Spyros Panagiotis Skouras
Birth:  Mar. 28, 1893 Regional unit of Elis West Greece, Greece Death:  Aug. 16, 1971 Mamaroneck Westchester County New York, USA American Movie Executive. A trio of immigrant Greek brothers were a major force in Hollywood from the late 30's through the 1960's. Their fortunes were entwined from birth in Sparta, Greece. A meager joint savings in St Louis let to their acquiring every movie theater in St. Louis before moving west. Brother, Charles P. Skouras became owner of all 650 National Theaters, while George, the oldest would head United Artists. The Skouras brothers jointly managed the 500 Fox-West Coast theater Chain. However, Spyros P. Skouras would have the greatest say in movie making. He would become president of 20th Century Fox where he introduced Cinema Scope and oversaw productions of many epic movies. The trio of brothers were born into a family which would ultimately number 10. Their father was a shepherd who had a small sheep farm. His brother Charles emigrated to the U.S. at age 19, headed west to St. Louis and found employment at the Jefferson Hotel working as a bus boy saving his earnings until he was able to send for his brothers Spyros and George. All worked at various St Louis hotels, pooling their savings until able to construct a modest nickelodeon theatre (early movie theater-admission five cents.) It was called the Olympia and was quickly followed by the acquisition of other theaters, soon to number 30. They sold out to Warner Brothers moving west to claim top executive places in the movie industry. As president of 20th Century Fox, Spyros had a stormy tenure. After Spyros helped merge Fox with 20th Century films in the 1930's, he served as president from 1942 to 1962. During Spyros' leadership, he worked to rescue the faltering movie industry from television. 20th Century Fox's famous advertising slogan, "Movies are Better than Ever, " gained credibility in 1953 when Spyros introduced Cinema Scope in the studio's ground breaking feature film "The Robe." It was short-lived, as conversion by theatre owners to a super wide screen format was costly and few made the transition. Fox hit the bottom in 1963, facing bankruptcy. The disastrous release of "Cleopatra," a big-budget epic starring Rex Harrison, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton became a huge flop at the box office, spelling ruin for Fox and the end of Skouras. He was relegated to board chairman and his control over films was over. Spyros remained for a time but recouped his losses and headed east where he managed other portions of his enormous holdings, mainly a shipping line. After World War II, he was head of the Greek War Relief Agency. He died in Mamaroneck, Long Island and was interred at Gate Of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne.  Legacy...His real estate endeavor in Los Angeles is still visible but alas, his Ambassador Theatre Building in St. Louis is gone. The defunct 176 acre Tom Mix ranch and later the 20th Century Fox Film Studio's back lot where many westerns were made was sold by Spyros Skouras to raise money for the cash strapped studio. Under a Fox studio commissioned master-plan, Alcoa Aluminum created Century City a mini metropolis development that rivals downtown Los Angeles. In St. Louis, Spyros spearheaded on behalf of the brothers, the construction in 1926 of the multimillion dollar Ambassador Theatre and Office Building, the jewel in the Skouras Theatre holdings. The 17-story structure housed a luxurious cinema while adding an impressive tall office building to the city skyline. The first three floors of theater offices fronting Seventh Street were appropriately distinguished by terra cotta spandrel panels featuring regal pairs of sphinxes. Similar complexes were duplicated in many large cities across the country by others. It was demolished in 1996 and the site is now a driveway plaza for a bank. Producer Plato Skouras was the Son of Spyros, now deceased. Some of his productions..."Under Fire" and "Francis of Assisi.  In a bit of trivia...Many in Hollywood disliked his heavy European accent and feared it would be bad for business. Bob Hope would exclaim: "Spyros has been here twenty years but he still sounds as if he's coming next week."  Burial: Gate of Heaven Cemetery Hawthorne Westchester County New York, USA