Spyros Skouras

Spyros Skouras

Spyros Panagiotis Skouras (Greek: Σπύρος Σκούρας; March 28, 1893 – August 16, 1971) was a Greek American motion picture pioneer and movie executive who was the president of the 20th Century Fox from 1942 to 1962. He resigned June 27, 1962, effective September 30.

An immigrant to America from Greece, his accent was so pronounced that Bob Hope would joke "Spyros has been here twenty years but he still sounds as if he's coming next week." Skouras oversaw the production of such epics as Cleopatra (1963) with Elizabeth Taylor, as well as the creation of Century City.