He grew up going to vaudeville theatres, nickelodeons, and early movie houses. The nickelodeon museum displays nickelodeons dating back from 1905. By age 11 he played accompaniment in silent movie theaters (called nickelodeons). By 1908 there were thousands of storefront Nickelodeons, Gems and Bijous across North America. The channel's name comes from the first five-cent movie theaters called nickelodeons. By 1910, nickelodeons grossed $91 million in the United States. Kunsky had been an early investor in Nickelodeons beginning in 1905. Nickelodeons radically changed the modes of distribution and the types of films being made. The block later with AMTV was removed due to Nickelodeons 'sarvo' popularity. This rental culture gave birth to the popularity of Nickelodeons up until the Great Depression. They typically charged five cents for admission, and thus became known as nickelodeons. Larger nickelodeons sometimes had the capacity for well over 1000 people.