R.E. Griffith was born in Haletsville, Texas in 1893. His family moved to San Marcos shortly thereafter.

Griffith entered the theatre business as a film salesman and later branched out as a distributor of independent pictures through the states of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. Later he and his brothers, L.C. Griffith and H.J. Griffith, associated themselves with Universal Pictures Company and formed what was known as the Griffith Amusement Company of Oklahoma City.

Their first theatre was a little wooden western house in San Marcos, Texas. The brothers then opened H.J. Griffith Theatres, Inc., of Kansas City, Missouri; R.E. Griffith Theatres, Inc., of Dallas, Texas, and L..C. Griffith of the Griffith Amusement Company in Oklahoma City. R.E. Griffith and his brothers controlled some 800 theatres in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, ARizona, Nebraska and Missouri. They were also associated with the Johnny Long Theatres of Texas, the Louis Long Theatres of Arizona, and the Western Theatre Corporation.

Achieving a successful career in the theatre business before the age of 50, Griffith branched out into the hotel business and built the Hotel El Rancho in Gallup, New Mexico. In 1942, Griffith and his nephew William J. Moore, Jr., opened the Hotel Last Frontier. Griffith then purchased the Charleston Park Lodge, Hidden Valley Ranch, and Warm Springs Ranch in Mapa Valley.

Griffith was involved in, including being elected president, of the noted Variety Club of Texas, a charitable organization made up of business men of the theatre world. He was a heavy contributor to their large annual drive for underprivileged boys. Griffith had contributed one of his large ranches inBeltonn, Texas, for the use of these youngsters. He constructed buildings and put in many improvements free summer vacation of underprivileged boys.

The Boystown "wishing well" was located in the Ramona Room of Hotel Last Frontier which was one of Mr. and Mrs. Griffith's favorite charities.

Griffith surrounded himself with an exceptional personnel staff of specialized and trained employees, as well as an executive who understood his ideas and could carry them out.

A few weeks before his death Griffith had purchased Ciro's in Hollywood, California. Ciro's had been seriously damaged by fire and he was planning to rebuild and reopen this famous coast amusement spot.

Griffith died at 2:15pm, on November 24, 1943, of a heart attack at the Beverly Hills Hotel in California. The heart attack was induced by over-exertion and extreme exhaustion. Griffith had just completed an extended business inspection trip to his mid-western and southern theatre holdings including those in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Arkansas, and New Mexico. He was under the care of three specialists at the time. A back injury suffered while horseback riding was said to contribute the heart condition.

Bill Moore, Griffith's brother, H.J. Griffith, Frontier vice-president W.J. Walshe, and casino manager Ballard Baron accompanied the body to Oklahoma City to be placed at the family burial ground.

Griffith was survived by his wife Marcello Griffith, daughter Julie Joan Griffith, and his son Rupert E. Griffith.

Complying with a request he had made, employees of his organizations omitted flowers for his funeral and instead put monies they might have been spent in paying last respect to him into bonds to be sent to Father Flanagan's Boys Town.