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Thomas D» Soriero
Managing Director Rochester Theatre C \ Rochester, N. Y.
THOMAS D. SORIERO, managing director of the Rochester Theatre, Rochester, New York, rose to his present high place in the amusement world from the humble position of program boy in Keith’s Theatre, Providence, R. I., in 1902. He has been one of the most progressive showmen in the business and an exploiteer par excellence.
Mr. Soriero was born in Providence, May 6, 1889. He was educated there and started work in that job of program boy while he was attending high school. His has been a very active career from that time on. He was promoted from program boy to the publicity department, and then ticket seller and remained there until 1905.
In Providence in 1905 Mr. Soriero opened one of the first nickelodeons in New England. The following year he acquired the Puritan Theatre in Fall River, Mass. From 1907 to 1912 he was interested in roller rinks and Summer parks throughout New England, with rinks in nearly every prominent city in these states.
In 1913 Mr. Soriero opened the Gayety Theatre in Providence. It was here that the first double bills in New England were introduced. In 1915 he found the value of exploitation stunts, when for the first time he tied up a book window with a picture and it attracted wide attention.
The Park Theatre in Boston, which had been a flop, was taken over by Mr. Soriero in 1915 for Louis B. Mayer. A double feature policy was carried on and World Film Company supplied pictures at no cost to tie in
with the whirlwind Soriero publicity campaigns. Personal appearances of the popular screen stars of the day, including Kitty Gordon, Alice Brady, Bert Lytell, Montagu Love and Francis X. Bushman, were instituted, and all were furnished gratis. The Park became the outstanding house of New England.
Mr. Soriero then became general manager for Louis B. Mayer for all his theatres in New England and he held that position until 1921, when he resigned and became general manager for Charles Whitehurst Theatres in Baltimore. He introduced in the Century Theatre the band policy with master of ceremonies and specialty revue numbers, which alternated with the roof gardens.
On the death of Charles Whitehurst he resigned and became general manager of the theatre department for Universal Pictures Corporation. He remained there until 1925, when he went with the Comerford Amusement Company as personal representative for M. E. Comerford. While with Comerford he broadcasted entire vaudeville programs over the radio directly from the stage.
Later Mr. Soriero made a survey of Vitaphone and Movietone for M. E. Comerford and then for Louis B. Mayer. He was instrumental in introducing the first of these machines ,in the country. It was in 1928 that Mr. Soriero was appointed managing director of the Rochester Theatre, one of the largest and leading houses between New York and Chicago, and it has enjoyed tremendous popularity under his directorship.
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