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……
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.
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.
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……
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.
Sorry for the delayed response, yes he was the marketing director. Tragically, Marvin was killed in an automobile accident.
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