Leroy Griffith

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Leroy Griffith
Griffith, with Britt Ekland in 1967, during the filming of The Night They Raided Minsky's
Born (1932-03-26) March 26, 1932 (age 92)
Poplar Bluff, Missouri, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
Years active1949–present
Known forStage shows (Hello Burlesque, This Was Burlesque, etc.); chief executive officer of Club Madonna
SpouseJoy Hodges Maci (div.)

Juanita Gilreath (div.)

Linda Rivera (m. 1989)
Children5
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
RankFirst lieutenant

Leroy Charles Griffith (born March 26, 1932) is an American theater and nightclub proprietor, former Broadway theater producer, and film producer. In a career spanning 75 years, he has owned, leased, or operated more than 70 adult entertainment stage and cinematic theaters across the United States, dating from the burlesque era of the 1950s to the present day.[1] During burlesque's heyday, he was a prolific producer of live stage shows featuring showgirls, strippers, comedians, and other stars of the era. After burlesque's decline, he made the crossover to exhibiting adult films and operating adult nightclubs.

His business endeavors in the adult entertainment industry have, for decades, put him at odds with restrictive municipalities, and he has taken legal action, often successfully, to be able to operate his establishments.

Early life[edit]

Griffith was born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri to Floyd R. and Stella Griffith. His father was a theater owner. The younger Griffith began as a projectionist, cashier, and usher at a local theater in his hometown.

At 17, he left for St. Louis and a job working concessions at the Grand Burlesque Theater for East Coast-based theater concessions magnate Oscar Markovich. At the Grand, Griffith started as a "candy butcher," hawking candy and trinkets to audiences before and during intermission.[2] "In those days," he said in a 1993 interview, "they had probably 30 people in the cast, a chorus line, an orchestra, two comics, a singer, a vaudeville act, and then five exotic dancers. It was a good show."[3]

Griffith with Sammy Davis Jr., 1966

Griffith discovered that any profit to be made was not from the show itself but from the concession stand: "That's where I was. In between acts, the pitchman would sell prize packages, candy, stuff like that. Concessions was where the real money was, just like it is with regular movies today."[3] After working his way up to concessions manager, Griffith began accruing money for higher ambitions.

Military service[edit]

In 1955, Griffith began service with the U.S. Army in Hot Springs, Arkansas. While stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, he worked with Bob Hope's USO show (featuring Jerry Colonna, Mickey Mantle, and Ginger Rogers, among others) when Hope was on tour there in December 1956.

After discharge from the military, Griffith acquired his first theater, the Star, in Portland, Ore. After a limited operation of a Kansas City, Mo., restaurant and another period of short-term employment with Markovich, he opened a theater in Detroit. He was in his mid-twenties.

Career[edit]

Theater and club owner[edit]

Identifying "legitimate" theaters that were going out of business, Griffith began acquiring them. "These places would go under," he said in a 1993 interview, "and I'd go in and take over and make them successful with an adult policy."[3] He soon acquired theaters throughout the United States.

South Florida (1961- )[edit]

"One time Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, and Belle Barth came into the Gayety Theater [in Miami Beach] when I was running it. We had a Chinese dinner together, and then started watching the coming attractions for an X-rated film that was going to be running. For fun we shut the sound off and the three of them -- Frank, Sammy, and Belle -- improvised the sounds to go along with the scenes. They were all moaning and groaning and making funny noises. It was hysterical."[4] — Griffith

On a visit to Miami Beach in 1961, Griffith noticed the Paris Theater was for sale. He leased it, then bought it, originally staging burlesque, including featuring Tempest Storm. But back in the early '60s, Griffith didn't call it "burlesque"; doing so would have been against local law.

"You couldn't even use the word," he recalled in a 1993 interview. "I had one big stage show called 'The Top Stars of Burlesque,' with Blaze Starr and all these people. I told the city, 'It's not burlesque. It's the top stars of burlesque. There's no law against the people of burlesque.' The city decided they'd fix me by charging me $1,000 for a special license to do the show. I said fine. I was going to have to pay $1,600 for a regular permit anyway."[3]

A promotional poster for Griffith's '60s Broadway revue, Hello Burlesque.

