Showbiz Pizza Place - Life in America

[@AJ17_]

Growing up in Michigan, I was OBSESSED going to Showbiz Pizza when I was a kid, as for me, the animatronic show was like going to Disney.

[@WhitneyAbrina]

I grew up in Wisconsin.

[@Nunya_Bidness_53]

You know it!

[@music_istherapy8860]

Yes! I also grew up in Michigan

[@northtexasdude]

This place was magical. I can remember the way it smelled.

[@theoneleggedchef]

Im gen x Dallas native I absolutely remember.....the ball pit smelled nasty....good times.

[@WhitneyAbrina]

I remember we didn't have money to do unless we ate at home first. Still got to play though.

[@mrkevinsarmiento]

The smell was that of circuit boards and pizza😄

[@music_istherapy8860]

@@WhitneyAbrina Same here

[@1mespud]

To this day I have a shoebox filled with Showbiz/Chuck E. Cheese tickets and tokens that once belonged to my daughter now past on. I get a sense of solace rummaging through it while reminiscing and envying her childhood. Everyone be careful and stay safe out there..

[@joysoyo2416]

I'm sorry for your loss but you gave her happiness.

[@1mespud]

@@joysoyo2416 Thank and bless you so much!!

[@lauranorwar]

Those tickets were left for you. They are a connection, on so many levels.

[@jesuslovesyouandisthewayto1114]

I’m very sorry, you are loved, I know I am just a stranger but if you need to talk I’m here. God bless!

[@markdemchick3422]

God bless you. You stay safe too.

[@mr.gunzaku437]

My family was very broke back in the '80s but I remember going to ShowBiz Pizza the one time we could go. It was amazing! It's one of the few good memories I have of my childhood.

[@nickhill8612]

But I don't wanna go, 5 more minutes Pleeeese mom. Great memories and thank you.

[@craigmanning2439]

I remember playing Qbert at a Chuck E Cheese. I was 14 and was pretty good. For the first time I got to the point where I could basically play forever. Mom said it was time to go, awe...just til this game is done, it was my birthday. A crowd gathered and I think my mom was impressed. Finally an hour later she shut it down. I had a good mom.

[@nickhill8612]

@@craigmanning2439 Sounds like a great memory. I was awful at Qbert I would always jump off. I think that's the game I'm thinking of.

[@rkgaustin]

Let me tell you about a magical time to be a kid called the 1980's. A trip to Showbiz Pizza was like going to Disneyland if you were a kid in the Midwest.

[@Cream_of_wheat]

A kid in the northeast too😉🙌🏽

[@RphC74_mo]

Absolutely it was!

[@Davidjon1946]

Buffalo New York we had 2 locations

[@jonstewart9792]

I remember Billy Bob singing a song called "Roast Beef Sandwich and a Pizza" I used to have the record!

[@jonmacdonald5345]

@@chestyvulva Let him stay in the closet he is happier that way!

[@jrw24fan]

I had that one also. As a kid, I brought it to day care for show & tell; Our teacher stopped letting us play it because the music made us too rowdy. Fun times!

[@leemarie414]

This channel feels like it pulls the best memories straight out of my mind. I really appreciate your work. I don't know why it took so long for this channel to appear home page for related or recommended viewing. Regardless of it being late, it's right on time for me. Thank you.

[@neilphelan145]

Back in 1982 I worked at a Chuck E Cheese. Occasionally I got to put on the Chuck E costume and mingle among the guests. It was alot of fun.

[@stevedeleon8775]

Neil...HAHA!..ME TOO.. 1986..I was "Chuck E." part time on weekends making $7.50 hour.. 👍not bad money back then

[@stevedeleon8775]

@@danielknepper6884I was a friend of the manager in Tucson back then..I wasn't a employee.. I think he paid me out of a different company fund..plus I made balloon animals for kids

[@neilphelan145]

@@stevedeleon8775 I dont remember how much it paid. I was between jobs and my neighbor was a manager asked me if I wanted to work there. I lived 2 blocks from it so I said ok. I was actually working at the refreshment/ice cream stand but after a short while they asked if wanted to play Chuck E.. After a couple of months I found another job. The manager didnt want me to leave and offered me the position of managing the game room. I was tempted but i left and pursued a different line of work. I had a lot of fun working there.

