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Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. The company originally focused on manufacturing and resource extraction, but it began purchasing a number of entertainment companies beginning in 1966 and continuing through the 1970s. Most notable among the acquisitions were film studio
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 ...
in 1966, television studio
Desilu Productions Desilu Productions, Inc. () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', '' The Lucy Show'', '' Mannix'', '' The ...
in 1967, arcade and later videogame manufacturer
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
in 1969, book publisher
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
in 1975, and a number of music labels including
Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot sp ...
(a subsidiary of Paramount at the time of purchase). Some of these properties were reorganized under the Paramount brand, with Dot Records becoming the nucleus of
Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...
and Desilu being renamed
Paramount Television The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006. History Desilu Pro ...
. The company pivoted to focus on entertainment and publishing, selling off its other assets through the course of the 1980s. Gulf and Western rebranded itself as Paramount Communications in 1989. A controlling interest of Paramount Communications was purchased by
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...
in 1994, and the entertainment assets of Gulf and Western are today part of the media conglomerate
Paramount Global Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...
.


History


Bluhdorn period

Gulf and Western's origins date to the 1934 founding of the Michigan Bumper Corporation. In 1955, the company changed its name to Michigan Plating and Stamping Company, and later in 1956 it was taken over by
Charles Bluhdorn Charles George Bluhdorn (born Karl Georg Blühdorn; September 20, 1926 – February 19, 1983) was an Austrian-born American industrialist. He built his fortune in auto parts and commodities such as zinc, and following a 1966 acquisition became C ...
. In 1957, Michigan Plating and Stamping acquired the Beard & Stone Electric Company of
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, and changed its name to Gulf and Western Corporation in 1958. Bluhdorn treated this name change as the company's "founding" for the purpose of later anniversaries. The name reflected its operations in Houston near the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
and the intent to serve the growing automotive industry in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...
. It was changed once again in 1960 to Gulf and Western Industries. Under Bluhdorn, the company diversified into a variety of businesses that included agriculture, apparel, building products, entertainment, financial services, home and consumer products, natural resources, and publishing. A partial list of Gulf and Western's holdings between 1958 and 1982 with the year of acquisition in parentheses:


1950s

* J. A. Walsh (1959) * Lester Battery & Electric Company (1959) * Unicord (1959), a manufacturer of electric
transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...
s that would later begin marketing a line of amplifiers under the name of
Univox Univox was a musical instrument brand of Unicord from the early 1960s, when they purchased the Amplifier Corporation of America of Westbury, New York, and began to market a line of guitar amplifiers. Univox also distributed guitars by Matsumoku ...
.


