Jack H. Skirball

Jack H. Skirball (June 23, 1896 – December 8, 1985[1]) was an American film producer, real estate developer, philanthropist and rabbi.

[5] Skirball attended the University of Cincinnati and Western Reserve College in Cleveland, Ohio, but he dropped out.

[5] Back in the United States, he served Reform synagogues in Cleveland, Ohio and Evansville, Indiana in the 1920s.

[2][3] He was associate producer of The Howards of Virginia, a 1940 film starring Cary Grant.

[6] Skirball was the co-producer of Jacobowsky and the Colonel, a Broadway musical, alongside Jed Harris in 1944.

[5] He believed that all films should be educational and that they should convey information in a way that is understandable to any audience member.

[5] In 1962, he developed the Vacation Village resort in Mission Bay, San Diego, California.

"[5] He later donated US$3.5 million to move it to a 15-acre plot of land in Brentwood, off the Sepulveda Pass, where it was renamed the Skirball Cultural Center.

[4][12] Moreover, in 2011, the Skirball Foundation donated US$10 million to the Los Angeles School of Hebrew Union College, which was renamed in his honor.