The first-ever museum exhibition about a publicist, honoring the celebrity-studded life and career of a promotional genius who was nationally recognized and greatly admired, debuts June 19, continuing through Sept. 16, at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU with the premiere of “Charlie Cinnamon: Legendary Press Agent.”
Cinnamon was unmatched in his field. Because he was revered by the news media at a level uncommon for most publicists, and was highly respected by national cultural institutions, captains of industry, America’s leading philanthropists and arts patrons, his passing in 2016 made national headlines.
This timely exhibition comes at a precarious moment for society and the media, offering valuable lessons from history about the ways this community hero honored his lifelong partnerships with journalists, artists and entertainers, politicians and business leaders.
The exhibition features more than 100 historic items curated from Cinnamon’s personal showbiz archives, from his childhood growing up in the Bronx during the 1920s, all the way through 2016.
Photos and ephemera span the more than 60 years Cinnamon reigned as the country’s most beloved press agent for America’s leading arts organizations and national public affairs campaigns for major institutions and companies.
He was singularly respected by several generations of journalists for his honesty and integrity, from the time he started working in the 1940s until his recent passing.
While today’s frenetic social media stream and the “fake news” phenomena turn the news industry upside down, Cinnamon’s straightforward brand of public relations hearkens back to a time when a handshake and a gentleman’s agreement meant so much more.
Cinnamon worked until the age of 94. He presented his last press conference shortly before his death, promoting a national tour for Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal.
For 60-plus years, he was coveted as a news promoter by the world’s biggest stars, including: Elizabeth Taylor, Johnny Carson, Tallulah Bankhead, Milton Berle, Carol Channing, Ethel Merman, Chita Rivera, Lauren Bacall, Liza Minelli, Eartha Kitt, Hugh Hefner, Princess Caroline of Monaco, Julio Iglesias, Rita Moreno, and many more.
He was tapped to lead national public affairs campaigns for some of the world’s leading cultural organizations and commercial enterprises, including: National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and its National YoungArts Foundation, the national campaign to bring the NBA franchise Miami Heat team to Florida, the launch of Carnival Cruise Lines, the New World Symphony, Broadway Across America, and Miami City Ballet.
“Each year the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU chooses an icon from the community to honor with an exhibition, celebrating their contributions to national culture and the arts,” said Susan Gladstone, executive director of the museum.
“Charlie Cinnamon was the ultimate star-maker who transformed our part of the world into a star. We are recognizing the lessons his story offers for today’s generations about the importance of crafting your profession with warm-heartedness, virtue, and character (plus lots of fun, glitz, and razzle-dazzle in the mix too).
“There is a famous saying on Miami Beach: ‘Everyone has a Charlie story,’ because he helped so many people and cultural institutions for more than six decades. He was beloved as a news-maker during the entertainment industry’s glamorous history,” Gladstone added.
The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU created this new exhibition, curated by Jacqueline Goldstein. The items are on loan from the Cinnamon family, and from Broadway producer and director Richard Jay-Alexander and photojournalist Manny Hernandez. Both men were friends and colleagues of Cinnamon for decades, and consider him a major influence on their lives and careers.
Richard Jay-Alexander and Manny Hernandez helped to preserve Cinnamon’s memorabilia, and were the ones who spearheaded this tribute by approaching the museum to help make this exhibition possible. They are also working with the museum team to help organize a VIP opening reception, an invitation-only preview for the museum’s benefactors, exhibition sponsors, community leaders/patrons of the arts, and Charlie’s close friends and family.
Visitors to the museum will get to experience a treasure trove of never-before-seen items from Cinnamon’s personal collection, like walking through a time capsule with a behind-the-scenes look at the history of show business, the theater, and the evolution of arts and culture in our State of Florida and nationwide.
This treasure trove features a series of newspaper articles that demonstrate how much journalists respected and admired Cinnamon (a rarity in the world of publicists at the time). It was very uncommon for newspapers to publish stories extolling the contributions of public relations reps, yet this exhibition features several full-page profiles praising the legendary press agent.
“Our society related differently to the news media and journalists back then. Before the Internet, social media, and the 24-hour news cycle, glamour and celebrities were rare and hardly accessible,” Gladstone said.
He was renowned for being loyal and had a reputation for being selfless, with impeccable charm and social skills. Many of the people he took under his wing went on to become leaders in the national arena. In one of the items on display, Cinnamon is quoted as saying: “You always gotta put something back in the pot.”
Cinnamon moved down to Miami Beach in the 1950s to work for publicist Helen Baum, promoting hotels, night clubs and trade shows.
His first job on Miami Beach was for $25 a week as the publicist for the Empress Hotel.
“I came down to Miami Beach from New York, and immediately activated the entire town, including Coconut Grove,” notes Cinnamon in one of his hand-written archival letters. “I was the kid from the Bronx who became Godfather to the entire town.”
Located in a former synagogue that housed Miami Beach’s first Jewish congregation, the museum’s restored 1936 Art Deco building and 1929 original synagogue are both on the National Register of Historic Places.
The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed on Mondays and holidays. Admission is adults, $6; seniors, $5; families, $12; members and children under 6 always free; Saturdays are free.
For more information call 305-672-5044 or visit www.jmof.fiu.edu.
