Michael Lamont’s hobby of showing films on the University campus would eventually turn into a Eugene landmark. Lamont, who died Dec. 22 at age 62 of Lou Gehrig’s disease, opened the Bijou Art Cinemas in 1980.
Moviegoers can still watch indie films at the theater, which is housed in an 83-year-old chapel at 492 E. 13th Ave. near campus. A theater manager says movies at the Bijou will still play as usual – for now.
“Nothing’s going to change right away,” said Louise Thomas, theater manager. She added family members have yet to read Lamont’s will. The family may sell the business or keep it as is.
“We’ll just have to see how it goes,” Thomas said.
Lamont, originally from El Paso, Texas, learned how to be a projectionist at the now-demolished Waco Twin Cinemas on Franklin Boulevard, and he started showing movies on campus as a computer science student in the 1970s.
He heard space was available in an empty chapel, then known as the Wilcox Building. He sold all of his photography equipment to open the Bijou in 1980.
“He wanted to show films that people weren’t able to see anywhere else in Eugene at the time,” Thomas said.
Delila Olsson worked with Lamont in the 1970s at the Waco theater and was a friend during the opening of the Bijou.
“Michael had a strong vision for the theater, but I don’t think it was apparent to anyone that the Bijou would be a long-term success, given the financial challenges he faced in those first few years,” Olsson said, adding he worked to create a fun, artsy atmosphere.
Lois Wadsworth, a former film critic for the Eugene Weekly, started reviewing films at the Bijou in the mid-1980s.
“I remember it being pretty funky, but I liked that about it,” Wadsworth said.
She said her relationship with Lamont was professional, and he was courteous toward her.
“We often disagreed about films, and I would disagree with some films he brought,” Wadsworth said. “It was always interesting that he brought strong, politically left-wing films to the theater when that was not his personal belief.”
As other theaters closed around Eugene in the 1980s and ’90s, the Bijou played an increasingly important role in the local arts scene and became the only outlet for independent films.
“If it weren’t for the Bijou, we would be stuck with whatever the multiplexes wanted to bring, which would be Hollywood blockbusters,” Wadsworth said. “It would be a barren landscape for people who love delicious independent films.”
The future of Eugene’s chapel-turned-theater, however, is up in the air after Lamont’s passing.
Lamont was diagnosed of Lou Gehrig’s disease in 2001, and the progressive disease slowly took its toll on him.
Lamont was sometimes difficult to work with and was a micromanager, Thomas said.
“Oh, he was a pain in the butt sometimes,” she said.
Lou Gehrig’s disease took over Lamont’s life, and he left most duties to Thomas during the last years of his life.
Those close to him are discovering Lamont, who played guitar, piano and drums, left behind cassettes of partial songs he wrote, Thomas said. The theater is working to catalog the music.
Thomas said the Bijou has left its mark on Eugene history.
“Michael has left a great legacy,” she said.
Those close to Lamont hope the Bijou stays open.
“I hope that the Bijou continues its long tradition of bringing excellent films to the community,” Wadsworth said. “They bring the best films here.”
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