Nathan Louis Nathanson

Nathan Louis Nathanson, businessman (b at Minneapolis, Minn 24 May 1886; d at Toronto 27 May 1943). He purchased his first theatre in Toronto in 1916 and in 1920 sold a chain of theatres to Adolph Zucker's Paramount Pictures (US), becoming president of Paramount's newly formed Canadian subsidiary, Famous Players. The 1923 takeover of Allen Brothers Theatres established the predominance of Famous Players in Canadian film exhibition. Directly and through subsidiaries, Famous Players also dominated film distribution to Canadian theatres. Covertly, in the late 1930s, Nathanson began acquiring theatres on his own and making other arrangements with the intent of establishing his own theatre chain. He resigned from Famous Players in 1941 to join his son Paul in Odeon Theatres. A confidant of C.D. Howe, Nathanson was appointed to the original board of governors of the CBC in 1936, becoming Vice-President of the board in 1940.