John A. Skirius passed away on November 18, 2010 at his home in Los Angeles with his family at his side. Following Dartmouth, John received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1975 and taught Spanish/American literature at UCLA for over 30 years. A former student described John as a gracious and kind man as well as a renowned expert in his field. He spent much of his time in Mexico and wrote books and published essays on many influential Mexican writers and leaders. He was revered among his Mexican colleagues for his great knowledge of their country and culture.
Addition information submitted by Ricardo Reyes:
"I wanted to add to your information on John Skirius, a very dear friend who I had the great privilege of working for as a guest lecturer. I taught a section on Pre-Hispanic Michoacan and the Purepecha Culture.
John and I shared a friendship with an important man, Don Luis Marquez, who was a costumer for the actors who worked on the important films from the Golden Age of Film in Mexico. He worked with all of the great actors from that era like Maria Feliz, Pedro Armendarez Jr. and Dolores del Rio.
Don Luis was a photographer and he documented some of the moments on several films where he documented their costumes. Don Luis was also a talented ethnographic photographer. Today, there is a museum housing his photographs and collection of costumes.
John Skirius, collected his photographs and was very interested in the work Don Luis had done in the early part of the Twentieth Century."
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