The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1912 by

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; ; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of Ameri ...

in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

owners and producers there.

History

Discussions to form the company were held at The Lambs, a famous theater club where Charles and Daniel Frohman were members. The company advertised "Famous Players in Famous Plays" and its first release was the French film '' Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth'' (1912) starring

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

and Lou Tellegen. Its first actual production was '' The Count of Monte Cristo'' (1912, released 1913), directed by Joseph A. Golden and Edwin S. Porter and starring James O'Neill, the father of dramatist

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

. In 1914, the company purchased the former headquarters of New York City's Ninth Mounted Cavalry unit at 221 West 26th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. The cavernous brick building made excellent filming space for Zukor, and the modernized site is still used today as Chelsea Television Studios. Hiring its performers straight from the Broadway stage, Famous Players had an early roster of some of the theater world's biggest names including Marguerite Clark, William Farnum, Gaby Deslys, Hazel Dawn, and H. B. Warner. The company also featured cinema's biggest star of the era,

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

, and presented theater idol John Barrymore in his first two feature films. The company produced both short and feature-length productions. In 1916, the company merged with the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company to form Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, which later became

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Famous Players Fiction Studios

In 1915, the company established Famous Players Fiction Studios at 5300 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. The new studio's first film starred

. The studio later became Clune Studio, then California Studio, then Gross -Krasne, followed by Producers Studios Inc., and is now known as

Raleigh Studios Raleigh Studios is a studio facility located in Hollywood, Los Angeles and has been under the ownership of Raleigh Enterprises since 1979. The location has been active since 1915. Before Raleigh, the studio was run by the Famous Players Film Comp ...

. Raleigh Studios is known for being the site of ''Gunsmoke,'' ''Perry Mason,'' and '' Let's Make a Deal''. It is one of the oldest studios in Hollywood.

References

External links

Army Pictorial Center
built in 1919 as Famous Players Studio, now part of

Kaufman Astoria Studios The Kaufman Astoria Studios is a film studio located in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The studio was constructed for Famous Players–Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Theater District. The property was ...

American companies established in 1912 Entertainment companies established in 1912 Mass media companies established in 1912 Mass media companies disestablished in 1916 Silent film studios Defunct American film studios Film studios in Southern California Defunct organizations based in Hollywood, Los Angeles Paramount Pictures Entertainment companies based in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Articles containing video clips 1912 establishments in New York City 1916 disestablishments in California Film production companies of the United States American companies disestablished in 1916 {{US-film-company-stub

History

Famous Players Fiction Studios

See also

References

External links