1960s

* Mal Tool and Engineering Company (1960) * Hendrie & Bolthoff Manufacturing & Supply Company, including Casper Supply Company subsidiary (1961) * Scheufler Supply Company (1961) * Allbright's Auto Parts (1962) * E. S. Youse Company, including Bee and Y. A. Yerger subsidiaries (1962) * Gaul, Derr & Shearer Company (1962) * General Products Corporation, acquired from Marco Hecht (1962) * Guaranteed Parts, acquired from Marco Hecht (1962) * H. M. Parker & Son (1962) * L. J. Messers Company, including Kanebco and P. Sorensen Manufacturing subsidiaries (1962) * Merson Musical Products (1962) * Ocram Corporation, acquired from Marco Hecht (1962) * Randco, acquired from Marco Hecht (1962) * William & Harvey Rowland Company (1962) * Rocket Jet Engineering Corporation (1963) * Thomas S. Perry Company, including Jobbers Gasket Service subsidiary (1963) * Wonstop Automotive Warehouse and B.K.S. Corporation, acquired from B.K. Sweeney Manufacturing Company (1963) * Amplifier Corporation of America (1964) * Crampton Manufacturing Company (1964), including Angle Steel, Bay Castings, Chase Manufacturing, Conrad, Grand Rapids Brass and Scott's subsidiaries * East Side Plating Company (1964), a bumper plating company of
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. Gulf and Western also owned the similarly named East Side Stamping Company. * Foxcraft Products Corporation (1964) * Miller Manufacturing Company, including Crawford Steel,
Bonney Forge Bonney Forge was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1876 by Charles S. Bonney. Originally Bonney Forge crafted forged and finished hardware for horse-drawn wagons, later it became a manufacturer of automotive hand tools, and now it is a m ...
, Buckeye Forge, Huntingdon Machine and Monroe Steel Castings subsidiaries (1964) * Philmont Pressed Steel, including Kamis Engineering Company subsidiary (1964) * Barr, Thomson & Company (1965) * Detroit Body Products (1965) * Furniture City Plating Company (1965) * Lenape Hydraulic Pressing & Forging Company, acquired from Charles Moore (1965) * Rea Auto Supply (1965) * Winkler Auto Parts (1965) * General Plastics (1966) * H. Koch & Sons (1966) * O & S Bearing & Manufacturing (1966) *
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 ...
(1966) *
The New Jersey Zinc Company Horsehead Holding Corporation, formerly The New Jersey Zinc Company, was an American producer of zinc and related materials based in Pittsburgh. The operations of the historic company are currently conducted as American Zinc Recycling. The New ...
(1966), including its Chestnut Ridge Railway Company, Palmer Water Company, Saucon Valley Iron and Railroad Company and Vernon Minerals subsidiaries, the stake in its Quebec Iron and Titanium joint venture with Kennecott, and the
Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...
and Austinville mines it acquired when it merged with the Empire Zinc Company and the Bertha Mineral Company, respectively. The Eagle mine was designated a
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
site after its closure, and
Viacom International Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...
was identified by the EPA as the successor in interest to the mine. The Austinville mine is currently owned by the Austinville Limestone Company. * Universal American Corporation, including American Pulley, Amron, Bingham Stamping, Bohn Aluminum and Brass, Butterworth Manufacturing, Daybrook-Ottawa, Hardie, Hubbard Spool, Livingston-Graham, Morse Cutting Tools, Norma-Hoffman, Pullman Flexolators, Super Tool, Utility Metal Products, Van Norman and Young Spring & Wire subsidiaries (1966) * Alloy Flange and Fittings (1967) * Collyer Insulated Wire (1967) * Hedman Mines (1967) * Mount Clemens Metal Products Company (1967) * North & Judd Manufacturing Company, including Con-Torq, Hook-Flex and Wilcox, Crittenden & Company subsidiaries (1967) * Scott-Mattson Farms, including Abaco Farms subsidiary (1967) *
South Puerto Rico Sugar Company The South Puerto Rico Sugar Company (SPRSCO) was a multinational corporation based in New York. Founded in 1900, it operated in Puerto Rico from 1901 and in the Dominican Republic from 1910. History The company was incorporated on November 15, ...
(1967), a holding company in
Jersey City Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, with a principal subsidiary, called South Porto Rico Sugar Company, a cane sugar refiner in
Ensenada Ensenada ("inlet") is a city in Ensenada Municipality, Baja California, situated on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. Located on Bahía de Todos Santos, the city had a population of 279,765 in 2018, making it the third-largest city in Baja Californ ...
, Guánica,
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
which owned the
Central Guánica Central Guánica was a sugar mill located in Ensenada, Guánica, Puerto Rico, Ensenada Barrio in the municipality of Guánica, Puerto Rico. It was one of the largest sugar mills in the Caribbean, and until World War I, it was one of the largest mi ...
, purported to once be the largest cane sugar refinery in the world. South Puerto Rico Sugar Company also owned Guánica Agricultural Service Company, Okeelanta Sugar of Okeelanta,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
,
Central Romana Corporation Central Romana Corporation, Ltd. is an agro-industrial and tourism company based in the Dominican Republic. History Central Romana Corporation was established in 1912 as a subsidiary of South Puerto Rico Sugar Company. In 1967, South Puerto ...
of La Romana,
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
, Magdalena Development Corporation and Central Romana By-Products, which produced
furfural Furfural is an organic compound with the formula C4H3OCHO. It is a colorless liquid, although commercial samples are often brown. It has an aldehyde group attached to the 2-position of furan. It is a product of the dehydration of sugars, as occu ...
. * Taylor Forge & Pipe Works (1967) * Associates Investment (1968), including Capitol Life Insurance Company, Emmco Insurance Company, Excel Insurance Company and First Bank & Trust Company of South Bend subsidiaries * Atlas Metal Products (1968) *
Brown Company The Brown Company, known as the Brown Corporation in Canada, was a pulp and papermaking company based in Berlin, New Hampshire, United States. It stopped trading during the 1980s. History H. Winslow & Company In 1852, a group of Portland ...
, including Cheverton & Laidler, Monarch Match Company, Saifecs, Superior Match Company subsidiaries and Linweave line of fine papers (1968) * Chicago Thoroughbred Enterprises, acquired from Marjorie L. Everett (1968) * Consolidated Cigar Corporation (1968), including Columbia Engineering, Consolidated Caguas, Consolidated Cigar Corporation of Cayey, Flinchbaugh Products, Orbit Tool & Die, Sentinel Plastics, Simon Cigar and N.V. Willem II Sigarenfabrieken subsidiaries. Gulf and Western would also later establish Consolidated Domingo to produce cigars in the Dominican Republic. *
E. W. Bliss Company The E. W. Bliss Company was a manufacturer of machine tools founded by Eliphalet Williams Bliss. The company was based in Brooklyn, New York and relocated to Hastings, Michigan in 1919. History In 1857, Bliss formed a partnership with John Mays. ...
(1968), including Eagle Signal, Gamewell, Good Roads Machinery and Mackintosh-Hemphill subsidiaries. Gamewell was later merged with Alarmtronics Engineering (another Gulf and Western subsidiary), creating the Gamewell/Alarmtronics division. * Gardner Clark Spring Company (1968) * General Steel Products (1968) * Marion Plant Life Fertilizer Company (1968) * North Brevard Cable Television Company (1968) * Orange CATV (1968) * Providence Washington Insurance Company, including Motor Vehicle Casualty Company, Texas Casualty Insurance Company, Western Alliance Insurance Company and York Insurance Company subsidiaries (1968) * WCM Machine Works (1968) *
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
(1969)


