Matthew M. Fox (February 4, 1911 – June 2, 1964) was an American film and television executive.
Early life
Fox was born on February 4, 1911, in
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...
. In his youth, he worked as an
usher
Usher may refer to:
Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place:
* Usher (occupation)
** Church usher
** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony
** Fiel ...
Fox moved to Hollywood, California and became the executive vice president of Universal Pictures and board chairman of United World Films. In 1942, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he left his role as vice president of Universal Pictures to serve the United States government. Fox joined the War Production Planning Commission and took charge of collecting scrap metal, old tires, and other discarded materials needed by defense industries. Fox later enlisted in the United States Army as a private and, by the end of World War II, was promoted to the rank of
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
.
Fox went back into business and was president of Skiatron of America, a company that introduced pay television in the United States. In 1948, Fox formed the international trade organization American-Indonesian Corporation. His company was terminated by the Indonesian government the following year, after Dutch rule ended, and he received a settlement of $550,000. Because of his role in Indonesian trade, he was nicknamed the "economic godfather of Indonesia".
At the time of his death in 1964, Fox was serving as board chairman of TV Productions, a subsidiary of Subscription Television, Inc., and president of Motion Pictures for Television, Inc.
Miss America 1951
Miss America 1951, the 24th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1950. Based on the majority of Miss America's reign occurring during the year following her coronation, the pageant bega ...
. They had one daughter, Yolande "Dolly" Fox.
On June 2, 1964, Fox died from a heart attack at his Park Avenue home. A funeral service was held on June 3, 1964, at
Riverside Memorial Chapel
The Riverside Memorial Chapel is a Jewish funeral home chain with their main facility at 180 West 76th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City.Upper West Side. A graveside service conducted by Rabbi Hyman Cohen of Beth-Israel Sinai Temple was held on June 4, 1964, in Racine.