Matthew M. "Matty" 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 Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

. In his youth, he worked as an usher and

doorman A doorman, also known as doorkeeper, is someone who is posted at, and often guards, a door, or by extension another entrance (specific similar terms exist, e.g. gatekeeper, hall porter). Specific uses include: Professions * Doorman (profession), ...

at the Rialto Theater in Racine.

Career

Fox began working at the age of 8 for the Rialto Theater in Racine, WI. While attending Lincoln High School in Milwaukee, at the age of 15, he was a booking agent for Tiffany Stahl and later became head usher and assistant manager of the Riverside Theater. In 1932 he moved to Long Island, NY, where he managed a movie house. He was eventually hired by movie mogul

George Skouras George P. Skouras (; ; 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 older brothers emigrated to the Unit ...

as an assistant. In 1938, after his brother-in-law, Nate Blumberg, became head of Universal Studios, Fox relocated to

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

and was appointed the executive vice president of

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, and board chairman of United World Films. In 1942, following the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

, 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 The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as a private and, by the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, was promoted to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. Fox went back into business and was president of Skiatron of America, a company that introduced

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

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.

Personal life

In 1954, Fox married

Yolande Betbeze Yolande Margaret Betbeze Fox (November 28, 1928 – February 22, 2016) was an American singer, feminist activist, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss America 1951. Early life Betbeze was born on November 28, 1928, in Mobile, Al ...

, an opera singer and

Miss America 1951 Miss America 1951, the 24th Miss America pageant, was held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1950. Traditionally, since a majority of Miss America's reign occurred during the year following her coronation, the pageant ...

. They had one daughter, Yolande "Dolly" Fox. On June 2, 1964, Fox died from a heart attack at his

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

home. A funeral service was held on June 3, 1964, at

Riverside Memorial Chapel The Riverside Memorial Chapel is an American 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 The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

. A graveside service conducted by Rabbi Hyman Cohen of Beth-Israel Sinai Temple was held on June 4, 1964, in Racine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Matthew M. 1911 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American Jews American film studio executives American financial company founders Businesspeople from Racine, Wisconsin Jews from Wisconsin Universal Pictures United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II