During the early 1980s, I had been gradually disengaging myself from the Cinema operation (my sons were now stepping in to help their grandfather), but when he died suddenly in 1985, I decided to carry on and turn the business in new directions. Resigning my teaching position in 1991, I became the “movieguy” on a full-time basis and during the 1990s, under the new banner of Uniplex Cinemas, Inc., we established wintertime programming in historic theaters in Jamestown and Fredonia, NY and in Warren and Bradford PA. Efforts in recent years to streamline Uniplex and prepare for an eventual transition have led us to pass the management of Jamestown, Fredonia and Bradford on to others.
Through the decades many physical improvements to the Chautauqua Cinema were undertaken. These included a new concessions stand (that replaced a bank of vending machines) in 1986, marquee and entrance refurbishment as well as interior redecoration and carpeting in 1998 and continued upgrades of our 35mm projection and sound systems including the installation of genuine Dolby Digital 6-channel sound in 2003. More recent improvements include the addition of HD digital projection in 2007 and a new energy saving roof this last spring.
Now it is 2009 and the narration of this page has changed from Paul to me, his son Bill. After 50 years of building the one of a kind Chautauqua Cinema into the treasure it is today your beloved movieguy Paul is finally taking his well deserved retirement.

Those who know me will remember that as a boy I made quite a point to proclaim my independence. Certainly sticking around town and running the family business was well out of the question. My far reaching appetites led me as a young man to make a new home in San Francisco and find my living touring the world, honing my skills as a live audio engineer, a path that circuitously brought me to my own family.
But the truth is that through those many summers of my boyhood my love for the Cinema grew deep from both the countless movies that expanded my worldview and the sheer time and sweat we all put in. Every summer of my young life (and a fair portion of many winters) I spent working in the Cinema and as it turns out for me that is a cumulative effect not easily shrugged off. Now as the father of two young boys and the husband of their marvelous mom Kelly, I have learned a bit about the rewards of commitment. When faced with my Pop’s decision to retire I realized I could not bear to let the Cinema go. It was more than nostalgia. This was an opportunity to immerse myself in art that I adore, run my own business and broaden my family's lifestyle to include the blessings of summer in Chautauqua. How could we not? This is where life is going now. It's showtime.