Remembering Leroy Griffith: A Piece of Miami Beach History

Miami Beach has lost a true piece of its history.

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Leroy Griffith, who passed away at the age of 94, was more than a businessman or entertainment entrepreneur. For more than six decades, his life and career were woven into the changing story of Miami Beach.

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But Leroy's remarkable story began far from Miami Beach.

 

At just 17 years old, he left his small hometown and headed for the big city, taking a job selling candy and trinkets at the Grand Burlesque Theatre in St. Louis. He eventually worked his way up to concessions manager, but more importantly, he began learning the business from the inside out. 

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Leroy quickly discovered something that would help shape his entrepreneurial instincts: sometimes the real business wasn't the attraction itself—it was everything surrounding it.

 

As he later recalled:

“Concessions was where the real money was.” 

 

By 23, he was already moving beyond employee to entrepreneur. A 1955 Billboard magazine column reported that Griffith, then concessions manager at the Folly Theater in Kansas City, had become the owner of the Missouri Coffee Shop. 

 

And the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Over an extraordinary 75-year career, Leroy would go on to own, lease or operate more than 70 theaters, cinemas and nightclubs across the United States, with a significant presence throughout South Florida.  Miami Beach, however, became an especially important part of his story.

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His properties here included the Cameo, Carib, Flamingo, Gayety, Paris, Plaza Art and Roxy, among others. Along Washington Avenue alone, he operated the Cameo, Paris, Plaza Art and Roxy, making him part of the avenue's entertainment history for generations. Pasted text

His connection to Washington Avenue continued through Club Madonna, which he established at the former Roxy in 1994 and which remains part of Washington Avenue today. Pasted text

And what a collection of stories he accumulated along the way.

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Leroy's world intersected with some of the most recognizable personalities in entertainment. Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Belle Barth, Tempest Storm, Blaze Starr and Herb Jeffries were among the notable figures who crossed his path. A young Mickey Rourke even worked for Leroy as a cashier and projectionist in Miami Beach. 

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Leroy also knew Donald Trump and was once a guest aboard Trump's private helicopter, years before Trump became president. 

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But Leroy's story was never simply about celebrities or entertainment.

He was fiercely independent and often found himself at the center of disputes involving freedom of expression and First Amendment rights. He challenged municipal restrictions, battled local authorities in court and even found himself confronting the federal government.

 

At one point, his use of the letters “F.B.I.” in advertising for his Washington, D.C., theater caught the attention of U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. When Kennedy summoned him to explain, Leroy reportedly told him the letters stood for “Fine Burlesque Inside.” Kennedy was said to have laughed. 

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That story captured something essential about Leroy: he was rarely intimidated, and he was never afraid to defend what he believed was his right to do.

D

uring another controversy, he summed up his philosophy in his own words:

“In America we have the right to see, hear and do what we like.” 

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Yet there was another side of Leroy's Miami Beach legacy that deserves to be remembered.

 

For years, he supported Miami Beach police officers, firefighters and their families. His theaters hosted benefit shows, his contributions helped support scholarship efforts for the children of fallen police officers and firefighters, and he supported the Miami Beach Police Department in other ways, including donating bicycles for its bike patrol officers. Pasted text

 

For those fortunate enough to sit down and talk with him, however, perhaps one of Leroy's greatest gifts was his memory—and the extraordinary history contained within it.

 

As I reflect on the conversations I had with him, this is how I will remember him:

“Talking with Leroy was like talking to living history. He didn’t just know the stories of Miami Beach and the entertainment business—he knew the people behind them. Whether you agreed with him or not, you always walked away knowing something you didn’t know before. Leroy didn’t simply witness history. He lived it.”
— Troy E. Wright

 

At 94, Leroy Griffith leaves behind far more than a collection of businesses, theaters and stories. He leaves behind a chapter of Miami Beach history.

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From a 17-year-old selling candy in a St. Louis theater, to a young entrepreneur who figured out where the real money was, to a man who would eventually operate more than 70 venues across America, Leroy's life was a testament to ambition, resilience and an unwavering determination to do things his own way.

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He was colorful. He was controversial. He was generous. He was determined. And whether he was opening a theater, fighting City Hall, supporting local police and firefighters, sitting with some of the biggest personalities of his time, or simply sharing another unbelievable story from his life, Leroy was unmistakably Leroy.

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Washington Avenue and Miami Beach are richer for the history he leaves behind.

Rest in peace, Leroy. Thank you for the stories, the memories, and for leaving your unmistakable mark on Miami Beach.