[@matturban9103]

I have an old Chuck walkaround costume. It's probably 40 years old. It's the one with the hard plastic red derby and red and yellow vest. I wore it a few times at the Showbiz in Charlotte,N.C in the mid 1980s. My brother played Billy bob a lot there for birthdays on Saturdays.

[@shirleyhawkins1307]

Oh my word! My son is 47. I had his 8th birthday party at Showbiz. The animal band was awesome! What memories! There is still a Chuck E Cheese in my area.❤

[@JNathanielBerke]

I was hired right out of high school to sculpt the Chuck E. Cheese "skins" by the company who did the retrofit of the Chuck E Cheese characters on the Showbiz animatronics. It was a pretty fun gig.

[@seymourkrelborn4780]

Woah! Haha. Did other people work on the sculpts and/or were yours the ones ultimately used?

[@JNathanielBerke]

@@seymourkrelborn4780 pretty much all me for that round

[@seymourkrelborn4780]

@@JNathanielBerke Wow, that's cool. Have you seen the installation tape for the skins? It's here on KZbin as "Concept Unification"

[@JNathanielBerke]

@@seymourkrelborn4780 I never saw it until recently - fun fact - I actually put my initials and weird drawings of my dog Angus on the inside of the mouths or under the shoes etc

[@chico7469]

I was a game tech in the early 90’s, them kids thought I had the best job in world 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@stevenhosea4849]

No. Very. Goodness.

[@highwayman187]

You did

[@oifiismith]

Showbiz! Lawton, OK 1980's was the place to go. Remember lots of toddler's afraid of the music shows. Lol, good times! Thanks for sharing

[@jgringo5516]

Showbiz & Chuck E Cheese! Went to both as a kid. I miss Astroworld big time! Conquered my fear of heights there back in the early ‘80’s. 93Q season pass for $29.95!

[@K-Riz314]

Great memories. The first time I went there around six years old, a major malfunction happened to the drummer robot in the middle of a song that caused it to freeze and shake violently. I watched as they stripped off its head and clothing down to its freaky robotic skeleton through a tear in the curtain. I was absolutely mortified and was very weary of them each following visit.

[@danasuperstar]

That must have been a traumatizing experience for the kids! The dancing robots scared me just doing their normal thing.

[@pamelahaze3211]

Haha

[@jerichofawkes1911]

Absolutely loved Showbiz Pizza! Great memories there. I wish it would’ve been around for my kids to experience it.

[@tinytattoomike7943]

Does anyone remember Farrels ice cream parlor ? That was my favorite place for birthdays when I was a kid

[@bonnieharris8112]

I remember that ice cream shop. There was one here in Fresno in the Fig Garden Village shopping center. I loved their little movie machine and the birthday parties they had.

[@ilovegoodsax]

@@bonnieharris8112 I remember the Farrell's in Fig Garden!

They tried a comeback a while ago, in California.

[@NA-me6sh]

I heard the last one was in San Diego.but that was a few years ago...

[@darlacaves3171]

For our birthday parties there we would order "The Zoo " giant sundae that fed the whole birthday clan. The waiters brought it out on a stretcher.

[@russcorbett3923]

Wow !!! This brought back so many memories !!!! Thank You !!!!

[@mikefitchNYC1971]

Awesome job on this video!

[@christopherm7702]

Wow, I remember all these characters from my childhood. I wished I could go back to those days!!!

[@matturban9103]

Me and my brother used to hang out/help at one in Charlotte,North Carolina in the mid 1980s. He played Bill Bob for birthday parties. I did a few times too. We loved the place!

[@MisterMikeTexas]

There was a Showbiz in Southwest Fort Worth, Texas. I remember Billy Bob and his band. They once played "Talk To You Later" by The Tubes, and "Abracadabra" by Steve Miller. I remember they offered beer, which went good with the pizza.

