In Remembrance: Sperie P. Perakos ’38 Died on April 5 2021

Theater executive and arts supporter Sperie P. Perakos passed away on April 5, 2021.

Sperie had a long and successful career as president and CEO of Connecticut Theatre Associates, which owned and operated theaters in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. He was a World War II veteran, serving in Army intelligence in a battalion that participated in the Normandy invasion and later in the Battle of the Bulge. Sperie’s service earned him a Bronze Star among other honors—and most recently, in October 2020, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor, that country’s highest recognition, for his service to the war effort in France. 

Sperie served Yale in numerous ways, on many boards and committees and as a fellow of Pierson College. He was particularly dedicated to the Peabody Museum of Natural History, serving as president, chairman, and member of the board of associates for many years; and to the Yale School of Drama, where he organized initiatives and visits from leading figures in the dramatic arts. At the time of his death he was serving as class secretary of the Yale College class of 1938, a position he had held since 2012.

As 1938 class secretary, Sperie was ably and enthusiastically assisted by Nikki, his wife for more than 60 years. Nikki, a singer and actress turned patron of the arts, died nearly three weeks after Sperie, on April 24.