Cameo Theater

Nunzienick on October 25, 2010 at 6:35 pm

Aaah yes! The Cameo. In 1969 I drove over from Tampa to see “I Am Curious (Yellow)” and I recall quite a number of senior citizens in the audience. This boring b&w film was pretty controversial for it’s time with some full frontal nudity…about the only reason it played for months and months in many markets.

The entrance into the Cameo’s audiorium was unique for a movie theatre. You walked up an incline right into the center of the auditorim. There were a few rows of seating from the entrance towards the front, and on either side of the entrance on up to the rear wall. Similiar to entering a stadium but without stadium seating.

When the theatre closed it was used for stage performances for some time although I can’t remember if it was still called the Cameo. Towards the late 1980s I saw a live performance of the hilarious “El Grande De Coca Cola.” It was strange seeing the auditorium without the screen. It looked somewhat smaller than I had remembered from about 20 years before.

Chuck1231 on April 19, 2010 at 10:58 am

The Cameo was open in 1928. After E.J. Sparks it was operated by Florida State Theatres. The theatre was raided by police on 8, Feb. 1973 for showing “Deep Throat” shortly thereafter it closed.