Southland Theatres

My father, Howard Denial managed the Southland Theatre from it’s opening in 1970 until he retired in 1977. He had earlier managed the Wyandotte, the Hollywood and the 6 mile Uptown theatres. The Southland was a part of the Suburban Detroit Theatre chain owned by Richard and Eugene Levy. I believe AMC later bought them out. I was a ticket taker and responsible for the marquee changes from 1973 until 1975. I later cleaned the theatre after hours in 1976 to 1977. Once during 1972 my father decided to resurrect the old Spook shows with “live” monsters. I played Frankenstein and was pelted pretty hard by all sorts of candy. My father had a black cape covering him while he flew a bat on a pole over the audience. He was revealed when an usherette accidently leaned against the switch that turned on the lights in the auditorium. Boy, was he mad. That was the last time he attempted a Spook show. Great memories.

I visited the Southland several times with Billy Levy the son of Burt Levy who owned L & L concessions. But not only did Burt Levy own L & L he was part of Detroit’s Variety Club. Due to his efforts Detroit’s Variety Club made many charitable contributions to local children’s charities. He also made it possible for many underprivileged children to see movies for free with the help of wonderful theater managers like Mr. Denial.

December 16th, 1983 grand opening with 4 screens in photo section.