Griffith continued to open new venues throughout South Florida, from Broward County in the north to Key West in the south. In addition to bringing in live acts, he began showing movies. He also began producing films and exhibiting them in his theaters.

A young Mickey Rourke once worked for Griffith as a cashier and projectionist at one of his Miami Beach theaters.[3]

Film producer[edit]

Griffith produced Bell, Bare and Beautiful (1963), Lullaby of Bareland (1964), Mundo depravados (1967), and My Third Wife, George (1968).[5]

Film appearances[edit]

Griffith played brief cameo parts in some of his films. His recollections of the burlesque era are featured in Leslie Zemeckis's 2010 documentary, Behind the Burly Q.[6]

Interior theater sequences in the 1968 film The Night They Raided Minsky's were shot in his Manhattan theater, the Gayety.[7]

Broadway producer[edit]

This Was Burlesque, a revue conceived by and starring burlesque star Ann Corio, was staged at Griffith's Hudson Theater on Broadway during the 1964–65 season. It went on to tour across the U.S. in various forms over the next two decades.[8]

Griffith also produced Hello Burlesque, a live stage show featuring showgirl Julie Taylor, "Miss Sex 5th Avenue."

Griffith's theaters and clubs[edit]

Theaters he has owned and operated, been an ownership partner in, leased, and/or managed include these:

Note: Click the "sort" icon at the head of each column to view data in alphabetical order.