1970s

* Eagle A (1970) * Auto Body Parts Corporation (1971) * Camino Tours (1971) * Bayamon Body Parts (1971) * Guayama Body Parts (1971) * Newport Supply Company (1971) * Piezas Europeas (1971) * Aye & Stearns (1972) * Budget Finance Plan (1972) * Fabrica Accumulatori Uranio (1972) * Fun In The Sun Tours (1972) * Hawaiian Polynesia Tours (1972) * John M. Henderson & Company (1972) * Newport Supply Company (1972) * Shattuck Denn Mining Corporation, including Fireproof Products Company and Richmond Screw Anchor Company subsidiaries (1972) * Symons Corporation (1972) * Plavica (1973) * Preferred General Agency of Alaska (1973) * Sterling Pulp & Paper Company (1973) * Behm, acquired from Pott Industries (1974) * Elco Corporation (1974) * Fab-co Metals, acquired from Pott Industries (1974) * Hawtin & Partners (1974) * Société de Construction Mécanique de Bourgogne, acquired from Dujardin Montbard Somenor (1974) * Kayser-Roth Corporation (1975), a clothing company that owned Miss Universe Inc. because it had bought Pacific Mills, which had invented the pageant to promote its Catalina swimwear brand. The acquisition of Kayser-Roth also included
Hammacher Schlemmer Hammacher Schlemmer is an American retailer and catalog company based in Niles, Illinois. History Hammacher Schlemmer began as a hardware store specializing in hard-to-find tools in the Bowery district of New York City in 1848. Owned by prop ...
, which it had bought in 1960. *
Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
and by extension
Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first Paperback#Mass market paperback, mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and ...
, Monarch Press and Washington Square Press (1975) * Her Majesty Industries, a children's wear manufacturer (1976) * Peavey Paper Mills (1976) * Solar Fuel Company (1976) *
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
and by extension the
New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
,
New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...
and Holiday on Ice, the O'Hare Hilton Hotel in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, the
Arlington Park Arlington Park (formerly known as Arlington International Racecourse) is a former horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once called the ''Arlington Park Jockey Club'', it was located adjacent to the Illinois Rou ...
,
Roosevelt Raceway Roosevelt Raceway was a race track located just outside the village of Westbury on Long Island, New York. Initially created as a venue for the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup auto race, it was converted to a ½-mile harness racing facility (the actual ci ...
and Washington Park horse race tracks, and real estate 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 ...
,
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
and Chicago (1977) * Société des Blancs de Zinc de la Méditerranée (1977) *
Gremlin Industries Gremlin Industries was an American arcade game manufacturer active from 1970 to 1983, based in San Diego, California. It was acquired by Sega in 1978, and afterwards was known as Gremlin/Sega or Sega/Gremlin. Among Sega/Gremlin's most notable ...
(1978), including Noval subsidiary. Later renamed Sega Electronics, Inc. * Compañía Insular Tabacalera (1979) * Canaries Cigar and Tobacco (1979) * Esco Trading (1979) * Simmons Company (1979) * Wallace Metal Products (1979)


1980s

*
National Casket Company The National Casket Company was an American manufacturer of coffin, caskets and other funeral equipment. It was formed in 1880 by a merger of the Stein Manufacturing Company of Rochester, New York; the Hamilton, Lemmon, and Arnold Company of Pitt ...
, acquired from Walco National Corporation (1980) * Thomas Ryder & Son, of
Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, a machine tool manufacturing company, acquired from Whitecroft (1981)


Minority stakes

Gulf and Western also owned minority stakes in Camino Gold Mines, Cementos Nacionales, Fertilizantes Santo Domingo, Flying Diamond Oil Corporation, Jonathan Logan, J.P. Stevens & Company, Matadero del Este, Mohasco Corporation,
Alberto-Culver Alberto-Culver was an American corporation with international sales whose principal business was manufacturing hair and skin beauty care products under such brands as Alberto VO5, Andrew Collnge, St. Ives (skin care products), TRESemmé, FDS, ...
,
Amfac Amfac, Inc., formerly known as American Factors and originally H. Hackfeld & Co., was a land development company in Hawaii. Founded in 1898 as a retail and sugar business, it was considered one of the so-called Big Five companies in the Territo ...
, B.F. Goodrich,
Brunswick Corporation Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick has more than 13,000 employees in ...
,
Bulova Bulova is an American luxury timepiece manufacturing company that was founded in 1875 in New York City. Formally the Bulova Watch Company, it makes watches, clocks and accessories. History Founding Bulova was founded and incorporated as the J ...
,
Cluett Peabody & Company Cluett, Peabody & Company, Inc. once headquartered in Troy, New York, was a longtime manufacturer of shirts, detachable shirt cuffs and collars, and related apparel. It is best known for its Arrow brand collars and shirts and the related Arrow C ...
,
Cummins Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, electric vehicle components, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipmen ...
,
Fratelli Fabbri Editori Fratelli Fabbri Editori is an Italian publishing house founded in 1947 by the brothers Giovanni, Dino and Ettore 'Rino' Fabbri. Today Fabbri forms part of Rizzoli Libri, which in turn is 100% controlled by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Origins Com ...
,
General Tire Continental Tire the Americas, LLC, d.b.a. General Tire, is an American manufacturer of tires for motor vehicles, and semi trucks. Founded in 1915 in Akron, Ohio by William Francis O'Neil, Winfred E. Fouse, Charles J. Jahant, Robert Iredell, ...
,
Libbey-Owens-Ford Libbey-Owens-Ford Company (LOF) was a producer of flat glass for the automotive and building products industries both for original equipment manufacturers and for replacement use. The company's headquarters and main factories were located in Tole ...
,
Munsingwear Munsingwear was a Minnesota-based underwear company from which Original Penguin developed. The company was established as Northwestern Knitting Company. It also was known as PremiumWear. History The company was started by George D. Munsing, who ...
and
Uniroyal Uniroyal, formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemical weapons and op ...
, among other companies.


