Dan Harkins
In 1974, Dwight Harkins died, leaving the company to his eldest son, Dan Harkins. At that time the company was near bankruptcy. After reworking the company, Dan extensively expanded the theatre chain from five locations in the Phoenix area to the current 30 locations in five states - Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Arizona and Southern California.
Harkins Theatres struggled financially, because it was unable book many first-run movies. In 1977, Dan Harkins filed a lawsuit against a group of film distributors alleging they had prevented Harkins from booking many top first-run movie titles. Movie studios began settling with Harkins. As a result of the lawsuit, Harkins Theatres was able to show a run of Disney’s Fantasia in 1982, starting a string of successful releases.
Dan Harkins has won several awards for his work in the exhibitor industry and his community involvement.
- Phoenix Film Festival Visionary Award (2010)
- Arizona Culture Keepers (2010)
- United Motion Picture Association of America National Showman of the Year (1976, 1980 & 1982)
- American Institute of Architects Community Vision Award (1996)
Read more about this topic: Harkins Theatres, History
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—Gus Van Sant, U.S. screenwriter and director, and Dan Yost. Father Tom Murphy (William S. Burroughs)