Maria Helen Alvarez (July 4, 1921 – January 22, 2010) was the first female CEO in television and was one of the original financial backers of the Disneyland Hotel in California.
[2][3] Her third union was perceived by many as controversial, since Smith had been convicted of grand theft and tax evasion in connection with the collapse of his U.S. National Bank.
Maria Helen Alvarez Smith began her career in broadcasting by doing odd jobs and secretarial tasks at a Tulsa radio station in the 1940s.
Before long, her superiors recognized her potential and she was regularly reading stories for the station, many of which focused on the emerging television industry.
In her spare time, she took correspondence courses in electronic engineering and received the Federal Communications Commission license needed to build a television station.
[9][10] In 1950, it was Maria Helen Alvarez who brought TV to Tulsa, Oklahoma, creating the foundation on which KOTV currently stands.
She totally revolutionized the station headquarters, turning it from a converted tractor shop to "the nation's largest TV broadcast center at the time."
[16] Alvarez had many interests, including broadcasting, horse racing, oil, politics, and commercial real estate.
She was a member of the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, the Republican State Central Committee of California, and Charter 100.