This Month in Miami Beach History

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On July 16, 1987, the Miami Beach Theater of Performing Arts was renamed the Jackie Gleason Theater, in honor of the television star who boldly proclaimed at the end of all his shows that “Miami Beach audiences are the greatest in the world!”

Built in 1950 and initially known as The Miami Beach Municipal Auditorium, the auditorium was substantially renovated in the 1970s by renowned architect Morris Lapidus and renamed the Miami Beach Theater of Performing Arts. The venue played host to Jackie Gleason’s American Scene Magazine show (renamed The Jackie Gleason Show in 1966) after it moved to Miami Beach from New York in 1964. Gleason’s love of Miami Beach led to his viewers flocking to Miami Beach to experience what Gleason called the “sun and fun capital of world”.

From the theater’s inception in 1950 to the present, it has hosted historic and memorable song and dance performances, comedy, boxing matches, pageants and iconic entertainment including, but not limited to, The Ed Sullivan Show, dazzling musical performances from stars like Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra to classical musicians like Yitzhak Perlman and Vladimir Horowitz, bringing 73 years of audiences, tourists and visitors to the Miami Beach business community.