William Fox (January 1, 1879, Tolcsva, Austria-Hungary – May 8, 1952, New York City), born Wilhelm Fried (Hungarian: Fried Vilmos), was a pioneering American motion picture executive who founded the Fox Film Corporation in 1915 and the Fox West Coast Theatres chain in the 1920s. Although Fox sold his interest in these companies in a 1936 bankruptcy settlement, his name lives on as the namesake of the Fox Television Network and the 20th Century Fo...
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William Fox (January 1, 1879, Tolcsva, Austria-Hungary – May 8, 1952, New York City), born Wilhelm Fried (Hungarian: Fried Vilmos), was a pioneering American motion picture executive who founded the Fox Film Corporation in 1915 and the Fox West Coast Theatres chain in the 1920s. Although Fox sold his interest in these companies in a 1936 bankruptcy settlement, his name lives on as the namesake of the Fox Television Network and the 20th Century Fox film studio. He was among the pioneers of the motion-picture and entertainment industry.
Fox was born Wilhelm Fried to Jewish parents in Tolcsva, Hungary, then part of Austria-Hungary. The house he was born in was identified in 2008. He came to America at the age of 9 months, where his name was anglicized to William Fox. He had many jobs starting at the age of 8. In 1900 he started his own company which he sold in 1904 to purchase his first nickelodeon. In 1915, he started Fox Film Corporation.
In 1925-26, Fox purchased the rights to the...
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