[@toasteee252]

I remember that one..was it across from the colonial cafeteria?

[@MisterMikeTexas]

@@toasteee252 Yep! Sure was!

[@nishalimaye]

I attended one in Austin TX in the early to mid 80s and the band played “Talking in Your Sleep” every time I visited. What an odd choice of song for a children’s entertainment center.

[@AllAmericanGuyExpert]

@@MisterMikeTexas Near Hulen Mall?

[@MisterMikeTexas]

@@AllAmericanGuyExpert It wasn't on Hulen. It was on Trail Lake across from Colonial Cafeteria. The Southwest Branch of the Fort Worth Library was also close by.

[@jovanweismiller7114]

I knew Bob Brock fairly well back in the late 60s. I didn't know until this video that he was one of the founders of Show Biz Pizza.

[@markbradl8651]

Worked at one when I was 17 or 18 years old. Great time !

[@erict6715]

Gosh, the memories came back after watching this. Used to love showbiz!! Just came across this channel today & subscribed. Love it.🙂

[@pamelamays4186]

The character Chuck E. Cheese has gone through many transformations over the years. 🍕🍕🍕🍕🍕🐭🐭🐭🐭

[@DucatiGTS]

I am literally addicted to t his channel, you have really hit the mark with this!

[@volvoguy804]

Loved going to Showbiz in the early 80s! I think I owned a doll of Beach Bear for the longest time.

[@cm1133]

I worked at Show Biz in high school. We employees drank beer freely from the beverage bar. I’d get off work shit faced most nights. GOOD TIMES!

[@rebelxxx3382]

Yep the good ole days in America when we could actually have something.

[@overworlder]

Same era, as a student used to go to a tavern that offered everything - beer, arcade games (table style, Pac-Man, Galaga, Missile Defender, anyone remember Tutankhamen?) and cook-your-own-steaks. We loved that place.

[@debbiesittard7979]

Oh my goodness! My son was born in 1982 he loved Showbiz pizza. Wonderful memories.

[@garymann5998]

We remember taking our son to showbiz pizza many times, he just loved it. Thanks for the memories...

[@JennRighter]

Ski Ball and Galaga. Used to play them at Putt Putt! I’ve never even heard of this chain but it’s fascinating.

[@sonyajones]

OMG, I still have an LP vinyl record of the Rockafire Explosion band that I bought back in the early 80's at the Showbiz Pizza Place in NW OKC. Loved that place back in the day!

[@PMELKUS]

More good times gone forever so sad.

[@sduma82]

My husband and I had our first date at Showbiz Pizza. We have now been married for 36 years and counting.

[@melissageiger71]

Our location was Savannah Georgia..it was wonderful., location is still there but like all the rest it was changed into Chuckie Cheese..but CeeLo Green had a Rock A Fire Explosion band trucked from Orlando to Las Vegas to be in part of his show because he, like me, grew up with Fatz and the gang and wanted to remember and pay tribute to them on stage and it was so touching... 🦍🎹💥🎸

[@sparks2spare782]

Arlington TX in the early 80’s was the Showbiz I would go to. Good times!!

[@jons.6216]

In the "next generation" of kids in my family I got to go to the Chuck E. Cheese in San Jose CA for one of my nephew's birthday parties to kind of serve as an additional babysitter for his other toddler friends. It was a pretty fun day.

[@WhitneyAbrina]

Yeah it's pretty nice in Chicago they have a lot of security. I don't think I'd use that location for a bday party.

[@doctorm3518]

Mostly an arcade/restaurant these days yeah?

[@PinkstonFilms]

This was us 80s kids version of Coke vs. Pepsi, at least in my area of Orange County, CA, it was either you were a Chuck E. Cheese kid or a Showbiz Pizza kid.....

[@Kat_Nguyen]

Showbiz was better than Chuck E Cheese when I was a kid. I always thought showbiz got bought out by chuck e cheese bc they literally became chuck e cheese.

