In 1912, he acquired the American rights to a popular French four-reel feature film, Queen Elizabeth (1912), starring Sarah Bernhardt. Zukor was one of the first to recognize the potential of the star system and to pay his screen actors large salaries. Zukor noted, "To begin with, the audience had not been restless despite the hour and a half running time.… The performance was of historical importance because it went a long way toward breaking down the prejudice of theatrical people toward the screen.". Paramount began using a sound system called Photophone for some of its films. He was forced out as part of the reorganization, but after, Paramount Pictures Corporation merged with Viacom International, Inc. Above all, he was a shrewd financier, never more than a self-proclaimed merchant with a 'calculated vision' who 'looked ahead a little and gambled a lot'. Around age 21, he returned to Hungary for a visit and saw some of Europe. It cost five cents to see a movie. He formed Famous Players with the slogan “Famous Players in Famous Plays” and made The Count of Monte Cristo and The Prisoner of Zenda. Co-founded Artcraft Pictures Corporation in 1916, which eventually became Paramount Pictures. Often the audience surprised the studio by favoring an actor not thought to be star material. Zukor did not remember his father, who died when the boy was one year old and his brother Arthur was three. Called the Crystal Hall, it had a glass staircase with water cascading inside it over colored lights. He married Lottie Kaufman, also a Hungarian immigrant, in 1897. While he had waited for the French film to be made, Zukor tried producing feature films in the U.S. His idea was to make movies of "Famous Players in Famous Plays." Together, the merged companies own the United Paramount Network (UPN), the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and all its subsidiaries, the TVLand network, the Comedy Central network, the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network, Blockbuster Inc., The Spelling Entertainment Corporation and its subsidiaries, owned by. On July 12, 1912, he premiered the first feature-length film, Queen Elizabeth (1912), featuring French actress Sarah Bernhardt that ran for 40 minutes. This article was most recently revised and updated by, Public Broadcasting Service - Biography of Adolph Zukor, Turner Classic Movies - Biography for Adolph Zukor, Adolph Zukor - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). In 1914, he produced the first American-made feature film, The Prisoner of Zenda (1913), and that was followed by such successes as The Count of Monte Cristo (1913), Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1913), The Sheik (1922) and The Covered Wagon (1923). To do so, in 1912 he sold part of his stock in Loew's company and stepped down as treasurer. Zukor put in a motion picture theater on the floor above the arcade. Zukor wrote, "Frohman made no commitments. He retained that honorary title until his death. In short order, he succeeded in persuading important Broadway-based stars like Minnie Maddern Fiske and James K. Hackett to join his Famous Players Film Company (set up in partnership with Loew Enterprises and veteran impresario Daniel Frohman). In 1916, Famous Players merged with the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company to form the Famous Players-Lasky Corporation, with Samuel Goldwyn as chairman of the board, Cecil De Mille as director-general, Zukor as president, and Lasky as vice-president. If the audience liked a player, the studio would supply the right roles and publicity. He had actors stand behind the movie Two production facilities were in place, one in Hollywood, the other, Astoria Studios, in New York. Zukor advanced Mercanton $40,000 to secure the North American rights to the movie. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.