Cameo Theater

The Cameo Theate r was announced in November of 1926 in a remodeling of an existing West Tulsa retail building. Julius Jacobson opened the venue on January 1, 1926 with “Mantrap” with Clara Bow. It converted too sound to remain viable. The final operators of the Cameo were Vernon Hoster and E.J. Blais. Blais closed the Gem on March 9, 1953 with “Francis, the Talking Mule” and “The Old Texas Trail.” Mrs. Julius Jacobson offered the building for sale in 1959. Demolished.

i remember last going to the cameo theatre in 50 or 51. we saw the serial rocket man and tried to participate in the duncan yo-yo contest. don’t understand the statement that it was replaced by the rita in the 40s

Oklahoma Historical Society remarks that Griffith Bros acquired the Cameo Theatre in 1940, and then replaced it with the Rita Theatre.
1934 images reveal a Spanish Mission exterior (bet those entrance doors were composed of green & orange glass) that looked as if it probably dated way back to nickelodeon times. Tht original generic “movie house” auditorium wasn’t much to look at, but it sure was better than the cheap Griffith replacement.
On the OHS web site, the Cameo auditorium is mistakenly shown again as that of the Circle Theater.
Most Tulsa citizens felt no loss after the Rita Theatre burned.