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Source: Beth Matsuyama
The operator of the Odeon theater was Frank J. Leahey. My mother had known him when my parents were involved in scouts at Sheridan Rd school in Lansing. Every Friday night the boy scout troup would show movies at the school to raise funds. She got the movies from Frank Leahey. He would order them and then they would split the rental cost. For the life of me, I can't remember what venue he showed them in.
And my mother has since passed away, so I can't ask her. But, later, I saw that he had taken on the Odeon. It usually would show unusual films such as foreign films and what we now call Indie films, for example I remember seeing "Trainspotting" and "The Scent of Green Papaya" there around 1996. Prior to that I went the Odeon's Bullwinkle film festival.
Frank was kind of cool. He had old-fashioned homemade popcorn made in one of the old time theater poppers. He hated that pre-packaged modern popcorn that came in the huge bags. It also had older velvet seats. He wanted patrons to experience what it was like to go to an old-time theater. It has previously been in a different spot in the center section of Frandor and then moved over to the western edge.
It seems to me that the Odeon also originally started out in downtown Lansing or East Lansing somewhere and moved to Frandor later. But don't quote me on that. Frank also wrote a ton of letters to the editor to the State Journal. You probably could find them on microfilm at the library. Maybe it would show when the theater opened and closed. It was always in financial danger and people would really rally to try and save it.