Other activities

At the time of its acquisition by Gulf and Western in 1966, Paramount was struggling with heavy losses from feature film productions and had stopped producing television programs. However, it had valuable hidden assets, such as extensive real estate holdings and a library of old movies that could be sold to television networks for large profits. After paying $125 million for Paramount, Gulf and Western saw its sales improve to $450 million, elevating the company to the top 110 U.S. manufacturing companies. Bluhdorn appointed himself as chief executive officer, chairman, and president of Paramount and promoted Martin S. Davis to chief operating officer and executive vice president. The acquisition of Paramount was a significant move in Gulf and Western's diversification strategy and allowed the company to expand into the entertainment industry. With the Paramount acquisition, Gulf and Western became parent company of the International Telemeter Corporation, the Canadian
Famous Players Famous Players Limited Partnership was a Canadian-based subsidiary of Cineplex Entertainment. As an independent company, it existed as a film exhibitor and cable television service provider. Famous Players operated numerous film, movie theatre ...
movie theater chain, the
Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In its early years, Dot sp ...
label, the
Famous Music Famous Music Corporation was the worldwide music publishing division of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global since 1994. Its copyright holdings span several decades and include music from such Academy Award-winning motion pictures ...
publishing company (created in 1928 by
Famous Players–Lasky Corporation Famous may refer to: Companies * Famous Brands, a South African restaurant franchisor * Famous Footwear, an American retail store chain * Famous Music, the music publishing division of Paramount Pictures * Famous Studios, the animation division ...
, Paramount's predecessor), and the
Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was established as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contr ...
animation studio (which would be shut down almost immediately after the acquisition). After
Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...
was acquired in 1968 (along with sister label Volt Records and East Publishing Company), it became a subsidiary of Dot, although Dot was not at all mentioned on the label (rather, Dot and Stax were noted as subsidiaries of Paramount). Later on, the record operation was moved under Famous Music. In 1967, New Jersey Zinc constructed a
diammonium phosphate Diammonium phosphate (DAP; IUPAC name diammonium hydrogen phosphate; chemical formula (NH4)2(HPO4)) is one of a series of water- soluble ammonium phosphate salts that can be produced when ammonia reacts with phosphoric acid. Solid diammonium ph ...
fertilizer plant in DePue,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, which was later leased and then bought outright by Mobil Chemical. The plant was designated a Superfund site after its closure and
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
and
ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...
became the responsible parties for the cleanup. Also in 1967, Gulf and Western purchased
Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...
's
Desilu Productions Desilu Productions, Inc. () was an American television production company founded and co-owned by husband and wife Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company is best known for shows such as ''I Love Lucy'', '' The Lucy Show'', '' Mannix'', '' The ...
library, which included most of her television product, as well as such properties as ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' and '' Mission: Impossible'', both of which would rank amongst its most profitable commodities over the years. The three Desilu lots – the original
RKO Studios RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith ...
and two
Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...
locations – were also included in the sale, but the Justice Department forced Gulf and Western to sell the
Culver Studios The Culver Studios is a film studio in Culver City, California. Originally created by silent movie pioneer Thomas H. Ince, the studios have operated under a multitude of names: Ince Studio (1918–1925), De Mille Studios (1925–1928), Pathé St ...
(which Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation acquired in 1968) to avoid a monopoly. Desilu Productions was renamed
Paramount Television The first incarnation of Paramount Television was operated as the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, until it changed its name to CBS Paramount Television on January 17, 2006. History Desilu Pro ...
and its distribution arm, Desilu Sales, became Paramount Television Sales. In 1969, Gulf and Western sold Norma-Hoffman to the German company FAG (Fischer Aktien Gesellschaft). Also that year, Gulf and Western Indonesia signed a contract with the Indonesian state owned
Pertamina PT Pertamina (Persero) is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, headquartered in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of ''Pertamin'' (established 1961) and ''Permina'' (established in 1957). In 2020, the ...
Oil Company to explore oil resources in east
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, and the Dominican government and Gulf and Western Americas Corporation established an industrial free zone in La Romana. The zone was administered by Gulf and Western America's Operadora Zona Franca de La Romana subsidiary. In the early 1970s, after a lunch meeting between Bluhdorn and
Lew Wasserman Lewis Robert Wasserman (March 22, 1913 – June 3, 2002) was an American businessman and talent agent, described as "the last of the legendary movie moguls" and "arguably the most powerful and influential Hollywood titan in the four decades afte ...
, Gulf and Western's Paramount and MCA's
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
merged their international operations to create
Cinema International Corporation Cinema International Corporation (CIC) was a film distribution company started by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in the early 1970s to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States – it even operated in Canada before it ...
, a joint venture.
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
later joined the joint venture, which became
United International Pictures United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M ...
. In 1970, Gulf and Western sold a 50% stake in Marathon Studio Facilities to
Società Generale Immobiliare Società Generale Immobiliare (SGI; ) was once the largest real estate and construction company in Italy. It was founded in Turin in 1862, then relocated to Rome in 1870 with the unification of Italy. The company bought some of the pastoral land a ...
