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Michael "Mickey" Redstone (born Max Rothstein; April 11, 1902 – April 4, 1987) was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Northeast Theater Corporation'','' now National Amusements, Inc.


Biography

Redstone was born on April 11, 1902 in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
, Massachusetts.Boston Globe: "MICHAEL REDSTONE, OWNED THEATERS, LATIN QUARTER NIGHTCLUB; AT 85
April 6, 1987
Born Max Rothstein, he later changed the family name to "Redstone" to avoid association with Jewish gambling boss Arnold Rothstein. Redstone dropped out of high school to pursue his first business venture, buying a truck and securing a trucking contract with the City of Boston. During this period, he became close with local gambling boss Harry “Doc” Sagansky. In 1934, Redstone and Sagansky started a Boston nightclub, the Mayfair, and purchased a
drive-in theater A drive-in theater or drive-in cinema is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor movie screen, a projection booth, a concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view mov ...
in Valley Stream, Long Island. Both ventures were funded by Sagansky, who contributed “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to Redstone’s businesses. The pair also started a Massachusetts loan company, and opened an additional night club, the
Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros, ...
, in 1943. In 1936, Redstone established the Northeast Theater Corporation, which grew rapidly as Redstone purchased land throughout the northeast and built new drive-in theaters. By 1954, when his son Sumner left his job to work for the company, Redstone owned three drive-in theaters and had hired his son Edward to help with the business. On August 28, 1959, Northeast was reincorporated as National Amusements, Inc. to consolidate the family's ownership interests and make it easier to obtain financing. His son, Sumner Redstone, grew National Amusements into one of the largest media conglomerates in the United States, owning one of the three broadcast networks in CBS, the cable television and content provider Viacom (which includes
MTV Networks Paramount Media Networks (formerly known as Warner Cable Communications, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, MTV Networks, Viacom Media Networks, and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks) is an American mass media division of Paramount Global tha ...
and BET), and the movie studio
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. CBS and Viacom are equal partners in
MovieTickets.com MovieTickets.com is an online movie ticketing website founded by AMC Theatres and Hollywood.com in 2000; CBS Corporation, Famous Players, and National Amusements all came on board prior to launch; and it is now a subsidiary of Fandango Media. Mov ...
.


References


External links


National Amusements
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redstone, Michael 1902 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American Jews Michael 20th-century American businesspeople