- George Skouras
George P. Skouras, George Skowras, (born 1896 – 1964) in Skourohorion,
Greece , was an American movie executive and president ofUnited Artists Theatres . He was one of ten children, three of which came over fromGreece in 1910 as poor sons of a sheep herder and rose to become top movie executives. The Skouras family are still actively involved in theHollywood film industry today.Biography
The Skouras brothers, George,
Spyros Skouras andCharles Skouras , arrived in St. Louis in 1910. Living frugally on wages as busboys and bartenders in downtown hotels, they pooled their savings of $3500 in 1914 and in partnership with two otherGreeks , they constructed a modest nickelodeon at 1420 Market Street on the site of today'sKiel Opera House . This initial property, named the Olympia, was quickly followed by the acquisition of other theaters.The brothers incorporated in 1924 with $400,000 capital stock. By then more than thirty local theaters belonged to the
Skouras Brothers Co. of St. Louis. The biggest moment for the Skouras empire came when their dream of building a world-class movie palace in downtown St. Louis was grandly realized in 1926 when the $5.5 million Ambassador Theatre Building opened (this theatre re-opened in 1939 as the New Fox Theatre). In 1929, following the depression, the triumvirate sold out toWarner Brothers and moved east to claim top executive places in the industry.George become president of
United Artists Theatres . In 1952 George joinedUnited Artists withMichael Todd and Joe Schenck, former president of Twentieth Century Fox, in order to form the Magna Theatre Corporation for production and distribution ofTodd-AO films.External links
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