Spyros Panagiotis Skouras (/ˈskʊərəs/; Greek: Σπύρος Σκούρας; March 28, 1893 – August 16, 1971) was a Greek-American motion picture pioneer and film executive who was the president of 20th Century-Fox from 1942 to 1962.
In partnership with two other Greeks, the Skourases constructed a modest nickelodeon at 1420 Market Street; today's Kiel Opera House now occupies this site.
In 1929, following the Stock Market Crash, the triumvirate sold out their interest to Warner Brothers and moved east, gaining executive places in the industry, which was then based in the New York area.
From 1929 to 1931 during the Great Depression, Spyros Skouras worked as a general manager of the Warner Brothers Theater Circuit in the United States.
Athanasios Skouras, member of the Greek Resistant Organisation PEAN during the Axis Occupation of Greece in the Second World War, was a relative of his.
Skouras' assets in 1952 amounted to $108,000,000, greater than any other theater or movie mogul, including the Schencks, Warners, Shuberts, or his countryman Alexander Pantages.
Skouras oversaw the production of such classics as Don't Bother to Knock, The Seven Year Itch, The Hustler, The King and I, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Robe.
[3] During Skouras' tenure, the longest in the company's history, he worked to rescue the faltering film industry from the lure of television.
20th Century Fox's advertising slogan, Movies are Better than Ever, gained credibility in 1953 when Spyros introduced CinemaScope in the studio's groundbreaking feature film The Robe.