Theatrical Entrepreneur. Founder of the Pantages Theatres chain. He was born Pericles Pantages on the Greek island of Andros. He came to the United States in the late 1890s, living in San Francisco before moving to the Yukon Territory during the Klondike gold rush. While there, he operated a vaudeville and burlesque theatre. In 1902, he moved to Seattle, Washington where he opened the first of several vaudeville and motion picture houses. By 1920, he owned more than thirty theatres and had management contracts to operate about fifty others throughout the western United States and Canada; these formed the "Pantages Circuit." Convicted of rape in 1929, he was exonerated in 1931 but was forced to sell his circuit houses to cover his legal expenses. He retired from entertainment and spent his remaining years racing the horses he raised.
Theatrical Entrepreneur. Founder of the Pantages Theatres chain. He was born Pericles Pantages on the Greek island of Andros. He came to the United States in the late 1890s, living in San Francisco before moving to the Yukon Territory during the Klondike gold rush. While there, he operated a vaudeville and burlesque theatre. In 1902, he moved to Seattle, Washington where he opened the first of several vaudeville and motion picture houses. By 1920, he owned more than thirty theatres and had management contracts to operate about fifty others throughout the western United States and Canada; these formed the "Pantages Circuit." Convicted of rape in 1929, he was exonerated in 1931 but was forced to sell his circuit houses to cover his legal expenses. He retired from entertainment and spent his remaining years racing the horses he raised.
Bio by: Beth Painter
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Alexander Pantages
1867-1936
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