Tribute to Panama City’s Cultural Movers and Shakers – Clio and Hercules Pettis

Although Hercules and Clio Pettis have both passed away, many still remember them as a brilliant and vital couple who put Panama City on the cultural map.

Greek immigrants Hercules and Clio met in New York City and fell in love there. During World War II, Hercules flew B-52s as an Army Air Corps pilot. His last post, Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, became his home after the war ended. Believing the little fishing village of Panama City would provide a better atmosphere in which to raise children, they left behind Clio’s career with the Metropolitan Opera along with the cultural heart of New York City to move there.

Feeling a lack of cultural ambience in Panama City, they set about correcting that deficiency. They decided that the only way to introduce culture and the arts to Northwest Florida was eventually to bring it there themselves.

Hercules worked hard to become an accepted part of the business community, while Clio, who had started the Tyndall Field Choral Society, extended that enterprise to become the Panama City Choral Society, which performed classical pieces as well as Broadway musical excerpts.

Clio was soon hired by St. Dominic’s Catholic Church as a paid soloist, after which she moved to the First Methodist Church as choir leader, performing works such as Handel’s “Messiah.” Her third move was to become choir director at Holy Nativity Episcopal Church in the early 1960s. She went on to teach classical voice and piano for generations. In 1956 Clio joined what had morphed from the “Community Concert Series” into the Panama City Music Association (PCMA). There she worked with friends Eleanor Lewis and Louise Sapp to bring the arts to Panama City.

Hercules joined PCMA in the 1960s. He acted as talent coordinator and president for many years. With tireless energy he would go to New York City to bargain with talent agencies like Columbia or Alkahest. He would also meet with the personal agents of big name performers and work with them one on one. Panama City provided a stopping point between major cities, so performers would come at reduced rates. Hercules worked with other members of PCMA and taught them how to get the best talent and the best deals.

His business savvy worked miracles, and every year PCMA was able to put on an opera, a Broadway musical, a ballet, and a symphony. During his years at the helm of PCMA, Hercules brought artists like Mitzi Gaynor, bass singer Jerome Hines, pianist Van Cliburn, and dual pianists Ferrante and Teicher, among others.

Hercules and Clio Pettis worked for years and years to bring the very best talent available to Panama City citizens. They set a standard of excellence for this little fishing village that in 1996 was nationally recognized as one of the best “small arts towns” in America.

By Carole Lapensohn