and acquired 15 million shares in the company (which represented 10.5 percent of its common stock). Also that year, Casmo Mining Ltd. was incorporated as a subsidiary of New Jersey Zinc, Hubbard Spool was sold to the Wanskuck Company, the Hardie agricultural sprayer line to the Lockwood Corporation, and Stax Records back to its original owners, and with it the rights to all Stax recordings not owned by
Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
. A year before, Dot's non-
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
roster and catalog was moved to a newly created label,
Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...
(the name was previously used by a Paramount Records label unrelated to the film studio; Paramount acquired the rights to that name in order to launch this label). It assumed Dot's status as the flagship label of Paramount's record operations, releasing music by pop artists and soundtracks from Paramount's films and television series. Dot meanwhile became a country label. In 1971, Tumbleweed Records was formed by Larry Ray and
Bill Szymczyk William Frank Szymczyk (; born February 13, 1943) is an American music producer and recording engineer best known for working with rock and blues musicians, most notably the Eagles in the 1970s. He produced many top albums and singles of the ...
with the financial backing of Gulf and Western. The label was a subsidiary of Famous Music until 1973, when it folded. Also in 1971, Gulf and Western acquired certain assets of Auto Pak Company, Inc. In 1972, Gulf and Western signed an agreement to provide equipment for the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
's Kama River truck plant project. As part of the agreement, Gulf and Western's E. W. Bliss division would provide one automated truck parts production line. According to the company, negotiations were under way for six more lines. Also in 1972, Gulf and Western sold its Conrad/Missimer division (which it created after acquiring Missimers in 1968 and merging it with Conrad) to Bemco Inc., Etablissements Daniel Doyen (which had already been a direct subsidiary since the 1960s) to A.P.S. Inc. (another Gulf and Western subsidiary), Angle Steel to Kewaunee Scientific Corporation, and Amron to Weatherby Nasco Inc. in exchange for Weatherby Nasco shares. Famous Music provided distribution for several independent labels, such as
Neighborhood Records Neighborhood Records (Neighborhood Music Pub. Corp.) was a record label founded by Melanie Safka and her husband Peter Schekeryk in 1971. The label's biggest hit was her #1 single " Brand New Key". First distributed by the Famous Music group ...
and
Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gotteh ...
. Famous began distributing yet another independent label,
Blue Thumb Records Blue Thumb Records was an American record label founded in 1968 by Bob Krasnow and former A&M Records executives Tommy LiPuma and Don Graham. Blue Thumb's last record was released in 1978. In 1995, the label was revived and remained active u ...
, before buying it outright in 1972. In 1974, Gulf and Western sold the entire record operation to the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...
, which continued the Dot and Blue Thumb imprints as subsidiaries of
ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...
, while discontinuing the Paramount label altogether. Also that year, Gulf and Western sold Flinchbaugh Products to Clabir's General Defense subsidiary. and Sega Enterprises, Ltd. was taken public in the United States by making it a subsidiary of another firm owned by Gulf and Western called the Polly Bergen Company (acquired in 1971), which was publicly traded and had become a shell corporation after selling most of its assets to Fabergé. David Rosen was appointed chief executive officer of Polly Bergen, which was renamed Sega Enterprises, Inc. In 1975, Gulf and Western formed a joint venture with Union Minière of
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
called Jersey Miniere Zinc Company. Gulf and Western owned a 60% stake in the joint venture, while Union Minière owned a 40% stake. Also in 1975, Gulf and Western's Sega subsidiary bought a 50% stake in Kingdom of Oz, a company that operated arcades in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
shopping malls which would later be rebranded as Sega Centers. In 1976, during the shooting of the film
Sorcerer Sorcerer may refer to: Magic * Sorcerer (supernatural), a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources * Sorcerer (fantasy), a fictional character who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sou ...
in
Villa Altagracia Villa Altagracia is a List of municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') of the San Cristóbal Province, San Cristóbal province in the Dominican Republic. Within the municipality there are three municipal districts ('' ...
, a lawsuit was filed against Cinema Dominica (a subsidiary of Gulf and Western) by Dominican businessmen for alleged damages. The newspaper El Caribe said that the lawsuit against Cinema Dominica charged that the company had “failed to comply with the rental contract it signed for use of the town's commercial locations. In 1977, after acquiring Muntz Manufacturing (a projection TV manufacturer founded by Earl Muntz) the year prior, Sega introduced the Sega-Vision widescreen TV (production was suspended the next year). Also that year, Thai Zinc Ltd. (a subsidiary of New Jersey Zinc) and the government of
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
signed a contract of a $90 million zinc mine and refinery project after three years of negotiation. While working for Paramount,
Barry Diller Barry Charles Diller (born February 2, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman. He is chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company with Rupert Murdoch and USA Broadcasting. Diller was ind ...
had proposed a "fourth network"; ultimately, the
Paramount Television Service The Paramount Television Service (or PTVS for short and also known as Paramount Programming Service) was the name of a proposed but ultimately unrealized " fourth television network" from the U.S. film studio Paramount Pictures (then a unit of ...
was cancelled six months prior to launch by Bluhdorn, who feared a major loss of revenue had the network gone forward. As a result, Paramount sold the Hughes Television Network (which it had acquired including its satellite time in planning for PTVS in 1976) to Madison Square Garden in 1979. Diller later left Paramount for
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
; that studio's new owner,
News Corporation The original incarnation of News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp. and also variously known as News Corporation Limited) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media corporation founded and controlled by media mogul Ru ...
, was interested in starting a network, which became the
Fox Broadcasting Company Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...
.