[@jrw24fan]

Had a few birthday parties at Showbiz as a kid. My favorite souvenir was a Rockafire Explosion 45 vinyl record; I probably had 5 or 6 of them. Great memories!

[@HappyHarryHardon]

I loved the strobe light room.

[@Dr.JeremyDunks]

Many memories of Showbiz. It was a pilgrimage to Kansas City every year for my birthday.

[@emmetttaylor1739]

Thank you so much. I took my daughter to both Chuck E Cheese and Showbiz. It was a little kids place and she loved it. The show was good but not the Pizza. I took her there for her birthday many times. At 11 or 12 she did not want to go there any more. My daughter is 41 now and I remember it so well. It was a lot of fun for me, my ex wife and my daughter.

[@touchofgrey5372]

Used to take my son there until I saw that he was absolutely terrified of that mouse costume. I had to tell that person inside the suite to go away several times. The pizza wasn't that great either! Thanks for he upload!

[@sebastianponce9658]

I can't remember how many birthday 🎂 parties I attended here in the 80's...what a fun place to spend a birthday with my pals...not to mention leaving half deaf from hours of ear blasting arcade noise..😂

[@mrkevinsarmiento]

My uncle Dennis would take us there every time we visited Dothan. I was VERY afraid of the animatronics. I insisted on the farthest table from them. Proud to say I still have a Showbiz token with my birth year on it.😎

[@christianroth812]

I remember Showbiz Pizza.I didn’t get to go there that often,since it was on the other side of town,it was a treat to go there and play video games & many I couldn’t find on my side of town,especially Star Trek Simulator,Dragons Lair and Star Wars Arcade.

[@flaco171ac]

3:33, That was my local Showbiz and had lots of great times there including a memorable birthday party.

[@aribasmajian18]

Show biz pizza was a pretty cool place there was one in Colorado in aurora where I lived as a child. I use to play various arcade games.

[@staxjackson1559]

I remember going to the Showbiz off Lincoln Highway just south of Chicago in (approx) '85. My folks just split so it was a weekend my Dad had my brother and I. We also went to Toys R Us (being the first time at both locations for us). You would have thought we died and went to heaven. I swore I was going to take permanent residency in that ball pit as I never wanted to leave again. I have taken my kids to Chuck E Cheese a few times over the years; but it will never capture the same luster in my eyes as Showbiz once did

[@darealberrygarcia]

I'm 36 and only remember going to go Showbiz pizza

[@JGD185]

I'm 35 and only remember going to Chuck E Cheese. I didn't even know this place existed. Maybe it depends on your location.

[@K-Riz314]

@@JGD185 Definitely regional

[@ninja_tony]

I'm 35, and I remember going to both Showbiz and Chuck E. Cheese, but what blows my mind is that I have stronger memories of Showbiz. I vividly remember when the Showbiz in my mall was turned into a Chuck E. Cheese, and I remember going to Showbiz all the time with my mom and grandmother. But I would have only been 4 when the transition took place, so I'm shocked that I still remember so much of it.

[@markg999]

Yea we had one in Tampa area...remember this place well as a kid in the 80s.

[@theweakestlink2278]

Going to Showbiz was a big deal back in the 80s as a kid. That was one birthday party nobody ever skipped when it was at Showbiz! I never really cared for the robot band all that much but the ball pit and the arcade was awesome! Good times!

[@cdfreester]

One of the first Showbiz Pizza places opened in my city of Overland Park, KS in 1980 (suburb of KC, Mo). It was one of the locations that got changed over to Chuck E. Cheese, which it still is to this day. I never went to Showbiz (I was in high school by the time it appeared), and I have only been in Chuck E. Cheese once (to pick up my daughter after a birthday party).

[@rickyarme2317]

I live in Wichita Falls Tx. Our showbiz turned into a chi my cheese in the late 80’s early 90’s sometime. I had a few birthdays at showbiz as a kid.

[@FriedShrimpPoBoy]

I forgot all about Showbiz Pizza Place and I have a vague recollection of visiting one. It must’ve been in the Atlanta area when seeing grandparents for the summers.

