RKO Pictures
One of Hollywood's Big Five studios from the Golden Age.
RKO Pictures is an American film, television and stage production company owned by Concord Originals, a division of BMG. Originally known as RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., it was one of the "Big Five" studios of Hollywood's Golden Age, formed in October 1928 under the control of the Radio Corporation of America. The studio produced landmark films such as King Kong and Citizen Kane, and was known for its musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
Quick Facts
- Industry
- Film
- Predecessors
- Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation; Film Booking Offices of America
- Owner
- Concord Originals (BMG)
- Divisions
- RKO Stage Productions; RKO Radio
- Founded
- 25 January 1929 (original; as RKO Productions, Inc.); 1978 (relaunch; as RKO Pictures, Inc.)
- Defunct
- 1958 (original)
- Founder
- David Sarnoff
Facts from the source article.
Origin
The success of Warner Bros.' The Jazz Singer in October 1927, the first feature-length talking picture, drove Hollywood to convert from silent to sound film production. The Radio Corporation of America (RCA) possessed an advanced optical sound-on-film system called Photophone, developed by its parent company General Electric. However, Warner Bros. and Fox were already aligned with ERPI, a subsidiary of AT&T's Western Electric division, and other major studios were poised to contract with ERPI as well. Seeking a customer for Photophone, RCA general manager David Sarnoff approached financier Joseph P. Kennedy in late 1927 about using the system for his studio Film Booking Offices of America (FBO). Kennedy had acquired FBO the previous year and made it profitable. Negotiations led to RCA acquiring a substantial interest in FBO, as Sarnoff envisioned the studio playing a central role in the film industry to maximize Photophone revenue. Kennedy then began investigating the purchase of a chain of exhibition venues.
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