Early 1980s

On June 5, 1980, Gulf and Western unveiled an
electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...
, powered by a zinc chloride battery that would hold a charge for several hours and permit speeds of up to . By year's end, the
U.S. Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear we ...
(which had invested $15 million in the project) reported that the battery had 65% less power than predicted and could be recharged only by highly trained personnel. Also in 1980, Gulf and Western sold Hammacher Schlemmer to J. Roderick MacArthur's
Bradford Exchange The Bradford Exchange is an American producer and seller of collectible goods, jewelry, sports memorabilia and apparel. Now part of the Bradford Group, it was founded in 1973 as The Bradford Gallery of Collector's Plates by J. Roderick MacArthu ...
and its 80% interest in Brown Company to
James River Corporation James River Corporation was an American pulp and paper company based in Richmond, Virginia, once the largest paper manufacturer in the world. History The company was founded in 1969 as the James River Paper Company by Brenton Halsey and Robert W ...
in return for cash and James River stock. Bluhdorn was confident that James River stock would be more profitable than Brown was for Gulf and Western. In 1981, former officials of Gulf and Western Natural Resources Group led a buyout of New Jersey Zinc and made it a subsidiary of Horsehead Industries, Inc. That same year, Gulf and Western announced it would shut down its Schrafft Candy subsidiary (which it had acquired from Helme Products in 1974) after it had continued to be unprofitable. Schrafft's was later sold to the
American Safety Razor Company American Safety Razor Company is a personal care brand founded in 1906 by a merger of the Gem Cutlery Company and Ever-Ready. It is a principal competitor to Gillette, with which it shared a name from 1901 to 1904, when the latter renamed for i ...
. In 1982, executive vice president
Don Gaston Donald F. Gaston (August 5, 1934 – June 11, 2021) was an American businessman who served as an Executive Vice President of Gulf and Western Industries and Chairman of the Boston Celtics. Early life Gaston was born and raised in Nacogdoches, Texa ...
(who had also served on the board of Gulf and Western subsidiaries Madison Square Garden, Roosevelt Raceway, Capitol Life Insurance Company, and Providence Washington Insurance Company) formed Richfield Holdings Ltd., an investment group that purchased Providence Capitol International Insurance Ltd. and Famous Players Realty Ltd. from Gulf and Western for $350 million. Gaston resigned from Gulf and Western once the sale was completed. Also in 1982, Gulf and Western sold its Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company subsidiary (acquired in 1976) to Lone Star Industries and Pennsylvania Malleable Iron (acquired in 1969) to Champ Corporation. In 1983, Bluhdorn died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
on a plane en route home from the Dominican Republic to New York, and the board bypassed president Jim Judelson and named senior vice president Martin S. Davis, who had come up through Paramount Pictures, as the new chief executive officer. In 1984, Gulf and Western purchased
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
Inc. (and by extension the Globe Book Company,
Allyn & Bacon Allyn & Bacon, founded in 1868, is a higher education textbook publisher in the areas of education, humanities and social sciences. It is an imprint of Pearson Education, the world's largest education publishing and technology company, which is ...
, Modern Curriculum Press, the Cambridge Company,
Centron Corporation Centron Corporation is a defunct Industrial video, industrial and educational film production company, that specialized in classroom and corporate 16mm films and VHS videocassettes. A slightly smaller company than its contemporaries such as Encycl ...
,
Coronet Films Coronet Films (also known as Coronet Instructional Media Inc.) was an American producer and distributor of documentary shorts shown in public schools, mostly in the 16mm format, from the 1940s through the 1980s (when the videocassette recorder r ...
, Perspective Films and MTI Teleprograms), in which it already owned a minority stake, and
Prentice Hall Prentice Hall was a major American publishing#Textbook_publishing, educational publisher. It published print and digital content for the 6–12 and higher-education market. It was an independent company throughout the bulk of the twentieth cen ...
. That same year, its Kayser-Roth subsidiary acquired the women’s underwear division of
Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...
Industries and the use of the designer’s name for that business.


