DELHI PRESS
Your Community Press newspaper serving Delhi Township and other West Cincinnati neighborhoods
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2021 | BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS | PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
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Answers elude in 2018 East Price Hill slaying of comedian Amber Hunt Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Friends put Hank Sykes' name in lights on the marque of the 20th Century Theater in Oakley in May 2021. PROVIDED
Hank Sykes was a legend when it came to Cincinnati theater history Jeff Suess Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
In May, theater historian Hank D. Sykes had his name up in lights on the marquee of the historic 20th Century Theater in Oakley. His friends at the public library pitched in for the tribute on what would have been his 79th birthday. As Sykes would have told you, the 20th Century Theater opened Aug. 1, 1941, showing “Blood and Sand” starring Tyrone Power, who, before he became a movie star, had been an usher at the Orpheum Theatre and Paramount Theatre at Peebles’ Corner. If you had a question about old theaters in Cincinnati, you asked Hank Sykes. Movie theaters, theatrical venues, vaudeville houses and nickelodeons – he knew just about all there was to know about them. Ask him about a theater’s history, who designed it, who ran it, how many seats it had and whatever happened to it, and he could tell you. See THEATER, Page 2A
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Cincinnati theater historian Hank Sykes wears a special hat for his presentation on “Lost and Found Theaters of the Queen City” at the Main Library in November 19. PROVIDED/PUBLIC LIBRARY OF CINCINNATI AND HAMILTON COUNTY
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For the families of victims killed in unsolved murders, life is at a standstill. The Enquirer is highlighting a series of cold cases, summarized and analyzed by the journalists whose careers largely focus on unsolved murders: the creators of Cincinnati.com’s Accused podcast. If you have any information on any unsolved case, please reach out to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Suggestions for cases to highlight can be sent to accused@enquirer.com. The crime: When Vanessa Huff aker tries to picture the scene that took her brother’s life, she can’t make sense of it. Marcell Huff aker, 52, was at a friend’s apartment in East Price Hill having some drinks May 29, 2018. He and the friend decided to go to the store to pick up more beverages, so Marcell they set out to walk toHuffaker ward a car about 10:40 p.m. As soon as they reached the building’s parking lot, Vanessa Huff aker said the friend fi red two gunshots into the air. “And the next thing you know, Marcell was shot in the chest from another direction,” the 53-year-old said. “And the friend took off running.” She said police have told her the slaying was likely committed by someone randomly fi ring gunshots toward the apartment complex. If that’s true, she has some questions. Like why was there only one shot fi red and how did it happen to hit her brother in the chest? What was the purpose of the friend’s two gunshots that preceded it? Was that random, too, or was it a signal to someone else? “It don’t make sense to me,” she said. The victim: Ask Vanessa Huff aker what her brother was like, and her 21year-old daughter chimes in from across the room. “You know you’re about to laugh when he comes into the room,” said Shania Brown, who considered Marcell her favorite uncle. “Like, you better get ready to crack up. Y’all know he’s coming in with a joke.” Uncle Bone, as Brown called Huffaker, even took his comedy to the stage, performing stand-up at some clubs, his sister said. “He was so damn funny all the time. Whoo!” she said, then apologized for cursing. “They just took a piece of us away from us.” See HUFFAKER, Page 2A
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