ABDOO "AL" SALUAN, age 60. Beloved son of Elias "Jorge" and Azizeh (nee Aina); loving brother of Odaline Daher (husband Wajih), Gabriel (wife Diane), Charles, and Mary Ann Karam (husband George); cherished uncle of Dr. Joseph Daher, Pamela Danial (husband Shereif), Patrick Daher, Deanna Freitas (husband Joseph), Gabriel Jr., Amanda, Brittany, Christopher, Sarah Karam and great-uncle of four; dear nephew and cousin of many. Contributions may be made, in Al's memory, to St. Maron Church or the Aitaneet Brotherhood Foundation. Mass of Christian Burial Monday, Aug. 3, 2009 at 11 a.m. at St. Maron Catholic Church, 1245 Carnegie Ave. Interment following at All Souls Cemetery. Family will receive friends to pay tribute to and celebrate the life of Al at THE DeJOHN-FLYNN-MYLOTT FUNERAL HOME OF SOUTH EUCLID, 4600 MAYFIELD RD. (JUST E. OF GREEN RD.) SUNDAY 4-8 P.M. PRAYERS OF INCENSE SUNDAY 7 P.M.
www.DeJohnFuneral.com
Abdoo 'Al' Saluan, ran Atlas Cinemas, Greater Cleveland movie theater chain: Obituary
Friday July 31, 2009, 10:34 PM
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS -- Abdoo "Al" Saluan made movies his life. He rose from a teenage movie usher to running a chain of local theaters that at one time included the Colony Theater.
Saluan, who died Wednesday, continually upgraded his theaters by adding more screens, stadium seating and digital sound and projection. His Atlas Cinemas chain encompassed the Midway Mall 8 in Elyria, Lakeshore 7 in Euclid, Great Lakes Stadium 16 in Mentor and Diamond Center 16 in Mentor.
"He was always trying to do more for the customer," said Atlas director of operations Chris Baxter. It wasn't unusual to see Saluan scooping up popcorn or pushing a broom, Baxter remembered.
Saluan was pronounced dead about 6:30 p.m. at Euclid Hospital following a car crash on Lakeland Boulevard in Euclid, according to a spokesman at the Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office.
Saluan's taste in movies ranged from Marilyn Monroe to "Star Wars," and he proudly displayed a Darth Vader clock in his office, Baxter said.
Saluan, 60, was born in Aitaneet, Lebanon, and moved to Cleveland with his family as a young boy. After graduating from Cleveland Heights High School, he cooked and bartended at restaurants his father owned, said sister Mary Ann Karam of Mayfield Heights.
He bought his first theater, the Lakeshore, in 1976. When he took over running the Colony on Shaker Square in Cleveland in 1991, it was the only remaining first-run, single screen theater in the Cleveland area. Saluan split it into a five-screen facility, a move that saddened some movie buffs.
Former Colony operator Morrie Zryl remembered ushering with Saluan at the Cedar Lee Theatre in Cleveland Heights when they were teenagers. Although the men disagreed over a business deal that passed operation of the Colony from Zryl to Saluan, Zryl said he respected what Saluan later achieved.
"He would say he was married to the business," said Zryl, now living in Sunrise, Fla.
In recent years Saluan lived with his parents, Elias "Jorge" and Azizeh, in their Highland Heights home to help during his father's illness, Karam said. His parents are among his survivors.
A Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Maron Catholic Church, 1245 Carnegie Ave., Cleveland. Arrangements are through the DeJohn-Flynn-Mylott Funeral Home in South Euclid.
Karam and Saluan's other surviving siblings -- Odaline Daher of Highland Heights, Gabriel Saluan of Kirtland and Charles Saluan of Strongsville -- plan to run the Atlas chain, Karam said.
"That's what he loved in life," she said.
http://www.cleveland.com/obituaries/index.ssf/2009/07/abdoo_al_saluan_ran_atlas_cine.html