[@rickyarme2317]

Man their pizza was awesome! Great memories.

[@williamzander4732]

The guy that created rockfire also created whack a mole .He lost the patient another guy got it. He has a museum in Florida with the first whack a mole .

[@corvetcoyote443]

I almost forgot about Show Biz pizza,thanks for the memories.

[@pathall7641]

Man I loved show biz Pizza as a kid... We had one in Knoxville Tennessee.

[@davidtaylor328]

WOW - Does this bring back the memories ? The Rock - A - Fire Explosion. Oh how I miss SHOWBIZ PIZZA PLACE !!!!! I LOVE this video & I will Forever. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🍕👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@OssianEMills]

I grew up in North Georgia where the nearest one was a Shobiz in Chattanooga. We loved that place (the once or twice we actually went). Didn't run into Chuck E. Cheese until decades later (in other states).

[@chriswitherspoon6935]

SHOWBIZ PIZZA AND ROOT 🍻 BEER !!! BEST COMBO TASTE EVER !!! NOSTALGIA , LIFE WAS BETTER BACK THEN

[@Larry]

Aaron wasn't offered to sell Rock-a-fire Explosion, he was asked to given them away for free, with the promise they'd continue using them for years to come. But accourding to Bushnell, they were going to scrap them regardless, so Eckhart made the right decisision.

[@doctorm3518]

Tough business

[@needmorecowbell6460]

Omg how i miss my youth and days gone by when we wasn’t destroying each other.... what happened?

[@tomservo5007]

One of my favorite places as a kid, for the arcade part. The animatronics were just a distraction from the real fun. I believe the location was Paramus or Hackensack NJ.

[@randydandy1974]

It was technically Hackensack on Hackensack Avenue.

[@duchovny2]

The show was the best part

[@goblinbilly2726]

I remember going to Showbiz and Chuck E Cheese in the early 80s. My little kid brain was blown away by how big the arcade was! Great memories.

[@HellhammerSS]

Boy it was a awesome place back in the 80's, now its a crying shame....

[@m3horn]

I remember going to showbiz pizza as a kid for birthday parties and playing video games.

[@ultragor]

I met Aaron Fechter in 2013 in Orlando FL, where his Creative Engineering warehouse still exists. He looks incredibly young for his age! And he hasn't given up on the RAE. He still has a fully functional show in his warehouse that he's used to make several You Tube videos! I've also had the distinct privilege of getting photos on stage WITH Fatz, Mitzi and Billy Bob! I still pray that the RAE will get their own cartoon show or CGI movie in cinemas! They did it for Disney's Country Bear Jamboree, why not for the RAE too?

[@retrofan4963]

Cool :) Aaron planned at one point for the Rock afire Explosion to do things beyond Arcade pizzerias, which are movies and TV shows, as well make 2nd Generation animatronics of them. Hopefully all this will happen one day, nothing is impossible :) It's awesome you met Aaron. he is an genius inventor in my opinion, and the Rock afire Explosion is my all time favorite animatronic band.

[@lilitharam44]

I remember going to one, for a friend's birthday party in the 80's and it was better than Chuck E. Cheese's. I'm from Memphis, so that's where it was located. To be honest though, as an adult, those puppets really freak me out now. Especially those wooden faces. Nightmare stuff!

[@kas2831]

Nightmare fuel

[@nikkic83]

I worked there! It was a lot of fun!

[@donaldpaluga]

They were last seen in 2014 in Atlanta GA, transported from Orlando FL by Jennifer Brennan #shippingwars

[@snarkus63]

When it came to animatronics, Showbiz was the better option, as theirs were very nearly Country-Bear-Jamboree-quality. Chuck E. Cheese's moved like some mid-20th-century department-store display.

[@timothymorris1925]

Took my nieces and nephews here for birthdays. Much nicer than Chuckie Cheese aka baby momma "punch-out palace" .

