William Fox

In the US from infancy, Fox began his career in the garment trade and moved into the penny arcade business in 1904. He went on to develop successful film exhibition, distribution and production operations, merging all three interests with the formation, in 1915, of the Fox Film Corporation. By the end of the 1920s the company had accumulated several top stars and directors and produced a number of prestigious films; the stock market crash of 1929, however, forced the overextended Fox to sell his shares in the corporation. He filed for bankruptcy in 1936 and was briefly imprisoned after allegedly attempting to bribe a judge. Fox subsequently lived off the earnings from various sound patents that he had acquired earlier in his career.