How a Guy Named ‘RONZO’ Loosened Up a Small Town in North Mississippi

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By Gregory Crofton

Ronzito, Ronzo, Hoka Ron … whatever you called him … the nicknames meant one thing: People liked and knew of Ron Shapiro. He was a happy guy, adventurous and funny. And he would really listen to what someone had to say.

When he arrived in Oxford, Miss., in the mid-1970s he didn’t promote counterculture right away — things like bagels from Memphis, the beauty of bike lanes and possibilities of recycling. But there was a twinkle in his eye, entrepreneurism in his blood, and he was full of ideas.

Jon Brick’s new documentary “RONZO” about Shapiro pulls together all the loose ends of his free-spirited, inspiring life and shows how it changed Oxford for the better — one movie, one concert, one meal, and one road trip at a time.

Raised in St. Louis, Ron’s bohemian spirit came to life inside his grandfather’s jazz club, The Barrel (in 1952 Miles Davis recorded a live performance with Jimmy Forrest). Despite or because of that unconventional upbringing, Ron was always good at making friends in school, both with the jocks and the geeks.

He stayed home for college going to Washington University in St. Louis, even joining the same fraternity as Harold Ramis, who later directed the classic “Animal House.” Whether Ron was the inspiration for Bluto, the party animal in the movie played by John Belushi, could not be confirmed by family members but at least one implies in the doc that it could have been the case.

Forgetting to re-enroll at college in 1968, Ronzo was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in South Korea during the Vietnam War. He earned a promotion to corporal, and by all accounts, his prank-loving self once again became the star of the party.

Done with his military duty, Ron and his mother found themselves in charge of his late father’s chain of men’s tuxedo stores after his sudden death at 54. Ron gave the management thing a go for a while, but bailed and headed West to ski, and ended up showing movies for a living in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

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He may have developed his love for movies alongside Ramis while at college, but he definitely came up with the idea of starting a movie theater while at Jackson Hole. Ron wanted a job where he could work at night and ski during the day.

After a few years of living in the mountains and establishing a couple of small movie theaters and a film society, Ron followed a girlfriend back to her college, the University of Mississippi in Oxford.

He didn’t necessarily fit right in, according to Brick’s film, but Ron felt like it was a place he could be comfortable, maybe even thrive, and have the kind of cultural impact he wanted.

Oxford is a writer’s town so there was engrained potential. William Faulkner, who won two Pulitizer Prizes, lived and died there, which makes it more open to art and culture than most towns. But Ron, being new in town, had to work his way in. He didn’t just arrive and overnight open what would become his infamous Hoka movie theatre and cafe (1976-1996).

His first job was assisting special needs people at a rehabilitation center in town, which he really liked doing. But he soon found a new job at a government-owned pot farm just outside of town, the only one like it in the country.

He got security clearance because of his good military record and was able to get away with smuggling out joints, a variety of strains of marijuana from around the world, he tucked away in the cuffs of this jeans.

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When he located the old cotton bale warehouse that would become his Hoka movie house (named after an Indian princess), he rented it for $175 and invested about $12,000 to wire it, build it out, and buy a used projector. It was up and running by 1976. The first film he showed was a Charlie Chaplin flick.

Within two years, he opened the Moonlite Cafe inside warehouse where he served fresh food, like cheesecake and turkey-and-bacon sandwiches. It was a bring-your own-beer kind of place, and thrived as a late night cafe, especially on Sundays.

The Mississippi writer Willie Morris held court there many nights, often getting a turkey and bacon to go and bringing patrons back to the faculty house where he lived on campus so that the party could continue.

The Hoka was the spot for a long time in Oxford. Square Books, now a nationally known independent book store established in 1979, opened a few blocks away from the Hoka and the two businesses became symbiotic. It brought a stream of writers and other artists to town and Hoka helped entertain and feed them.

Times got tougher down the long road of commerce, and later on to help generate money to cover expenses — apparently Ronzo didn’t really care much about making money — he began showing woman-directed porn films, which drew a crowd of frat boys and foreign students and a good stream of business.

At the peak of its cultural influence it was a place to see arthouse movies, hear from poets like Allen Ginsberg, and listen to live music from bands like Uncle Tupelo, Phish, the North Mississippi Allstars, and Bobby Rush. Eventually the Hoka was shut down, once for tax reasons, and finally for failing a health inspection. It was known for its flavor, comfort and welcomed weirdness, but not for having the cleanest kitchen.

Some of Ron’s favorite phrases were: “Whatever” and “Go for it.” The sign on his door read, “No Shirt, No Shoes. Who Cares” and “Sorry We’re Open.”

“My mother was here recently and she said if I didn’t own the place she would never come in here,” says Ron in the film, wearing a Minnie Mouse shirt and with a wild mop of curly graying hair.

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Brick, who is also Ron’s nephew, says in his press kit, he was determined to make a film about Ron’s life, not just the Hoka. After watching “RONZO,” you’ll feel a little bit of Ron’s spirit in your toes and it’ll make you think twice about this crazy place called Earth and what you are doing on it.

At the end of each August, the city of Oxford — it has grown a lot in the last 50 years — celebrates Ron’s life with the Hoka Days parade around the town square. People still miss him everyday.

After the days of the Hoka were over, Ron continued to make Oxford his home. He opened a short-lived juice bar, the Main Squeeze — again something ahead of its time with its focus on healthy organic smoothies and juicing.

As he traveled and then gradually settled back into Oxford as a “literary escort,” which involved him driving authors from the airport in Memphis to Oxford’s Square Books. He told stories, took people to New Orleans and Memphis. It was a real trip.

The Hoka closed in 1996 but Ronzo lived in Oxford on and off until he died in 2019. I arrived in the summer of 1997 as a journalism grad student at Ole Miss (the nickname for the university).

My third and final year as a student, I got lucky and was able to share a cheap rented house near the square. It just across the street from an old-tin warehouse with a wooden-deck-type attached. I remember being drawn to the old structure by a mural of Porky Pig.

Turns out I lived next to the old Hoka! This was 1999, so I only missed being able to go there as a customer by a few years. It was easy to get inside and walk around. It was still very cool in all its decrepitude. I decided to write a story about the Hoka for my In Depth Journalism class. I had finished my article but I needed to get in touch with Ron to fact check things before it was published in Oxford Town, a weekly arts publication from the local newspaper, the Oxford Eagle.

Finally on a certain date around 3 p.m., Ronzo was back in town. He was difficult to track down, which people told me was something to be expected. I think he had been away in Mexico. He and I met at the bench near the courthouse at the center of the square.

He seemed to pop up out of nowhere. He was wearing sunglasses and a white shirt. I read through the facts of the article and he listened as I read through them. I can’t remember if he had any corrections for me, but probably there were a few. Then he looked at me and said “You sure do check your facts.” And he got up and left almost as soon as he had arrived.

“RONZO” is being shown at select film festivals around the country. The documentary next screens on Sept. 18th at the Kansas City Film Fest International and will be available to rent or stream soon.

Keep up with happenings “RONZO” here, and watch the trailer below.