State City Name of theater Other names Summary
Florida Fort Lauderdale Adam and Eve
Florida Hialeah Atlas Twin Village Formerly located at 1446 W. 49th Street.[9][10]
Florida Hollywood Pussycat
Florida Jacksonville Little Harold K. Smith Playhouse Located at 2032 San Marco Boulevard.[11][12] Its landlord, Griffith said in a 1993 interview, "was the county sheriff" at the time.
Florida Jacksonville Beach Beach Formerly located at the corner of First Street and Third Avenue North.[13][14]
Florida Key West Monroe Formerly located at 623 Duval Street.[15][16]
Florida Miami 79th Street Twin II Cinema 79th St. Art; Bard; Little River Formerly located at 137 NE 79th Street.[17][18]
Florida Miami Boulevard Black Gold; Club Madonna II; Gold Rush Cabaret; Kitty Cat; Pussycat; Pussycat II; Shadows; Tomcat; Wonderland Located at 7770 Biscayne Boulevard. Has variously served as a strip club, night club, and adult theater.[19][20] Bought by Griffith for $165,000 in 1970 and renamed the Pussycat, he created three different theaters within: the Pussycat, the center theater, was a 900-seat theater that showed adult films including Deep Throat; the Kitty Cat featured female performers; and the Tomcat featured male performers.
Florida Miami Dixie Rio Located at 222 NE First Avenue in downtown Miami. Renamed the Rio in 1965.[21][22]
Florida Miami Paramount Fairfax Formerly located at 257 East Flagler Street in downtown Miami.[23][24]
Florida Miami Rex Art King Art Cinema; Rosetta; Second Ave. Art Located at 7929 NE Second Avenue. First opened as the Rosetta.[25][26]
Florida Miami Town Formerly located at 265 East Flagler Street.[27][28]
Florida Miami Beach 21st Street Adult Fine Arts Formerly located at 2039 Collins Avenue, at the corner of 21st Street.[29][30]
Florida Miami Beach Beach Formerly located at 420 Lincoln Road.[31][32]
Florida Miami Beach Cameo Located at 1445 Washington Avenue.[33][34] It is a nightclub today.
Florida Miami Beach Carib Located at 230 Lincoln Road.[35][36] "I used to do [benefit] shows at the Carib, which seated over 2,000 people," Griffith said in a 1993 interview, "and donated the theater, staff, advertising, and helped get talent. This all went to the widows and orphans of the firemen and the policemen."[3]
c.1976
Florida Miami Beach Flamingo Located at 320 Lincoln Road.[37][38] Converted into a present-day nightclub.
Florida Miami Beach Gayety Burlesque Deja Vu; SoBe Showgirls Formerly located at 2004 Collins Avenue.
Florida Miami Beach Paris Paris Follies; Paris Moderne; Variety Located at 550 Washington Avenue.[39][40] Griffith's first acquisition upon settling in South Florida in 1961. He originally leased it, then bought it, and staged burlesque there, under the name Paris Follies. Featured acts included Tempest Storm. He sold it in 1986, then bought it back after its owners failed with the nightclub Paris Moderne, and later sold it again.[3]
Florida Miami Beach Plaza Art Located at 1265 Washington Avenue.[41][42]
Florida Miami Beach Roxy Club Madonna Located at 1527 Washington Avenue.[43][44] Griffith generated publicity there when, in 1967, he publicly invited city officials to a screening of the film, Man and Wife. "It was advertised as the art of making love 49 different ways," he said in a 1993 interview. "I don't remember inviting them, but I vaguely remember the incident. I think that was the first hard-core movie ever shown down here."[3] According to press accounts at the time, the officials seemed to think the movie was boring, but not obscene.[3] In 1994, Griffith converted the Roxy from an adult movie theater to an all-nude strip club (Club Madonna), which it remains today. Griffith successfully withstood an attempt by attorneys for the pop singer Madonna to prevent him from using the name.[45]
in 1967
Florida Orlando Luv Located at 355 N. Orange Avenue.
Florida Tampa Casino Casino Follies Located at 1536 7th Avenue in Tampa's Ybor City section. Closed in the 1970s, then was renovated and reopened c. 2000. It is home today to the Tampa Improv Comedy Club.[46][47]
Florida Tampa Ritz Masquerade; Rivoli Located at 1503 E. 7th Avenue in Tampa's Ybor City section. Opened as the Rivoli; expanded in the 1930s as the Ritz and showed movies until 1982. Reopened in 2008 and is used for concerts and special events.[48][49]
Florida Warrington Navy Point Formerly located on Sunset Avenue. Opened after World War II for the entertainment of military families stationed in the Pensacola area.[50][51]
Illinois Chicago Follies Gem; London Dime Museum Located at 450 S. State Street.[52][53]
Illinois Chicago Minsky's Rialto Downtown; Loop End Formerly located at 336 S. State Street, two blocks from the Gayety. Opened as a venue for vaudeville and movies, it was a burlesque house by the 1930s and closed in 1953. It is the site today of Pritzker Park.[54][55]
Indiana Fort Wayne Little Capitol; Little Cinema Formerly at Berry Street and Harrison Street.[56]
Indiana Indianapolis Ritz Middle Earth; Northside Located at 3422 / 3430 N. Illinois Street. Considered one of the leading movie houses in the city. Burlesque took over in 1962. Known as the Northside from 1958 to 1970. Remodeled, it became a rock concert venue and resumed its former name, but closed in 1972.[57][58][59]
Louisiana New Orleans Carrollton Located at 4710 S. Carrollton Avenue. A classic Art Deco-style theater, it suffered water damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 but has since been refurbished as a banquet hall.[60][61]
Louisiana New Orleans Cine Royale Center; Wonderland Located at 912 Canal Street. It became an adult theater after 1975.[62][63]
Louisiana New Orleans Sinerama Cinerama Adult; Martin Cinerama; Mike Todd's Cinerama; Pussycat; Trans-Lux Cinerama Formerly located at 3615 Tulane Avenue. Under Griffith's management, it was known as the Pussycat and Sinerama.[64][65]
Maryland Baltimore Gayety Formerly located at 405 E. Baltimore Street.[66][67]

