Paramount Pictures
Hungary → USA
Media, Entertainment & Communications
Summary
Paramount Pictures traces its founding to Adolph Zukor, born in Ricse, Hungary, in 1873, who arrived in the United States in 1889 as an orphaned teenager with $40 sewn into his coat lining. After working as a fur cutter and then in penny arcades, Zukor founded the Famous Players Film Company in 1912 with the slogan “Famous Players in Famous Plays.” The 1916 merger with Jesse Lasky’s Feature Play Company produced Famous Players–Lasky, which acquired its distributor, Paramount Pictures Corporation, and took its name in 1927. Zukor served as the company’s leader for decades, dying in 1976 at the age of 103. Paramount is one of the foundational Hollywood studios and the only one of the original Big Five still operating under its founding name.
European Contribution
Central European theatrical and cultural tradition transferred to American mass entertainment.
American Impact
Co-founded the American studio system; established the feature-length narrative film as the dominant form of mass entertainment.
Timeline Highlights
- 1889 Zukor arrives in the United States at age 16
- 1912 Founds the Famous Players Film Company
- 1916 Merger with Lasky creates Famous Players–Lasky
- 1927 Renamed Paramount Pictures
- Present Operating division of Paramount Global