Artist, Theatre Magnate, and Entrepreneur. As a young man, Sylvester Poli began sketching and wax sculpting. He traveled extensively with his wax figures until he opened a museum showcasing his creations. After moving to America in 1881, he began building an empire in vaudeville theaters and movie houses. He opened many theaters mainly in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, with remarkable success. He was quoted saying, "And like the shoemaker, who sticks to his task, I have never run to strange channels. I have remained always a showman. My attention, my resources, my investments, my capacities have been kept always in the theatrical groove. I have sought neither diversion nor profit outside the theatrical field. Possibly to that fact of concentration I owe, as much as to anything, what success has come to me in the theatrical profession." When he passed away in 1937 from Pneumonia, his estate was worth over $30 million.
Artist, Theatre Magnate, and Entrepreneur. As a young man, Sylvester Poli began sketching and wax sculpting. He traveled extensively with his wax figures until he opened a museum showcasing his creations. After moving to America in 1881, he began building an empire in vaudeville theaters and movie houses. He opened many theaters mainly in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, with remarkable success. He was quoted saying, "And like the shoemaker, who sticks to his task, I have never run to strange channels. I have remained always a showman. My attention, my resources, my investments, my capacities have been kept always in the theatrical groove. I have sought neither diversion nor profit outside the theatrical field. Possibly to that fact of concentration I owe, as much as to anything, what success has come to me in the theatrical profession." When he passed away in 1937 from Pneumonia, his estate was worth over $30 million.
Bio by: G. M. Genealogy
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