Spyros Panagiotis Skouras (; gr, Σπύρος Σκούρας; March 28, 1893 – August 16, 1971) was a Greek-American motion picture pioneer and film executive who was the president of

20th Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

from 1942 to 1962. He resigned June 27, 1962, but served as chairman of the company for several more years. He also had numerous ships, owning Prudential Lines. Skouras and two brothers came to the United States as immigrants in 1910; Spyros kept such a pronounced Greek accent in English that comedian

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

would joke "Spyros has been here twenty years but he still sounds as if he's coming next week." Skouras oversaw the production of such epics as ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

'' (1963) with

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

, as well as the development of

Century City Century City is a 176-acre (71.2 ha) neighborhood and business district in Los Angeles, California. Located on the Westside to the south of Santa Monica Boulevard around 10 miles (16 km) west of Downtown Los Angeles, Century City is one of ...

The early years

Spyros Panagiotis Skouras was born in 1893 in

Skourochori Skourochori ( el, Σκουροχώρι) is a village and a community in the municipality of Pyrgos, Elis, Greece. In 2011, it had a population of 610 for the village, and 782 for the community (including the village Kato Kavouri). It is situated n ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

to a family whose father was a sheep herder. Together with his brothers

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

and

George Skouras George P. Skouras (; gr, Γεώργιος Σκούρας; 1896–1964) was an American movie executive and president of United Artists Theatres, born in Skourohorion, Greece. He was one of ten children of a sheep herder and his wife. He and two ...

, he emigrated to the United States in 1910. The brothers settled in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, at that time the fourth-largest city in America and a booming industrial city. Living frugally on wages as busboys and bartenders in downtown hotels, by 1914 the brothers had savings of $3,500. In partnership with two other

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

, the Skourases constructed a modest

nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

at 1420 Market Street; today's Kiel Opera House now occupies this site. They called their theater the Olympia, and soon acquired other theaters. The brothers incorporated in 1924 with $400,000 capital stock. By then more than thirty local theaters belonged to the

Skouras Brothers The Skouras Brothers Enterprises Inc. was an American movie theater chain from the early days of film-making based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was owned and operated by three brothers: Charles, Spyros and George. Even though it never became as import ...

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 realized in 1926 when they opened the $5.5 million Ambassador Theatre Building. In 1929, following the Stock Market Crash, the triumvirate sold out their interest to

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

and moved east, gaining executive places in the industry, which was then based in the New York area. From 1929 to 1931 during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, Spyros Skouras worked as a general manager of the Warner Brothers Theater Circuit in the United States. During these hard years, he eliminated losses and eventually quadrupled the profits of the chain. Despite this success, his wish to be his own boss again made him voluntarily leave the company. After that, and for a short while, he worked as a manager for Paramount. In 1932, the Skouras Brothers (Charles, Spyros and George) took over the management of the Fox West Coast Theater chain, with more than 500 theaters. The studio was threatened with bankruptcy due to falloff in business because of the Depression. The three brothers worked to help the company survive.

Marriage and family

Skouras had several children with his wife, including sons Spyros S. Skouras, Plato A. Skouras. His daughter jumped from a building to her death. Athanasios Skouras, member of the Greek Resistant Organisation

PEAN The Panhellenic Union of Fighting Youths ( el, Πανελλήνιος Ένωσις Αγωνιζόμενων Νέων, ''Panellínios Énosis Agonizómenon Néon'', ΠΕΑΝ, PEAN) was a Greek Resistance organization during the Axis Occupation o ...

during the Axis Occupation of Greece in the Second World War, was a relative of his.

Rise to influence

In May 1935 Spyros Skouras took the initiative for the merger of

Fox Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

with

Twentieth Century Pictures Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. was an independent Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1933 by Joseph Schenck (the former president of United Artists) and Darryl F. Zanuck from Warner Bros. Financial backing came from Schenc ...

. He served as president of the merged company

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

from 1942 to 1962. Skouras was also a major stockholder of 20th Century Fox. In the 1950s he, together with his brothers, controlled 20th Century Fox, National Theaters, Fox West Coast Theaters,

United Artists Theaters Regal Cinemas (also Regal Entertainment Group) is an American movie theater chain headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee. A division of Cineworld, Regal operates the second-largest theater circuit in the United States, with over 7,200 screens ...

, Skouras Theaters, Magna Corp, and

Todd AO Todd-AO is an American post-production company founded in 1953 by Mike Todd and Robert Naify, providing sound-related services to the motion picture and television industries. For more than five decades, it was the worldwide leader in theater so ...

. Skouras' assets in 1952 amounted to $108,000,000, greater than any other theater or movie mogul, including the Schencks, Warners, Shuberts, or his countryman Alexander Pantages. Skouras oversaw the production of such classics as ''

Don't Bother to Knock ''Don't Bother to Knock'' is a 1952 American psychological film noir thriller starring Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe and directed by Roy Ward Baker. The screenplay was written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel ''Mischief'' b ...

