Jack H. Skirball | |
---|---|
Born | Jack Harold Skirball June 23, 1896 [1] |
Died | December 8, 1985[1] | (aged 89)
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Hebrew Union College University of Chicago |
Occupation(s) | Rabbi, film producer, real estate developer, philanthropist |
Spouse | Audrey Marx |
Children | 2 daughters |
Jack H. Skirball (June 23, 1896 – December 8, 1985 [1]) was an American film producer, real estate developer, philanthropist and rabbi.
Jack H. Skirball was born in 1896 in Homestead, Pennsylvania. [2] [3] [4] His father was an immigrant from Czechoslovakia. [5] His mother was an immigrant from England. [5] His father died when he was seven years old. [5] Shortly after, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, with his mother and nine siblings. [5]
Skirball attended the University of Cincinnati and Western Reserve College in Cleveland, Ohio, but he dropped out. [2] [4] He studied at the Hebrew Union College, and he was ordained as a rabbi, following his mother's wishes. [4] [5] [6] He then attended graduate school at the University of Chicago, where he studied psychology and sociology. [2]
Skirball went to Palestine with Abba Hillel Silver in 1919. [5] Back in the United States, he served Reform synagogues in Cleveland, Ohio and Evansville, Indiana in the 1920s. [3]
After moving to Los Angeles, California in 1938, he became a film producer. [3] He served as general manager of the Educational Films Corporation of America, where he produced The Birth of a Baby, an educational film about childbearing in 1938. [7] [8]
Skirball served as vice president of Grand National Pictures, followed by president of Arcadia Pictures. [2] [3] He was associate producer of The Howards of Virginia, a 1940 film starring Cary Grant. [6] A year later, in 1941, he produced This Woman is Mine. [3] By 1942, he was associate producer of Saboteur, a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. [6] A year later, in 1943, he produced Shadow of a Doubt, another film directed by Hitchcock. [3] He also produced Magnificent Doll in 1946, The Secret Fury in 1950, and Payment on Demand in 1951. [3] He also produced A Matter of Time starring Liza Minnelli in 1976. [6]
Skirball was the co-producer of Jacobowsky and the Colonel, a Broadway musical, alongside Jed Harris in 1944. [3]
Skirball was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [5] He believed that all films should be educational and that they should convey information in a way that is understandable to any audience member. [8]
Skirball was also a real estate developer. [5] In 1962, he developed the Vacation Village resort in Mission Bay, San Diego, California. [5] In 1983, he sold it for US$51 million. [6]
Skirball founded the Los Angeles School of Hebrew Union College. [3] By 1972, he founded the Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum, [5] a museum of Jewish life near the campus of the University of Southern California. [6] His goal was to show Christians and Jews that they shared much in common, and to ""dissipate" anti-Semitism." [5] He later donated US$3.5 million to move it to a 15-acre plot of land in Brentwood, off the Sepulveda Pass, where it was renamed the Skirball Cultural Center. [6]
In 1985, Skirball founded the Skirball Institute on American Values, a program of the American Jewish Committee. [9] He appointed rabbi Alfred Wolf who was its director until 1996, when the latter was replaced by Eugene Mornell. [9] The Skirball Institute organized inter-faith conferences, essay contests for high school students, academic research on American values, and offered scholarships to college students. [9]
In 1938, Skirball married Audrey Marx (1914–2002). [3] They had two daughters, Sally Cochran and Agnes Skirball. [3] They resided in a condominium in Century City, Los Angeles. [3] [5] Their horses competed at the Santa Anita Park. [5]
Skirball died in December 1985. [3] His funeral was held at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. [6]
The Alliance Jack H. Skirball Middle School in Los Angeles and the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City are named in his honor. [4] [10] Moreover, in 2011, the Skirball Foundation donated US$10 million to the Los Angeles School of Hebrew Union College, which was renamed in his honor. [2] [11]
Jack H. Skirball | |
---|---|
Born | Jack Harold Skirball June 23, 1896 [1] |
Died | December 8, 1985[1] | (aged 89)
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Hebrew Union College University of Chicago |
Occupation(s) | Rabbi, film producer, real estate developer, philanthropist |
Spouse | Audrey Marx |
Children | 2 daughters |
Jack H. Skirball (June 23, 1896 – December 8, 1985 [1]) was an American film producer, real estate developer, philanthropist and rabbi.
Jack H. Skirball was born in 1896 in Homestead, Pennsylvania. [2] [3] [4] His father was an immigrant from Czechoslovakia. [5] His mother was an immigrant from England. [5] His father died when he was seven years old. [5] Shortly after, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, with his mother and nine siblings. [5]
Skirball attended the University of Cincinnati and Western Reserve College in Cleveland, Ohio, but he dropped out. [2] [4] He studied at the Hebrew Union College, and he was ordained as a rabbi, following his mother's wishes. [4] [5] [6] He then attended graduate school at the University of Chicago, where he studied psychology and sociology. [2]
Skirball went to Palestine with Abba Hillel Silver in 1919. [5] Back in the United States, he served Reform synagogues in Cleveland, Ohio and Evansville, Indiana in the 1920s. [3]
After moving to Los Angeles, California in 1938, he became a film producer. [3] He served as general manager of the Educational Films Corporation of America, where he produced The Birth of a Baby, an educational film about childbearing in 1938. [7] [8]
Skirball served as vice president of Grand National Pictures, followed by president of Arcadia Pictures. [2] [3] He was associate producer of The Howards of Virginia, a 1940 film starring Cary Grant. [6] A year later, in 1941, he produced This Woman is Mine. [3] By 1942, he was associate producer of Saboteur, a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. [6] A year later, in 1943, he produced Shadow of a Doubt, another film directed by Hitchcock. [3] He also produced Magnificent Doll in 1946, The Secret Fury in 1950, and Payment on Demand in 1951. [3] He also produced A Matter of Time starring Liza Minnelli in 1976. [6]
Skirball was the co-producer of Jacobowsky and the Colonel, a Broadway musical, alongside Jed Harris in 1944. [3]
Skirball was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [5] He believed that all films should be educational and that they should convey information in a way that is understandable to any audience member. [8]
Skirball was also a real estate developer. [5] In 1962, he developed the Vacation Village resort in Mission Bay, San Diego, California. [5] In 1983, he sold it for US$51 million. [6]
Skirball founded the Los Angeles School of Hebrew Union College. [3] By 1972, he founded the Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum, [5] a museum of Jewish life near the campus of the University of Southern California. [6] His goal was to show Christians and Jews that they shared much in common, and to ""dissipate" anti-Semitism." [5] He later donated US$3.5 million to move it to a 15-acre plot of land in Brentwood, off the Sepulveda Pass, where it was renamed the Skirball Cultural Center. [6]
In 1985, Skirball founded the Skirball Institute on American Values, a program of the American Jewish Committee. [9] He appointed rabbi Alfred Wolf who was its director until 1996, when the latter was replaced by Eugene Mornell. [9] The Skirball Institute organized inter-faith conferences, essay contests for high school students, academic research on American values, and offered scholarships to college students. [9]
In 1938, Skirball married Audrey Marx (1914–2002). [3] They had two daughters, Sally Cochran and Agnes Skirball. [3] They resided in a condominium in Century City, Los Angeles. [3] [5] Their horses competed at the Santa Anita Park. [5]
Skirball died in December 1985. [3] His funeral was held at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. [6]
The Alliance Jack H. Skirball Middle School in Los Angeles and the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City are named in his honor. [4] [10] Moreover, in 2011, the Skirball Foundation donated US$10 million to the Los Angeles School of Hebrew Union College, which was renamed in his honor. [2] [11]