George Ganetakos
George Ganetakos (* around 1877 in Greece ; † 1955 ) was a Canadian cinema operator of Greek origin.
Ganetakos worked as a blacksmith in Greece. He emigrated from economic hardship and settled in Montreal in 1900, where he lived from selling ice cream and sweets. He observed the success of the emerging cinema and opened the Moulin Rouge with some business partners in 1910 , which was between Léo-Ernest Ouimet's Ouimetoscope and Georges Gauvreaus Nationoscope . The commercial success was such that in 1912 he was able to found the first cinema palace in Montreal, the Strand Theater .
His company, United Amusement , continued to expand in the years that followed. The Papineau , the Plaza and the Granada (today: Théâtre Denise-Pelletier ) were built, and Ganetakos took over cinemas from competitors. In 1924 the Famous Players tried to take over his company, but he managed to negotiate an agreement that gave him control of the Montreal cinema chain. In 1937 Unitad Amusement took over the cinemas of the Lawand and Tabah families in Montreal, whose management Ganetakos entrusted to his son John Ganatakos .
In 1946, United opened the first movie theater in Montreal after World War II. During the war, Ganetakos supported the Greek War Relief Fund , for which he was awarded by King Paul I of Greece in 1950 . After his death in a car accident in 1955, his son took over the management of United Amusement , after his death in 1959 the company went to Famous Players .
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ganetakos, George |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian cinema operator of Greek origin |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1877 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Greece |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1955 |