Riviera Theatre
1560 S. Dixie Highway,
Coral Gables,
FL
33146
1560 S. Dixie Highway,
Coral Gables,
FL
33146
3 people
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Showing 26 - 37 of 37 comments
This is now the Teatro Area Stage en el Riviera Theatre featuring Spanish language live theatre.
http://www.teatroareastage.com/
Guess what? Tom was a very good friend of mine. Remember, I was raised in South Miami, A town where everyone knew your name. The last time I heard from Tom he had two kids and had moved up the ladder with the Loews Corp. There are many stories I can tell about the Riviera Theatre, from its beginning to every brick that was layed by Louie Tripani……
I worked with Matty Tylek at ABC & Plitt. He eventually moved over to Petengill and took it over when Howard retired, eventually renaming the agency Pettengill/Tylek and moving from Coral Gables to Miami Shores. Diener Hauser & Bates proved to be a relentless competitor with New York connections and they eventually took over the placement market in South Florida.
Were you around during the Loews Tom Elefante days of the Riviera?
What a small world. I did a lot of work for Howard. Indeed, Marvin was killed by a drunk driver. Marvin lived with us approximately two years. So I knew Marvin very very well. He was a great guy and I went to his wedding. I have a funny story to tell. One evening,during Christmas. I got together with my cousins and put approximately 1oo x-mas packages under Marvins tree at the Riviera. Patrons had a hard time entering the theatre with all those packages standing in their. When Marvin informed my Grandfather of our hijenks we had to run for cover because he was furious. “that’s a business and you boys had better grow up.” Needless to say we got the message and were a shinning example of good holsum South Miami young men who learned not to mess around with Mr. Reed. He was a great friend.
I remember the day tragic day well now, Big Ed. He was run over by a drunk driver on a downtown Miami sidewalks while on his way to work at Wometco early in the day.
I was working for Pettengill Advertising at the time and Marvin Reed was a true gentlemen and professional, well respected by everyone in the local industry.
Wometco’s booking and marketing people worked hard on promoting American International Picture’s less than stellar films. Years later, when AIP was bought by Orion, the loyalties remained and all Orion films went to Wometco in spite of AMC’s local clout.
Sorry for the delayed response, yes he was the marketing director. Tragically, Marvin was killed in an automobile accident.
Big Ed Longo,
Do you know if manager Marvin Reed eventually became head of marketing for Wometco? His name sounds very familiar.
Youseff my old friend, I hate to call out an inaccuracy in an otherwise outstanding post, but I can’t let you gloss over your time at Cinema 10 at Miracle Center just like that—– you were at the Riviera from 1992 to 1999, don’t forget you were with us at Miracle Center from March 1990 after you came over from Intracostal to late ‘92!
Great to find you on here Youseff. Riviera was a terrific theater when Mr. Bessiso took it over from Billy Byron, I had the pleasure of attending as a patron there several times. He also brought a great deal of creativity and passion to Miracle Center as well during his tenure there, which he has apparently developed amnesia about! :)
I am planning to add an entry about Miracle Center, we’re going to need your memories on there Youseff! Here are some triggers: Manny Arce, Mike Doss, Barry Catoe, Mikey, and of course Otero!!
My grandfather Anthony Longo owned and built the Riviera Theatre. He and Arthur Vinning Davis (from Alcoa Aluminum) swapped property. My grandfather owned the property now known as Kings Creek and Davis owned the property off of US-1. They made an even swap. The year was 1955. He then built the theatre. An interesting fact is that one man alone layed every single concrete block. His name was Louie Tripani. The first Manager of the theatre was Marvin Reed. The first film was indeed “Picnic” starring William Holden and Kim Novack. I actually attended the premiere – the year was 1956 (I was 22 years old at the time.) Hollywood’s A-list turned up to make it a real Hollywood affair. Some of the famous faces include Cyd Charise, Mori Amsterdam and Red Buttons. I mingled with the stars at the post premiere party hosted by my Grandfather at the Coral Gables Country Club. He split the bill with the studio. These are fond memories of the theatre that I will always hold dear. I chronicle the experience in my recent book titled South Miami: A town where everyone knew your name. I recently came across a photo of my Father and Grandfather in front of the Riviera theatre sign the year it opened. Us-1 is pictured in the background and at the time was only two lanes. Boy, how times have changed.
