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To be a mogul in Old Hollywood, you had to be tough. Actually, you had to be somewhat of a jerk. With a few "nice guy" exceptions (i.e. Jesse L. Lasky, Carl Laemmle, Irving Thalberg, Marcus Loew), the original moguls were in fact, jerks. But that's what makes them interesting! And one of those big jerks is today's mogul. In his time, they called him "The Killer". Today we call him...Adolph Zukor.
1873 -1976
Adolph Zukor was born to Jewish family in Hungary. By the time he was 7, both of his parents had passed away, and he went with his brother to live with his uncle. Adolph's uncle expected him to become a rabbi - but Adolph wasn't interested. His uncle felt betrayed, but still arranged for him to apprentice at a store in a nearby village, so that he could learn a different trade.
When Adolph's apprenticeship was over, he decided that he wanted to go to America. Hungarian orphans back then were under the authority of the Orphans' Board, so he petitioned them for the money to go. Before you know it - his American voyage was funded! 16-year-old Adolph was on his way, leaving behind the loneliness and poverty of his childhood.
Once he'd arrived in New York, Adolph became the All American Boy, doing things that no Jewish boy would - like eating lobster and working on the Sabbath. Whattttt...!? Eventually, he got a job through a friend with a furrier. 2 years later, Adolph had become a contract worker - sewing and designing the furs, and selling them himself! The fur business was lucrative for Adolph over the next decade or so, and he became quite wealthy.
But eventually, Adolph wanted a challenge. And as fate would have it, his cousin came asking for a loan. The loan was to become a partner in an arcade - featuring things like phonographs and moving picture machines. The primitive theaters called "nickelodeons" hadn't evolved yet. His cousin didn't have the money, so he asked wealthy Adolph. Amazingly, Adolph lent him the money (!) and, his curiosity piqued, visited the arcade himself. He was so intrigued with what he saw that he convinced his fur business partner that THEY should open their own arcade!
Adolph's first arcade, in it's prime.
"Automatic Vaudeville", as his New York arcade was called, was not intended to be a full-time project. It was a side hustle, not THE business. No, the "real" business was furs. Of course. But over time, as their pockets swelled with arcade money, Adolph and his partner lost interest in furs, and gained interest in show business! They were bitten by "the showbiz bug"! Eventually, the men decided to liquidate the fur business and open more arcades. Adolph then opened some stand alone movie theaters, which were also very successful - after some initial snags.
Adolph, like many of the other moguls, had an idea: instead of treating motion pictures as a "novelty", why not make them a quality show - like a stage play? If movies weren't considered a passing fad to become bored with, they could make more money - AND attract audiences who HAD more money. That's talkin' his language, people! Adolph acquired the rights to exhibit a 90 minute German film of the Passion Play, confident that the public would in fact, sit and watch a movie that long! His associates thought he was crazy - but Adolph was right, and the film did well.
Adolph at his desk...possibly plotting another "kill".
From there, Adolph incorporated his new company, Famous Players Company. His slogan was "Famous Players in Famous Plays", and he wanted his company to bring legitimate theatre to the middle and working classes. The Motion Picture Patents Company (or Edison's mafia, if you will) was against his making long films, but that made Adolph all the more determined to! By 1913, he had 5 feature films under his belt - and all of them had been successful.
With his wife, Lottie (1920)
In 1916, Famous Players merged with Jesse L. Lasky's company. Their films went through a distributor known as Paramount Pictures, which they also merged with. Jesse was largely responsible for the production end, and Adolph was...The Killer, always maneuvering for more control of the film industry. He was said to be a small, quiet man...who would occasionally fly into a rage! He had zero tolerance for lying and cheating, and was unusually formal in his personal life. He was always "Mr. Zukor", never "Adolph". Behind his back, some of his employees called him "Creepy", just saying. He came up with the sketchy practice of "block-booking" (that would later become illegal). Block-booking basically meant that the studio would not give the movies with "big" stars to a theater, unless the theater owners agreed to purchase a years' worth of "other" (lesser quality) films.
In 1918, the Spanish Flu pandemic closed most movie theaters across the U.S. for several months. Adolph decided this would be a great time to expand his control, and bought out theaters for a fraction of what they were worth. The theaters were losing a lot of money by staying closed, and were often willing to take Adolph's offers. If they weren't, he threatened to open a new theater nearby and drive them out of business! Adolph knew that if Paramount owned the theaters, he could be sure that they'd only be showing Paramount films - essentially dominating the market, and putting many independent filmmakers out of work.
With Mary Pickford (1958)
Adolph was always trying to take over someone or something, adding to his ever-expanding empire. But... in 1932, it caught up with him. Paramount was in a bad financial spot because Adolph wouldn't. Stop. Expanding! He had been overusing Paramount's stock for purchasing reasons - and we all know how purchase-happy he was! Surprisingly, he was allowed to stay on at Paramount (!), and the blame for the finances landed on (innocent) Jesse L. Lasky, who was voted out of the company he co-founded. MESSED. UP. Adolph remained on their board of directors until his death at age 103, in 1976. He was survived by his 2 children, Mildred and Eugene. His wife Lottie had passed away in 1956.
Adolph's accomplishments are beyond impressive, and he certainly contributed a great deal to the motion picture industry. Hollywood would not be the powerhouse it is today without "jerks" like him - which is why we here at SCS (somewhat reluctantly) tip our hats to Adolph, The Killer.
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