John Landi

John Landi worked as the house electrician for the RKO Tilyou Theater in the early 1960's when the Tilyou family still operated the theater. He was 19 years old when he started the job and stayed for two or three years. John describes his duties at the theater and describes some of the people he got to know on the job including policemen who used the theater to rest their horses. A refrigerator was always stocked with cold beverages for them to encourage their presence in the theater.

This photo documents a Mardi Gras parade on Surf Ave., but it also shows the Tilyou theater on the left where John worked three decades after this photo was taken.