Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor ( born January 7, 1873 in Ricse, Austria - Hungary, † June 10, 1976 in Los Angeles, California ) was an American film producer, who made one of the most successful Paramount movie studios.
Life
Zukor was born into a poor Hungarian Jewish family. 1889 emigrated to the 16 -year-old Adolph to the United States and held initially with brushing and craft occupations afloat. In 1892 he began in Chicago to trade furs and after two years had been a company with 25 employees.
As Zukor with the film business came in contact, he was already a respected and well-paid business and, contrary to the stereotype of the film producers à la Louis B. Mayer, an elegant, educated and friendly character. 1903 asked him a cousin to raise money for the construction of a Penny Arcade, in which he wanted to present the latest invention Thomas Edison's moving images. Zukor was his cousin not only the money but also opened the " cinema " with him and soon invested in the first Nickelodeon.
In 1912 Zukor along with Daniel Frohman, the rental company Famous Players (later renamed Paramount ), the film Les amours presented the de la reine Élisabeth with the famous Sarah Bernhardt in the title role. This film, although only 40 minutes long, as the first feature film ever listed in the United States viewed. Together with Frohman, whose aim was to bring the most famous American theater performer on the canvas, he produced in 1914 the first American feature-length film: The Prisoner of Zenda.
The spectacularly staged and richly appointed film was a huge success, just like other produced by Zukor opulent Movies: The Count of Monte Cristo, Tess of the D' Urbervilles, The Sheik and The Caravan ( The Covered Wagon ). Zukor was a master, to meet the tastes of the audience ( his most famous quote is: "The public has never been wrong " ) and actors to discover and develop into stars, such as Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino and Clara Bow. Zukor revolutionized the movie business by organized within a single enterprise production, distribution and exhibition of films.
As Paramount in 1933 got into trouble, Zukor was briefly forced out of the company, but 1936 brought him the new president Barney Balaban as chairman back. Both worked together 28 years until Balaban 1964 ( The Fall of the Roman Empire ) lost his job because of the failure of The Fall of the Roman Empire. Zukor remained until his death at the age of 103 years in the management of Paramount.
1949 Zukor was honored as " Father of American feature-length film " with an honorary Oscar. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame remembers him. Zukor was a member of the Federation of the Freemasons ( Centennial Lodge No.. 763, New York).