Ritz Theater

My dad and his brother owned and operated this theater until it closed. They owned it plus the Ace and the Georgia and the Harlem in Memphis TN under the Ace Amusement Co. brand. They had a theater in Clarksdale MS in the black section which burned down sometime in the late 1950’s. One of my uncles managed it for them and had one of the original enlarged prints of one of the more famous Marilyn Monroe photos in his office which was lost in the fire.

I will try to get more info from my sister and a cousin. In Clarksdale MS, the theater was called the Savoy. Also, other theaters my father and uncle had were 3 drive ins located in Memphis and West Memphis, AR; respectively, Lamar Drive In on Lamar Ave, Sky Vue Drive In on Park Avenue and Sunset Drive In. The Sky Vue was built in 1952 or 3 or 4 and was closed by the City of Memphis via eminent domain after MLK’s assasination; a high school was built on the grounds and was attended by Anfernee ‘Penny" Hardaway, the NBA star; the drive way entrances could still be seen when I last drove by there a year or so ago. Finally, they may have had one more in Sardis, MS called the Tower.