'', ''

The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...

'', ''

The Hustler ''The Hustler'' is a 1961 American sports romantic drama film directed by Robert Rossen from Walter Tevis's 1959 novel of the same name, adapted by Rossen and Sidney Carroll. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson a ...

'', ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...

'', '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' and ''

The Robe ''The Robe'' is a 1942 historical novel about the Crucifixion of Jesus, written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The book was one of the best-selling titles of the 1940s. It entered the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list in October 1942, four weeks later ...

''. He signed a young model named Norma Jean Baker to 20th Century Fox who, after changing her name to

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

, rose to fame as the most famous Hollywood sex symbol of the 20th century. Monroe, who never knew her father, developed a special relationship with Skouras, and sometimes called him "Papa Skouras". During Skouras' tenure, the longest in the company's history, he worked to rescue the faltering

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post ...

from the lure of

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

. 20th Century Fox's advertising slogan, ''Movies are Better than Ever,'' gained credibility in 1953 when Spyros introduced

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

in the studio's groundbreaking feature film ''

.'' The wide screen CinemaScope increased the appeal of films, helping them maintain audiences against television. This new technology soon became the standard of the whole industry.

Later years

Cost overruns on such films as ''

'' (1963) resulted in a shareholder revolt demanding a change in management.Gary Baum
"Why Century City Ranks Among the Worst Real Estate Deals in Hollywood History"
''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', September 26, 2013

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

was elected president of the company while Skouras served as chairman of the company for several years. In parallel with his work in the film industry, Skouras had invested in the shipping industry, where many Greek immigrants had interest. By the 1960s, his Prudential Lines owned seven ships, two tankers, and five cargo ships. In 1969, Prudential Lines bought out Grace Lines. In the last years of his life, Skouras disengaged from the movie world and spent more time on his various maritime projects. His son Spyros S. Skouras eventually took these over. His son Plato A. Skouras (1930–2004) produced five films, including ''

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

'' (1961) and ''

Sierra Baron ''Sierra Baron'' is a 1958 American Western CinemaScope color film directed by James B. Clark and starring Brian Keith, Rick Jason and Rita Gam, from the novel by Thomas W. Blackburn. Plot summary In 1848, a rancher, Miguel Delmonte (Rick Jas ...

'' (1958). Skouras died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 78.

Notes

References

Chrissochoidis, Ilias
(ed.)
''Memoirs (1893–1953)''.
Stanford, 2013. * Chrissochoidis, Ilias (ed.)
''CinemaScope: Selected Documents from the Spyros P. Skouras Archive''.
Stanford, 2013. * Chrissochoidis, Ilias (ed.)
''The Cleopatra Files: Selected Documents from the Spyros P. Skouras Archive''.
Stanford, 2013. * Curti, Carlo (1967). ''Skouras'', ''King of Fox Studios''. Los Angeles: Holloway House Publishing Company. * Cinemascope Seen TV Aid; Skouras Predicts Fox Process Will Free Old Films for Video, ''The New York Times'', April 14, 1953. * Skouras is Victor in 20th-Fox Fight; Stockholders of Film Concern Support President by 4 to 1 Against Cumulative Voting, ''The New York Times'', May 9, 1953. * The Colossal Optimist; Spyros Panagiotis Skouras, ''The New York Times'', June 28, 1962. * Skouras Resigns as Fox President; Move Follows Long Dispute Over Film Studio's Losses, ''The New York Times'', June 28, 1962. * Zanuck Succeeds Skouras as President of Fox; Producer Named to 18-Month Term at Stormy Session, ''The New York Times'', July 26, 1962. * Shipping: Now, the Son of Spyros, ''Time Magazine'', February 21, 1969. * After 50 Years, Skouras Leaves Films, ''The New York Times'', March 13, 1969. * Kathy Tzilivakis,
Twentieth century motion picture mogul Spyros P. Skouras' early years revealed in newly-published memoir
" ''The Pappas Post'', March 22, 2013. * Kelsey Geiser,

" ''Stanford Report'', May 23, 2013. * Alex Shashkevich,
Film pioneer’s archive at Stanford reveals Hollywood treasure trove
" ''Stanford News Service'', July 16, 2019. * Ilias Karagiannis
"Biographer, Ilias Chrissochoidis, retells the story of Greek American film pioneer Spyros Skouras"
''The Greek Herald'', November 5, 2021. * Ilias Chrissochoidis
"A humanities treasure in the heart of Silicon Valley,"
''Stanford Libraries Blog'', December 14, 2021. * Ilias Chrissochoidis
"The most influential Greek since Alexander the Great? A reappraisal of Spyros P. Skouras,"
''NEO Magazine'', 25 Δεκεμβρίου 2021.

External links

* (video)

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skouras, Spyros 1893 births 1971 deaths 20th Century Studios people People from Pyrgos, Elis American film studio executives American businesspeople in shipping Greek emigrants to the United States 20th-century American businesspeople CinemaScope Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York)