George P. Skouras (; gr, Γεώργιος Σκούρας; 1896–1964) was an American movie executive and president of United Artists Theatres, born in

Skourohorion, Greece 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 ...

. He was one of ten children of a sheep herder and his wife. He and two older brothers emigrated to the United States about 1910 and rose in the new movie industry to become top movie executives. The extended Skouras family continue to be actively involved in the Hollywood film industry today.

Life and career

The Skouras brothers, George and his older brothers Charles and Spyros, arrived in

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

in 1908–11. Working as busboys and bartenders in downtown hotels, they lived frugally. In 1914 they pooled their savings of $3500 and, 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 ...

, constructed a

nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...

at 1420 Market Street. This site is now occupied by Kiel Opera House. They named their first theater the ''Olympia,'' and soon acquired others. The brothers incorporated in 1924 with $400,000 capital stock. By then 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. owned more than 30 local theaters. In 1926 they opened the world-class $5.5 million Ambassador Theatre, a movie palace on Grand. (This theatre re-opened in 1939 as the New Fox Theatre and has been restored as a venue for live performances). In 1929, following the Stock Market Crash, the triumvirate sold out to

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

and moved east to gain executive places in the industry, then based in New York. In November 1944, George toured the Peloponnese, filming the destruction of Greek countryside following the withdrawal of German troops."War-ravaged Greece, 1944"
/ref> George Skouras become president of United Artists Theatres. In 1952 he joined

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

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 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 s ...

films.

Notes

References

* 1896 births 1964 deaths People from Pyrgos, Elis Greek emigrants to the United States American film studio executives {{US-film-bio-stub