Maryland Baltimore Paris
Michigan Detroit Garden Peek-A-Rama; Sassy Cat; Woodward Located at 3929 Woodward Avenue. A century after its opening, it was undergoing an estimated $14 million makeover to become the 1,300-seat Woodward Theater.[68][69][70]
Michigan Detroit National Gayety; Palace Located at 118 Monroe Street. Has fallen into disrepair.[71][72]
Michigan Flint Michigan Located at 1614 S. Saginaw Street.[73][74]
Missouri Kansas City Folly Century; Folly Burlesque; Shubert's Missouri; Standard Located at 300 W. 12th Street.[75][76] Following a renovation in the 1980s, it remains in use today. Was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
in 1973
Missouri Kansas City Strand Located at 3544 Troost Avenue. Oldest still-operating theater in Kansas City. Began showing adult movies in the '70s.[77][78]
New Jersey Newark Luxor Luxor Follies Formerly located at 264 Market Street.[79][80]
New Jersey Newark Treat Cameo Twin Cinema XXX Located at 68 Orange Street.[81][82]
New York New York City Gayety Village East Cinema; 12th Street Cinemas; Casino East; Century; Eden; Entermedia; Louis N. Jaffe Art; Molly Picon's Yiddish Folk; Phoenix; Second Avenue; Stuyvesant; Yiddish Art Located at 181 Second Avenue, in Manhattan. Theater sequences for the 1968 film The Night They Raided Minsky's were shot here.[83]
New York New York City Hudson Avon-on-the-Hudson; Savoy Located at 141 W. 44th Street in midtown Manhattan. A former Broadway theater, now a conference center and special event venue. In 1954 it became home to the original version of The Tonight Show with host Steve Allen.[84][85]
in 2021
New York New York City Mayfair Burlesque Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe Located at 235 West 46th Street. It was a theater in the basement of the Paramount Hotel. From 1938 to 1951, theatrical impresario and song writer Billy Rose operated his Diamond Horseshoe nightclub there.
The Paramount
New York New York City Metropolitan 14th Street; Arrow; "The Met" Formerly located at 241 East 14th Street.[86][87]
New York New York City Shore Loew's Coney Island Located at 1301 Surf Avenue in Coney Island, Brooklyn.[88][89]
New York Syracuse Civic Adam and Eve; Civic Follies; Ritz; Syracuse; System; Top Formerly located at 527 S. Salina Street.[90][91]
North Carolina Charlotte Astor Neighborhood Located at 511 E. 36th Street. Called "The Carolina’s Most Unusual Theater" in newspaper ads in the '60s, it was restored in recent years and today (as the Neighborhood) features bands and musicians.[92][93]
North Carolina Charlotte Climax I and II
North Carolina Charlotte Ritz Formerly located at 1201 Beatties Ford Road.[94][95]
Ohio Cincinnati Gayety Empress; Gayety Burlesk A Vine Street theater that opened as the Empress and became the Gayety in 1922. Its demolition made way for a main library.[96][97]
Ohio Cincinnati Imperial Imperial Follies Located at 282 McMicken Avenue. Presented adult films and later, in the '60s, live burlesque shows.[98][99]
Ohio Cleveland University Circus Maximus; PAT (Performing Arts Theater); Scrump-Dee-Dump-Dee Formerly located at 10606 Euclid Avenue.[100][101]
Ohio Columbus Little Art Olentangy; Piccadilly; World Located at 2523 N. High Street, it opened in the silent picture era as The Piccadilly. An adult movie theater from the '50s to its demolition.[102][103]
Ohio Columbus Livingston Gayety Located at 1567 East Livingston Avenue. As of late 2012, there were plans to renovate it.[104]
Ohio Columbus Parsons Parson Follies Located at 1293 S. Parsons Avenue.[105][106]
Ohio Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio State Lyceum
Ohio Steubenville Ohio Located on Market Street.[107]
Ohio Toledo Gayety Gayety Burlesk; Guild; Hollywood Burlesk; Strand Located at 322 N. Summit Street.[108][109]
Ohio Toledo Town Hall Formerly located at Orange and St. Clair Streets.[110]
Ohio Youngstown Strand Formerly located in Central Square. Closed as a movie house in the 1950s, then reopened featuring live burlesque and adult movies.[111][112]
Oregon Portland Capitol Blue Mouse Located at 626 SW 4th Street. Renamed the Blue Mouse in 1958. Famous stripper Tempest Storm co-owned and operated the Capitol in the 1950s.[113][114][115][116]
Oregon Portland Star Princess; Star Burlesk Located at 13 NW 6th Avenue. Opened as the Princess, screening silent movies. Became the Star Burlesk in 1939, presenting burlesque shows. Refurbished, it remains in operation today.[117][118]
Pennsylvania Philadelphia Aardvark Cayuga Formerly located at 4371 Germantown Avenue. Opened as the Cayuga.[119][120][121]
Pennsylvania Philadelphia Howard Howard Follies Located at 2614 N. Front Street. In the early '60s, it operated with an adults-only policy and advertised as the Howard Follies.[122][123]
Pennsylvania Philadelphia Trocadero The Troc; Arch Street Opera House; Park Theater Located at 1003 Arch Street.[124][125]
In 1973

Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Cameraphone Located at 6202 Penn Avenue.[126][127]
Tennessee Chattanooga Capitol Formerly located at 528 Market Street.[128][129]
Washington Seattle Rivoli Old Seattle; Tivoli Formerly located at First Avenue and Madison Street. Opened as a burlesque theater featuring, among others, Sophie Tucker and Belle Baker. It later presented legit stage theater, then adult movies before its demolition.[130][131]
Wisconsin Superior Tower People's; Tower Arts Formerly located at 1018 Tower Ave.[132][133]
Washington, D.C. Central Gayety; Imperial; Moore's Garden Theatre Formerly located at 425-433 9th Street NW.[134][135] Opened as The Imperial. Renamed Moore’s Garden Theatre in 1913. Renamed The Central in 1922. Renamed by Griffith as the Gayety Burlesque; presented live burlesque from the 1950s to its closing in the 1970s.


Legal battles[edit]

v. The City of Hialeah, Fla.[edit]

Griffith turned Hialeah's Atlas Cinema into an X-rated theater in August 1985, outraging Mayor Raul Martinez. "The issue is not censorship," Martinez said at the time. "It is morality. They will bring in derelicts, the sick of mind. They're like herpes -- wherever they go, everybody gets infected. We don't need that."[3]

The day after opening, in a pre-emptive strike, Griffith's lawyers sued the city, charging that a Hialeah zoning ordinance banning porn cinemas within 500 feet of residences was unconstitutional. His court challenge failed and the theater was ordered shut down.[3]

"I couldn't even use the word burlesque." [45]

— Griffith, recalling local regulations in '60s-era Miami Beach

v. The City of Miami[edit]

In 1987, city officials confiscated movie projectors, a refreshment stand, and other property from Griffith's Pussycat Theater. He had just won a court fight with the city over his right to exhibit a film called Three Ripening Cherries. He was accused of owing more than $50,000 in fines dating back to 1978. The city bungled part of the collection process in a technical snafu, so Griffith ended up accountable for only $21,400.[3]

An auction of his theater equipment was conducted to satisfy that debt. The winning bid came in at $13,500, from Griffith himself, effectively reducing his penalties by another $8,000.[3]

v. Dade County[edit]

Between 1976 and 1987, the Pussycat was raided 18 times. Efforts by the county to charge him with a felony for screening two obscene movies within 5 years collapsed when Griffith's attorney pointed out that too much time had elapsed between incidents. When prosecutors then indicated they might like to charge him with a simple misdemeanor for the more recent indiscretion (showing the film American Babylon), his attorney argued it had been two years since that film had been confiscated, thus denying Griffith his right to a speedy trial. The judge agreed and threw out the case.[3]

"If I was a judge taking bribes, a banker trying to swindle my customers out of bank funds, a doctor selling drugs, I might feel bad. But seeing a nude girl? There's nothing immoral about that. And there are more judges and lawyers and cops and bankers in jail than theater owners. I'm not hurting anyone, or stealing, or anything like that." [3]

