Ramon L. Posel

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Philadelphia Portal

Ramon L. Posel, art-cinema proponent and real estate developer, born August 1928 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died June 23, 2005, in New York City, from pancreatic cancer.

Posel was born to Russian immigrants in Philadelphia, next to the Lyric Theater, one of seven movie houses owned by his father, Leo. Posel grew up watching movies in his family's theaters, starting with janitorial work and eventually working his way up to usher, and then working in the projection room while in high school. He excelled in Philadelphia's Central High School, both academically and athletically, gaining local fame as a football player. As a youth, Posel preferred novels to movies, as he felt movies lacked novels' "resonance." His preferred recreational activities included jazz clubs.

Posel attended Swarthmore College, majoring in English and earning his Bachelor's degree in 1950; he earned his masters at Columbia University in 1951. Thereafter he attended Harvard Law School where he earned another degree. It was at Harvard that he saw Vittorio De Sica's The Bicycle Thief and radically changed his view on the importance of movies. He returned to Philadelphia and joined the firm of Wolf, Block in the real estate division. He married Nancy Robinson and had three daughters, Anne, Ellen and Frances.

In 1964 he grew tried dealing with clients' real estate developments and became one himself. He built his first movie theater on Philadelphia's Bustleton Avenue and named it the Leo, after his father. Among his other real estate delveopments was the Sheraton-Olde Post Inn in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which featured an after-hours Hollywood lounge styled jazz club.

In 1976 he opened the regionally popular Ritz Three theater, which opened with a lot of publicity but few customers. On the back of each ticket was an uncredited quote which stood as the mantra for Posel's theater interests: "People used to go to the movies as they now watch television - not to see something but to see anything. We're trying to select . . . features for those who want to see something." It took seven years of this first Ritz Theater to turn a profit. In 1985, the Ritz Three became the Ritz Five. This theater currently has a pre-show slide persentation of the work of local artists.

In 1992, the Ritz Five premiered Philadelphia-area native M. Night Shyamalan debut feature-length film Praying with Anger. Posel also opened Ritz theaters in Voorhees, New Jersey (opened as Ritz Twelve, now Ritz Sixteen) and in 'Old City' Philadelphia's landmark Bourse Building.

Posel used his knowledge and skill in real estate development negotiation and his passion for uniqueness and quality to create or raise the bar for a reputable market in the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area for art theater houses, restaurants and other culturally enriching endeavors.