Died. Charles P. Skouras, 65, one of the last of the great cinemoguls, president of the Fox West Coast Theaters chain and of National Theaters, Inc. (totaling 650 theaters); of a heart ailment; in Los Angeles. Son of a Greek farmer, dynamic Charlie Skouras emigrated to the U.S. at 19, slaved as a bus boy in a St. Louis hotel until he had saved enough (in three years) to send for brother Spyros (now president of 20th Century-Fox) and brother George (now president of United Artists Theater Circuit). The brothers bought a nickelodeon in St. Louis in 1914, with smart showmanship and incredible energy parlayed it into a coast-to-coast theater chain by the 1930s, became one of the most potent forces in moviedom. The triumvirate's closely linked fortunes (they even pooled their incomes, drawing what they needed from a common fund) were partially severed in 1952 when 20th Century-Fox and the Skouras theater empire were divorced in a federal antitrust action. The promotional genius of the trio and for several years the nation's top-salaried executive (more than $800,000 a year before taxes), Charlie Skouras threw himself into public works with the same furious energy he lavished on his theaters, contributed to everything from Greek war relief to the Boy Scouts, almost single-handedly raised $2,000,000 for the construction of Los Angeles' opulent Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

Died. George McManus, 70, creator and chronicler (in the comic strip Bringing Up Father) of the nation's most enduring (over 41 years) marital brawl; of hepatitis; in Santa Monica, Calif. McManus created the redhaired, button-nosed Jiggs and his strident, crockery-slinging wife Maggie in 1912. The pair have battled in 27 different languages across the pages of some 750 newspapers. The strip's gentle spoofing of America's rags-to-riches-to-high society dream was translated into movies and radio shows, made a millionaire of Cartoonist McManus, who was regarded by his cronies as the spit & image of Jiggs.

Died. Hugh Duffy, 87, the heaviest hitter (for one season) in baseball; after long illness; in Boston. Small (5 ft. 7 in., 165 Ibs. in his prime), genial Outfielder Duffy batted a record .438 (for which he got a $12.50-a-month pay boost) while playing with the Boston Beaneaters (National League) in 1894, compiled a .330 lifetime average. His record withstood the assaults of such great hitters as Willie Keeler (.432 in 1897) and Rogers Hornsby (.424 in 1924), but Duffy modestly disclaimed any special knowledge of batting lore. "You just walk up there," he said, "and hit it."*

* Roughly comparable to the Ballet Russe's late great Vaslav Nijinsky, who, asked how he made his incredible floating leaps, once explained: "You have just to go up and pause there a little."

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