[@Lyniquechunte]

Oh boy Billy Bob I’m a kid from the 80s way before Chuck E. Cheese took over and I want to tell you not only did I love this place I used to climb on stage and try to dance and sing with the characters I was never afraid of them I am a miss Showbiz

[@ayanasdollyworld5630]

Memories.☺️my siblings and I spent many birthdays at show biz. But looking at those animatronics through my adult eyes, I'm surprised I didn't go screaming for the exit when I was a child. Those things are uuuggglyyy. Billy Bob's face is going to give me nightmares tonight.

[@iusedtoliveinmymothergary9827]

I grew up going to Major Magics

[@atariblue]

Same here! Didn't know about Show-Biz and Chuck-E-Cheese growing up in PA

[@NightSprinter]

I definitely remember this place, with the commercial that had the jingle "Showbiz Pizza: Where A Kid Can Be A Kid" (which later in the 90s became the Chuck E. Cheese jingle).

[@Rob_1776]

I miss Showbiz Pizza Place I played 80s arcade games in there for hours!

[@tichdaddy1]

Great video! I don’t think we had a Showbiz Pizza in Fort Myers FL back in the 80’s growing up, but we definitely had Chuck E Cheese! Many great memories there as a teenager. Our youth group at church went there many times. I remember one of the games that you rode on was shaking so much one time, that the token collection box popped open and tokens went everywhere.. great times!

[@brentwebster6341]

Im from Fort Myers as well. We did have a DZ Discovery Zone back in the day.

[@thenebbish7709]

I still have a token

[@RedSiegfried]

I went there only one time as a kid and even though I was super excited to go at the time, I barely have any memories of it. I remember it being very high energy, around Christmas time, and I had to sing in a church Christmas program after the party so my mind wasn't completely on the experience. Some kid came up and messed with the controls of the game I was playing which blew my mind because I had no idea people could be so rude or mean. I don't remember the food but I remember playing video games for sure. Now as an adult, you couldn't get me within a mile of a place like that! It was very loud with lots of screaming kids and super frenetic. Kind of sensory overload for me at the time. :) But those video games ... !

[@hollynelson543]

The first time I took my kids they were scared to death of the animated characters.

[@kelseyclendenen1812]

I don't blame them for being scared. One time I was at Chuck e Cheese and one of the mascots walked by me and waved, and I screamed at the top of my lungs 😂

[@stillaboveground2470]

Those animatronic musicians were nightmare fuel!

[@emilypilukas336]

4:55 Billy Bob Brockail: Can you please stop calling me and my friends nightmare fuel?

[@Jiggabyte_Alpha]

The Rockafire Explosion appeared in Nashville-based band COIN’s music video.

[@Nickrj3]

There was a showbiz I remember in Fargo.

[@Zahnclassof95]

Showbiz was a great place .love the pizza I was alittle spooked from the animated talking ,great memories. unfortunately showbiz closed while chunky cheese opened up

[@bbones504]

Man I saw the Chucky Cheese become Show Biz and Chucky Cheese again having birthdays here as a kid 80’s-90’s 😂😂

[@danabelden4492]

I loved showbiz

[@jaysmith179]

I had my birthday there in 1983 in Matteson Illinois.

[@GarretGrayCamera]

Does anybody remember the coupons for Showbiz? For my birthday, my mom would get two newspapers and clip coupons that offered something around 50 free tokens if you throw a birthday party there. So she'd split up about 100 tokens for us kids every time we had a party.

[@thegreatandsigmaticgiants8307]

That pizza was so good. Its not the same anymore

[@jonshonk7058]

Anyone remember PJ Pizzazz in West Covina? It had a robot mascot and arcade. Very little info on the internet about it.

[@ingridfong-daley5899]

Showbiz Pizza had "colander night" on Wednesdays, where you got a discount if you came in wearing a decorated colander on your head. I remember threading coloured yarn just to catch the creepy dead-gazed approval of Mitzi Mouse or whatever the cheerleader's name was. I kinda wish there were still jobs writing 'original music' for animatronic pizza restaurant characters... Ahhh, the 80s.

[@mercster]

Hah, attended so many birthday parties here when I was a kid.