Early Life
Seltzer was born in Helena, Montana on April 5, 1903.
As a young adult, Seltzer was in the motion picture distributing field with the Universal film company. This eventually led him to own a chain of struggling movie theaters in Oregon.
In 1929, after observing the popularity of cash prize-awarding dance marathons among out-of-work contestants and spectators, Seltzer sought ways to capitalize on the trend. In 1931, he helped organize and promote "walkathon"s, which at that time was another name for dance marathons, since most dancers ended up merely shuffling around for the duration of the contests, which could run as long as 40 days. His first commercial walkathon was held in Denver, Colorado, with twenty-two more to follow, including events at the Lotus Isle amusement park in Portland, Oregon. He grossed $2 million before retiring, citing that the events had become "vulgar."
Seltzer moved his family to Chicago in 1933, and began booking events into the Chicago Coliseum, a fortress-like structure at 15th & Wabash.
Read more about this topic: Leo Seltzer
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