William Fox (born "Wilhelm Fuchs" in January 1, 1879–May 8, 1952) founded the Fox Film Corporation in 1915 and the Fox West Coast Theatres chain. 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 20th Century Fox film studio. Wilhelm Fuchs was born to Jewish parents in Tolcsva, Hungary, then part of Austria-Hungary. He came to America at the age of 9 months where his name was changed 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 work of Freeman Harrison Owens, the U.S. rights to the Tri-Ergon system invented by three German inventors, and the work of Theodore Case to create the Fox Movietone sound-on-film system, released in 1927. Sound-on-film systems such as Movietone and RCA Photophone soon became the standard, and the competing sound-on-disc technology fell into disuse. Fox lost control of the company in 1930 during a hostile takeover. A combination of the "Black Monday" stock crash, Fox's injury in a car crash, and government anti-trust action forced him into a protracted seven-year struggle to fight off bankruptcy. At his bankruptcy hearing in 1936, Fox attempted to bribe judge John Warren Davis and commit perjury.[1] He was sentenced to six months in prison. After serving his time, Fox retired from the film business. Fox died in 1952 at the age of 73. No Hollywood producers came to his funeral. In 1935, Fox Film Corporation, under new president Sidney Kent, merged with the upstart Twentieth Century Pictures to form 20th Century-Fox which was itself merged into News Corporation in 1985. News Corporation, 20th Century Fox's corporate parent continues to make movies and started the FOX Network. The Fox Theatre in many cities (including Atlanta) were built by Mr. Fox.
