George Skouras
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George P. Skouras, George Skowras, (born 1896 – 1964) in Skourohorion, Greece, was an American movie executive and president of United Artists Theatres. He was one of ten children, three of which came over from Greece in 1910 as poor sons of a sheep herder and rose to become top movie executives. The Skouras family are still actively involved in the Hollywood film industry today.
[edit] Biography
The Skouras brothers, George, Spyros Skouras and Charles 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 other Greeks, they constructed a modest nickelodeon at 1420 Market Street on the site of today's Kiel Opera House. This initial property was named the Olympia, was quickly followed by the acquisition of other theaters. They incorporated with $400,000 capital stock with more than thirty local theaters belonged to the Skouras empire by 1924.
Skouras Brothers Co. of St. Louis 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. The theatre opened in 1939 as the New Fox Theatre. Five years later, the triumvirate sold out to Warner Brothers and moved east to claim top executive places in the industry.
George become president of United Artists Theatres. In George joined United Artists with Michael Todd and Joe Schenck, former president of Twentieth Century Fox to form the Magna Theatre Corporation for production and distribution of Todd-AO films.
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