Michael Hittman is an anthropologist and professor emeritus at Long Island University, home of the Brooklyn Paramount Theatre. He has authored numerous academic articles in leading journals and books about Native Americans, including Wovoka and the Ghost Dance. He has also conducted research and taught on popular culture and mass media. His anthropological-like study of the Brooklyn Paramount, the world's first motion picture theatre built expressly for the "Talkies," channels his background in Jazz as an NPR radio host in recounting the Theatre's fabled history. He lives with his wife in Manhattan and Southold, New York.