— Griffith, in a 1993 interview

In April 1987, the Dade State Attorney's Office filed a ten-page complaint demanding that the Pussycat be shut down. This time the charge was brought under the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act. Because the Pussycat had been raided 18 times in eleven years, prosecutors contended, it must be an ongoing criminal enterprise. "That's not what the RICO Act was put in for," Griffith retorted. A judge agreed and dismissed the complaint.[3]

v. The City of Miami Beach[edit]

In late 1989, after the cities of Fort Lauderdale and North Miami Beach outlawed alcohol in establishments featuring nude entertainers, Miami Beach officials—led by Mayor Alex Daoud—feared strip club operators would gravitate to their city and that Miami Beach "would be overrun with sex-mad drunken men and immoral, naked women."[3]

Confronting Miami Beach city commissioners in 2009 on the city's ban of alcohol in nightclubs featuring nudity.

The imminent debut of the Gold Club, whose owners had intended to introduce nudity and alcohol in their new building on 5th Street, spurred the City Commission to pass local legislation prohibiting such a mix.[3]

Griffith announced that if the Gold Club was allowed to open with liquor and nudity, he would move his hard-core films from the Gayety Theater (then known as Deja Vu) to the Roxy, which then was showing second-run movies for general audiences. In turn, he would convert the Gayety into an upscale nude bar to compete with the Gold Club.

Daoud said, "We don't have to sit idly by and watch [adult clubs] open up. It would be detrimental to the growth of our city that has been developing so nicely."[3]

The city passed an ordinance in January 1990 prohibiting not only nudity and alcohol sharing the same room, but also banning any nudity near schools and churches. The Gold Club did open with nude dancers, but soon folded under the handicap of the no-liquor policy.

"There's nothing immoral about the human body. Evil's all in the mind." [3]

— Griffith, in a 1993 interview

Griffith, meanwhile, successfully changed the Gayety into the all-nude, alcohol-free Deja Vu (without local competition), and turned the Roxy into an adult theater, Club Madonna. Daoud was removed from office a year later after being implicated on unrelated corruption charges for which he was later convicted and imprisoned.[3] Griffith and Daoud have since become close friends.

Since the early 2000s, Griffith has been involved in legal disputes with the City of Miami Beach over its 1989/1990 ordinances banning the sale of alcohol in any establishment featuring nudity. He sued several city officials in federal court, alleging they conspired to deny him a fair hearing before the City Commission after he sued the wife of one commissioner for libel, slander, and defamation after she waged a campaign against him, claiming, among other things, that he was a tax cheat.[136][137][138]

Personal life[edit]

Family[edit]

In May 1964, Griffith saved the life of his 18-month-old son, Cash, after pulling him unconscious from the family pool at their Miami home. He credited his effort to reading about mouth-to-mouth resuscitation insructions while on an airplane flight the week before.[139]

Philanthropy[edit]

Griffith, for years, hosted annual shows at his Carib Theater benefiting the Miami Beach Police and Firemen's Benevolent Association. The city's police softball teams and the Miami Beach Policemen's Relief and Pension Fund have also been beneficiaries of his charitable giving. In 1997, the MBPD recognized Griffith for his donation of bicycles to the department, for use by its bike patrol officers.

Nationally syndicated gossip writer Earl Wilson thanked Griffith in a December 1965 column "for his welcome Christmas check for the 'Earl Wilson Help the Needy Fund' which arrived just in time to aid some deserving folk."[140]

Work[edit]

Stage productions[edit]

  • This Was Burlesque (1964) - producer
  • Hello Burlesque (1965) - producer
Griffith signs his Mundo depravados co-stars Tempest Storm and Herb Jeffries (left) to film contracts in 1967.

