Famous Players–Lasky

The Famous Players–Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company.[2]

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Famous Players–Lasky Corporation

1916 advertisement
Industry	Film
Predecessors	Famous Players Film Company Lasky Feature Play Company
Founded	June 28, 1916; 107 years ago (1916-06-28)
Founders	Adolph Zukor Jesse L. Lasky Frohman brothers
Defunct	August 3, 1933; 90 years ago (1933-08-03)
Fate	Folded into Paramount Pictures
Successor	Paramount Pictures United Paramount Theaters
Headquarters	Hollywood, California , United States

The deal, guided by president Zukor, eventually resulted in the incorporation of eight film production companies, making the Famous Players–Lasky Corporation one of the biggest players of the silent film era. Famous Players–Lasky, under the direction of Zukor, is perhaps best known for its vertical integration of the film industry and block booking practices.

On April 1, 1927, the company name was changed to Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation.[3] In September 1927, the Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation studio in Astoria (New York City) was temporarily closed with the objective of equipping it with the technology for the production of sound films.[4][5] The Balaban and Katz Historical Foundation now owns the Famous Players trademark. In 2017, Paramount started a secondary film division known as Paramount Players, which acknowledges their heritage under the Famous Players name.

The former Famous Players–Lasky Movie Ranch at Lasky Mesa in the Simi Hills is now within the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.[6] The Astoria studio was designated a national historic district and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The district encompasses six contributing buildings.[7]