Martin S. Davis restructuring

Davis slimmed down the company's wilder diversifications and focused it on entertainment, selling all of its non-entertainment and publishing assets. The idea was to aid financial markets in measuring the company's success, which, in turn, would help place better value on its shares. Though its Paramount division had done very well in recent years, Gulf and Western's success as a whole was translating poorly with investors. This process eventually led Davis to divest many of the company's subsidiaries.Prince, Stephen (2000) ''A New Pot of Gold: Hollywood Under the Electronic Rainbow, 1980–1989'' (p. 60-65).
University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by faculty ...
,
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...
/
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.
In 1983, Gulf and Western sold Consolidated Cigar to a purchasing group composed by five of its senior managers and headed by its president, Alexander N. Brainard. That same year, Gulf and Western sold its building products operations (Livingston-Graham, Symons Corporation and Richmond Screw Anchor Company) to Merrill L. Nash, E. W. Bliss to a group of investors, and the U.S. assets of Sega (manufacturing division of Sega Electronics, Inc., along with licenses to technology and distribution rights to arcade game library of Sega in the United States for two years) to pinball manufacturer
Bally Manufacturing Bally Manufacturing, later renamed Bally Entertainment, was an American company that began as a pinball and slot machine manufacturer, and later expanded into casinos, video games, health clubs, and theme parks. It was acquired by Hilton Hotels ...
. The Japanese assets of Sega (Sega Enterprises, Ltd., Sega trademarks, and its library of games) were purchased by a group of investors led by David Rosen and
Hayao Nakayama is a Japanese businessman and was the former President and CEO of Sega Enterprises, Ltd from 1983 to 1999. Early life and career Nakayama was born into a family of doctors, and was expected to pursue medicine as a career. However, Nakayama ...
the year after. Gulf and Western subsequently folded the former Sega U.S. companies (the old Sega Enterprises, Inc. and Sega Electronics, Inc. were renamed and currently exist as shell companies Ages Entertainment Software LLC and Ages Electronics, Inc., part of
CBS Media Ventures CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Paramount Domestic Television and CBS Television Distribution) is the television broadcast syndication arm of CBS Studios, a division of the CBS Entertainment Group, in turn a division of Paramount Global, ...
) into Simon & Schuster and the old Sega Europe Limited into Paramount Pictures (since renamed several times and currently exist as High Command Productions Limited, part of Viacom International). Ironically, a couple decades later Paramount and Sega would team up to co-produce a
film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...
based on the latter's flagship video game franchise, ''
Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...
''. In 1984, Gulf and Western divested itself of its many Taylor Forge operations to private owners. Taylor Forge's
Somerville, New Jersey Somerville is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. In Greek it is Polina. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment * Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer *Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consist ...
,
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
and
Greeley, Kansas Greeley is a city in Walker Township, Anderson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 273. History Early history Nomadic Native Americans, perhaps the Wichita as early as the 1400s and the ...
became Taylor Forge Engineered Systems. That same year, Bonney Forge was sold to its president John Leone, Super Tool and Morse Cutting Tools to industrialist Jim Lambert, and Gulf and Western's holdings in Florida and the Dominican Republic to an investment group including
Carlos Morales Troncoso Carlos Morales Troncoso (29 September 1940 – 25 October 2014) was Vice President of the Dominican Republic from 1986 to 1994 and its foreign minister from 2004 to 2014. Family background Carlos Morales Troncoso's grandfather, Manuel de Jesà ...
and the
Fanjul brothers The Fanjul family —Cuban-born brothers Alfonso "Alfy" Fanjul Jr., José "Pepe" Fanjul, Alexander Fanjul, and Andres Fanjul—are owners of Fanjul Corp., a vast sugar and real estate conglomerate. It comprises the subsidiaries Domino Sugar, ...
. In 1985, Gulf and Western Consumer and Industrial Products Group – consisting of A.P.S. auto parts, Kayser-Roth clothing and Simmons bedding – was sold to the
Wickes Companies Wickes Companies was a diversified manufacturing and retail conglomerate. It renamed itself after its subsidiary Collins & Aikman in 1992. The company ceased operations in 2007. History Brothers Henry Dunn Wickes and Edward Noyes Wickes moved ...
. Also that year, it sold its Columbus Circle Investors unit (which acted as the asset manager for the company's pension and employee benefit plans) to Thomson McKinnon and bought Ginn & Company from
Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduc ...
. In 1986, as part of its new corporate strategy to focus on the entertainment and publishing industries, Gulf and Western acquired
Mann Theatres Mann Theatres was a movie theater chain that predominantly operated in the western United States, with a heavy concentration of theaters in Southern California. Its motto was "Where Hollywood goes to the movies". History The Mann Theatres chai ...
(
Warner Communications Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warner ...
was later brought in as a partner). Also that year, Simon & Schuster acquired
Silver Burdett Silver Burdett was an American primary education textbook publishing imprint previously operated by Pearson Education, which is a division of media conglomerate Pearson PLC. The trademark was last owned by Savvas Learning Company. History Sil ...
and its GLC (General Learning Corporation) subsidiary. This acquisition was followed by mapmaker
Gousha The H.M. Gousha Company was one of the "Big Three" major producers of road maps and atlases in the United States during the 25 years following World War II, making maps for free distribution by oil companies and auto clubs. Following the end of ...
in 1987, and Charles E. Simon and Quercus in 1988. The company, thus restructured, renamed itself Paramount Communications in 1989, and sold Associates First Capital Corporation to the
Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...
.


