Spyros Skouras: A Greek Immigrant's Story of Success

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One summer day, while wandering the grounds of the Gate of Heaven cemetery, I came across an alabaster statue of Mary cradling Jesus in an open grassy field. The statue was striking, but the Greek surname on the gravestone, which is not often seen in Catholic cemeteries, caught my attention. There was also something faintly familiar about the name. I soon realized that I had stumbled upon the grave of Spyros Skouras, a movie executive and former president of 20th Century Fox Studios. I wondered how many others had passed by, unaware of who he was and what he had accomplished.


Born to humble beginnings in Ilia, a small village in Greece, Skouras boarded a boat to America with two of his brothers in search of the American dream. He truly found it. The man who once sold popcorn in American movie theaters rose to become the president of 20th Century Fox. During his 20-year tenure—from 1942 to 1962, the longest in the company's history—he oversaw the production of major films such as The King and I, Cleopatra, and in 1953, The Robe, the first movie to utilize the widescreen process of Cinemascope. His keen eye for talent led him to recognize the star quality in a young actress, Marilyn Monroe, and he insisted that she be cast in films that needed an alluring blonde, including the enduring comedies The Seven Year Itch and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.


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