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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.
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, 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 to Warner Brothers and moved east to claim top executive places in the industry.
George become president of United Artists Theatres. In 1952 George joined United Artists with Michael Todd and Joe Schenck, former president of Twentieth Century Fox, in order to form the Magna Theatre Corporation for production and distribution of Todd-AO films.
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