ZUKOR, ADOLPH

ZUKOR, ADOLPH (1873–1976), U.S. motion picture executive. Born in Ricse, Hungary, Zukor went to the U.S. in 1888. He worked in New York and Chicago in the fur business. At first Zukor was interested in motion pictures from the business point of view and opened movie houses. However, he soon foresaw the need for lengthy movies of good quality and turned to production. This idea proved successful when he imported Queen Elizabeth, starring Sarah Bernhardt. In 1912 he founded the Famous Players Company, which produced several classics such as The Prisoner of Zenda and The Count of Monte Cristo (1913). In 1917 he combined with other fledgling production companies to found Paramount Pictures, which became one of the largest movie companies in the world. Zukor was president and chairman of the board. He was also active in Jewish causes. In 1949 he won an honorary Academy Award whose citation read: "Adolph Zukor, a man who has been called the father of the feature film in America, for his services to the industry over a period of forty years." For Zukor's 100th birthday, Paramount Pictures sold the candles on his birthday cake for $1,000 each, and then donated the proceeds to charity. Zukor lived to be 103. His autobiography, The Public Is Never Wrong, was published in 1954. In 1994 Paramount Pictures Corporation merged with Viacom International, Inc. The merged companies own such corporations as the United Paramount Network (UPN); the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and all its subsidiaries; the Comedy Central network; Blockbuster, Inc; the Spelling Entertainment Corporation and its subsidiaries; Showtime Networks, Inc; the Video Hits 1 (VH1) network; Music Television (MTV) Networks; and the Nickelodeon network. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. Irwin, The House That Shadows Built (1928). (Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)