!

Next Article

Joe Ditler’s great white shark encounter

But are they dangerous for us?
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.