Headquarters

Prior to 1970, the company's headquarters were on
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...
in Manhattan. The Gulf and Western Building (15 Columbus Circle in Manhattan) by Thomas Stanley was built in 1970 for the Gulf and Western company north of
Columbus Circle Columbus Circle is a traffic circle and heavily trafficked intersection in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan, located at the intersection of Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth Avenue, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, ...
, at the south-western corner of
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
. The building occupies a narrow block between
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
and
Central Park West Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...
and, at , it commands the dramatic view to the north, as well as its immediate surroundings. The top of the building sported a restaurant, The Top of the Park, which was never a full success even though run by Stuart Levin, famous for the Four Seasons, Le Pavillon, and other "shrines of haute cuisine," and it being graced with Levin's own elegant signature
sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
by
Jim Gary Jim Gary (March 17, 1939 – January 14, 2006) was an American sculptor popularly known for his large, colorful creations of dinosaurs made from discarded automobile parts. These sculptures were typically finished with automobile paint although s ...
, ''"Universal Woman."'' Similarly, the cinema space in the basement, named Paramount after the picture company that Gulf and Western owned, was closed as the building was sold. Problems with the 45-story building's structural frame gave it unwanted fame as its base was scaffolded for years and the upper floors were prone to sway excessively on windy days, even leading to cases of nausea akin to motion sickness. The 1997 renovation into a hotel and residential building, the Trump International Hotel and Tower (One Central Park West) by
Costas Kondylis Costas Kondylis (April 17, 1940 – August 17, 2018) was an American architect. He designed over 85 buildings in New York City, through his eponymous architectural firm. Biography Kondylis was born in Burundi, where his parents were European Emi ...
and
Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect who designed modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the postmodern 550 ...
, involved extensive renovation of both interior and facades. For example, the 45 stories of the original office tower were converted into a 52-story residential building, enabled by the lower ceiling height of residential spaces. The facade was converted with the addition of dark glass walls with distinctive shiny steel framing.


See also

*
CIC Video CIC Video was a home video distributor, established in 1980, owned by Cinema International Corporation (the forerunner of United International Pictures), and operated in some countries (such as United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Japan, France, Ge ...
(A home video distributor established in 1980 as a division of the Cinema International Corporation joint venture, renamed Paramount Home Entertainment (UK) in 1999) *
Estadio Francisco Micheli Estadio Francisco A. Micheli (formerly known as Romana, in reference to the city where it is located) is a private multipurpose stadium dedicated mainly to the sport of baseball. Located in the city of La Romana, with a capacity for about 10,00 ...
(A stadium located in La Romana that was built by Gulf and Western Americas Corporation and currently belongs to Central Romana Corporation, Ltd.) *
Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 â€“ September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer, and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan (singer), Helen ...
(Founder of the Polly Bergen Company) * ''
Silent Movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...
'' (A
Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...
film that parodies Gulf and Western's acquisition of Paramount Pictures) *
Altos de Chavón Altos de Chavón is a tourist attraction, a re-creation of a 16th-century Mediterranean–style village, located atop the Chavón River in the city of La Romana, Dominican Republic. It is the most popular attraction in the city and hosts a cultu ...
*
Casa de Campo The Casa de Campo (, for Spanish: ''Country House'') is the largest public park in Madrid. It is situated west of central Madrid, Spain. It gets its name 'Country House' because it was once a royal hunting estate, located just west of the R ...
*
Central Romana Port Central Romana Port is located in Romana River, La Romana, Dominican Republic, and belongs to Central Romana Corporation, which also owns the largest sugar mill in the country. Overview Port of La Romana is private property and is supervised by ...
*
History of Sega The history of Sega, a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, has roots tracing back to American Standard Games in 1940 and Service Games of Japan in the 1950s. The formation of the company known today as Sega is traced ba ...
*
List of Paramount Pictures executives The following is a list of Paramount Pictures executives. Paramount executives * W. W. Hodkinson * Hiram Abrams * Jesse L. Lasky * Samuel Goldwyn * Emanuel Cohen * Ernst Lubitsch * B. P. Schulberg * George Weltner * William LeBaron * Walter ...
*
One Worldwide Plaza One Worldwide Plaza is an office skyscraper in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Designed by David Childs of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), One Worldwide Plaza is tall, with an alternative address of 825 Eigh ...
*
2 Columbus Circle 2 Columbus Circle (formerly the Gallery of Modern Art and the New York Cultural Center) is a nine-story building on the south side of Columbus Circle in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The building fills a small city block ...


References

{{Authority control American companies established in 1934 Defunct companies based in New York City Conglomerate companies of the United States Conglomerate companies established in 1934 Conglomerate companies disestablished in 1989 American companies disestablished in 1989 1934 establishments in Michigan 1989 disestablishments in New York (state) Predecessors of Paramount Global Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange