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Paramount Pictures evolved from the merger of two production companies that then took control of their distributor to create the most powerful studio of its day.

The twists and turns began May 8, 1912 when Adolph Zukor founded Famous Players in Famous Plays. Zukor, who emigrated to New York as a 16 year old orphan from Hungary, had become wealthy from working in the fur business. Fate intervened in 1903 when a cousin asked him for a $3,000 loan to buy an arcade partnership. Zukor said yes — and then decided to open his own arcade, which did big business running short films on peep show machines.

Zukor moved quickly into the fledgling movie business, thinking people would soon lose interest in the novelty of movie clips and would then embrace feature films. This was a radically different view from what other movie pioneers believed. Zukor went on to license the U.S. distribution rights to the 44 minute long French feature QUEEN ELIZABETH, starring legendary stage actress Sarah Bernhardt. The $35,000 he paid was a substantial fee in 1912.

Showman that he was, Zukor premiered QUEEN ELIZABETH July 12, 1912 at New York’s Lyceum, a legitimate stage theatre. It was a major entertainment event that put Famous Players on the map. Zukor turned out to be right that audiences would sit through longer movies.

Meanwhile, in 1913 another movie pioneer, former vaudeville performer Jesse Lasky, partnered with a new director (Cecil B. DeMille), an experienced director (Oscar Apfel) and a tough businessman (Sam Goldfish – later known as Samuel Goldwyn) to form The Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co. Its first production, THE SQUAW MAN, was the first feature length movie filmed in Hollywood and was a hit when it opened Feb. 14, 1914.

Zukor & Lasky’s productions were released to theatres through Paramount Pictures, the first U.S. national film distributor. Paramount was formed by Utah theatre owner W.W. Hodkinson May 8, 1914. When the highly ambitious Zukor realized he and Lasky were producing most of Paramount’s movies, he set out to take over the distributor to get the power base he craved.

After secretly assembling a large block of Paramount stock, at the company’s June 13, 1916 shareholders meeting Zukor ousted Hodkinson by nominating distributor Hiram Abrams for president and then voting his shares to elect him. Zukor and Lasky merged their companies June 28, 1916 to create Famous Players-Lasky, which was valued then at a very substantial $12.5M.

Zukor quickly took over as president of the new Paramount Famous Lasky Corp. and then built a theatre circuit with nearly 2,000 screens. Zukor ruled his empire from Paramount’s Times Square headquarters with its legendary 3,664 seat Paramount Theatre. When he died June 10, 1976 at age 103, Zukor was Paramount’s chairman emeritus.