Filmography[edit]

  • Bell, Bare and Beautiful (1963) - producer, writer, actor (Theater Manager)
  • Lullaby of Bareland (1964) - producer
  • The Case of the Stripping Wives (1966) - producer
  • Mundo depravados (1967) - producer
  • My Third Wife, George (1968) - producer
  • Behind the Burly Q (documentary, 2010) - interview subject

Awards and recognitions[edit]

  • 1970s: Key to the City of Miami Beach (awarded by Mayor Harold Rosen)
  • 1970s: Recognition for "unselfish contributions" to the annual All-Star show (Miami Beach Police and Firemen's Benevolent Association)
  • 1997: Recognition for "outstanding dedication and service" to the Washington Avenue Bike Unit (Miami Beach Police Department)
  • 1999: Recognition for "generous support" for the Miami Beach Police softball teams (Miami Beach Police Department)
  • 2000: Recognition for "generosity and continued support" (Miami Beach Policemen's Relief and Pension Fund)
  • 2007: Best Adult Club in Miami Beach (Club Madonna), The Miami SunPost

References[edit]

  1. ^ Norman, Forrest (February 2, 2006). "The Battle of Biscayne". The Miami New Times. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  2. ^ Zemeckis, Leslie (2013). "Florida". Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America. Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-62087-691-6.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Baker, Greg (January 27, 1993). "The Pioneer of Porn". The Miami New Times. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  4. ^ Biondi, Joanne (2006). Miami Beach Memories: A Nostalgic Chronicle of Days Gone By. Guilford, Conn.: The Globe Pequot Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0762740666.
  5. ^ "Leroy C. Griffith". IMDb. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  6. ^ "Behind the Burly Q". imdb.com. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  7. ^ "The Night They Raided Minsky's Film Locations - [www.onthesetofnewyork.com]". onthesetofnewyork.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  8. ^ "Ann Corio, Star of "This Was Burlesque," Dead". playbill.com. Playbill. March 10, 1999. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  9. ^ "Atlas Twin". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  10. ^ "CinemaTour - Cinemas Around the World - Atlas Theatre, Hialeah FL". www.cinematour.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  11. ^ "Little Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  12. ^ "Little Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  13. ^ "CinemaTour - Cinemas Around the World - Beach Theatre, Jacksonville Beach FL". www.cinematour.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  14. ^ "Beach Theatre in Jacksonville Beach, FL - Cinema Treasures". www.cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  15. ^ "Monroe Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  16. ^ "Monroe Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  17. ^ "79th Street Twin II Cinema". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  18. ^ "79th Street Cinema". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  19. ^ "Boulevard Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  20. ^ "Boulevard Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  21. ^ "Rio Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  22. ^ "Dixie Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  23. ^ "Paramount Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  24. ^ "Paramount Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  25. ^ "Rex Art Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  26. ^ "Rosetta Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  27. ^ "Town Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  28. ^ "Town Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  29. ^ "21st Street Twin". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  30. ^ "21st Street Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  31. ^ "Beach Theatre in Miami Beach, FL - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  32. ^ "CinemaTour - Cinemas Around the World - Beach Theatre, Miami Beach FL". www.cinematour.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  33. ^ "Cameo Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  34. ^ "Cameo Theater". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  35. ^ "Carib Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  36. ^ "Carib Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  37. ^ "Flamingo Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  38. ^ "Flamingo Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  39. ^ "Paris Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  40. ^ "Variety Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  41. ^ "Plaza Art Theatre in Miami Beach, FL - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  42. ^ "CinemaTour - Cinemas Around the World - Plaza Art Theatre, Miami Beach FL". www.cinematour.com. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  43. ^ "Roxy Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  44. ^ "Roxy Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  45. ^ a b Wakefield, Rebecca (May 2, 2002). "Strip Wars". The Miami New Times. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  46. ^ "Casino Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  47. ^ "Improv Comedy Theater". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  48. ^ "Ritz Theater". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  49. ^ "Ritz Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  50. ^ "Navy Point Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  51. ^ "CinemaTour - Cinemas Around the World - Navy Point Theatre, Warrington FL". www.cinematour.com. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  52. ^ "Follies Theater". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  53. ^ "Gem Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  54. ^ "Rialto Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  55. ^ "Loop End Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  56. ^ "Capitol Theatre". cinematour.com. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  57. ^ "Ritz Theatre". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
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