Edward M. Longo
i must add also that once general cinema decided to sell it’s theatre division and get out of florida, i tried to gather a group of investors to purchase the theatre and keep it open, sorry to say we faced such impossible requirement from the land owners and the city that it would have been a financial disaster.it was turned into a piano gallery and now a breakfast/cereal franchise.
i still have hundreds of old and new photos that documents our journey in riviera heaven.
B e S s I s O
i had the honor and pleasure of managing this landmark theatre for 10 years from 1989 to 1999 with a team of staff and associates that was second to none.
we transformed this local hub into a truly magnificent exhibitor and an entertainment spot that had patrons coming to us from as far as west palm beach to enjoy a unique and a one-of-a kind movie going experience that catered to families as well as college students.
we changed the experience of moviegoing by blending film marketing and promotions into the overall entertainment experience in an extremely innovative way, making this theatre not only the local favorite for moviegoers but it also struck a cord with all the major studios and theatre executives nationwide. we definitely put the riviera cinema on the map.
we won first place, regionwide, marketing and promotional awards that include:
Winner of the 1993 Touchstone pictures Showmanship award.
Winner of the first place for the 1995 Buena Vista Excellence in Exhibition Award.
Winner of the first place for the 1995 Warner Bros. Excellence in Exhibition Award
Winner of Disney¹s 1995 Showmanship award.
Winner of first place for the 1996 Buena vista Excellence in Exhibition Award.
Winner of fourth place for Paramount picture 1996 Excellence in Marketing Award.
Winner of Disney¹s 1996 Showmanship Award.
Runner-up for Paramount Pictures 1997 Excellence in Marketing Award.
Winner of first place for Warner Bros. 1997 Excellence in Exhibition Award.
Extensive media coverage by: The Miami Herald, Box Office magazine and Cinema Scene publication for innovative marketing activities.
our finest acievement was winning the first place sid grauman award at the 1998 showeast exhibitor relations award when the exhibitor relations executives from all the major studios have established a special award with the goal of singling out a select group of theatre managers who have excelled with regard to the marketing and promotions of films in their region. the award to be called the “exhibitor relations award for achievement in theatre marketing and promotion”, and it will be presented for the very first time at the showeast 1998 exhibitor relations breakfast hosted by national screen service on wednesday, october 21st in the grand ballroom of the trump taj mahal.
i wish i have the time to name everyone who worked with me throughout the years, but i know if anyone is blogging out there-please share your memories with us here on this cool site.
on thing i can say, our staff’s dedication, enthusiasm, service, work ethics and eagerness to succeed was always described by patrons and theatre executives alike as “wonderfully contagious”.
i wish everyone that worked with me at the theatre, regional, corporate and studio executives level the best of luck on whatever latest quest they’re pursuing.
with sincere regards, respect and appreciation to everyone, in particular:
geoffrey lynn (the best boss i’ve ever had and the best director of operations i’ve worked with and the best mentor, period.), dan stravinski(the best hr & marketing brain i’ve ever met),web brainerd (the smartest and coolest cat in the film business), chuck delagrange, chuck cromer of buena vista, corey carr of warner bros., albert (andy) deese the third (the best projectionist and utility/do it all person ever), carl lafontant (the coolest assistant ever), the sanchez family, patricia gonzales of general cinema and then dreamworks whom to her support i owe a lot and last but not least my assistant then and my soulmate and life partner now: suhery e. caballero – baby, you complete me.
B e S s I s O
youssef s. bessiso
I went to graduate film school at the Univ. of Miami from 90-93 and lived in South Miami until 94. As a student I saw all kinds of movies there, like “Silence of the Lambs,” “Jurassic Park”, etc. etc. It was right across from campus. I helped a fellow grad student by making arrangements with the theater manager to shoot a scene from his thesis film there, in the morning before it opened. I heard that Jonathan Demme was an usher there as a young man but I don’t know if that’s true or not. It was in this strip mall right on US 1 that included other places popular with students, like Spec’s Music and the CD solution (a used CD exchange). Not sure if those places exist anymore in the age of the iPod. They used to do a ton of sneak previews there for the major films coming out.