Interview of Adolph Zukor

Interviewer: “Today I will be interviewing and man who was once called the “Napoleon of Pictures” Mr. Adolph Zukor. So lets get straight into it Mr. Zukor would you tell us where it is you are from and tell us also about your family?”

Zukor: “I was born in a rural Hungarian village called Ricse in Europe on January 7^th, 1873. I didn’t really know my father; he died from blood poisoning when I was very young. My mother, who was the daughter of a rabbi, remarried after my father died but she then died when I was only eight she never really recovered from my father’s death. When my mother died my brother Arthur and I went and lived with a maternal uncle, he was a rabbi in a village not far away from ours.”

“At the age of twelve I was apprenticed to Herman Blau for three years. He owned a store in Szanto about ten miles from Ricse. I had the duties of an apprentice run errands, sweep, or other types of chores all the while learning to be a clerk and about two days a week I went to a night school to get what was a basic education from back then.”

Interviewer: “Wow what an amazing story working from such a young age but then again back then it was quite common. Within that time did anything you saw or did really spark your interest in the movie producing job?”

Zukor: “Well when I was a clerks apprentice there were many letters coming to the village from those who immigrated to America. They spoke so highly about all the freedom and opportunities, so at fourteen I had made up my mind to go. I received money from my orphan fund after sending a letter to the trustee and begging for the money to go. They gave me money for a steamship ticket and forty US dollars to spend on food and other necessities when I arrived. This extra money was sewn into my vest and I was warned by my brother not to touch it, or take off the vest till I arrived, I followed these instructions religiously. When I arrived I felt a freedom I had never felt before; I wanted to express these feelings somehow.”

“My first real contribution to show business was when I, Morris Kohn, and two others opened a small penny arcade. It had peep machines, a shooting gallery, punching bags, stationary bicycles, and candy, everything necessary for a penny arcade. I put a motion picture theater above the penny arcade and called it the ‘Crystal Hall’ where the films were only five cents. I also developed “talking pictures”, which were unknown to the theater world (all the films so far had been silent). The actors would stand behind the movie screen and would say their lines in synchronization with the actors in the silent film.”

Interviewer: “That is just amazing. Were there any mentors in your life that helped you achieve and develop your goals? How was it that they helped you?”

Zukor: “There were many people who helped me along my way. One constant was Morris Kohn, a fellow Hungarian who was ten years older than me. When we first met (back when I was in the fur business) he was a dealer in raw furs, but we grew together and became Kohn and Company we were manufactured furriers.”

“He was the one who truly pushed me towards what I wanted to do. He knew what I wanted before I did. He became a fatherly figure in my life, especially after I married his niece Lottie Kaufman.”

Interviewer: “Well what was the world of show business like when you finally decided to join?”

Zukor: “When I entered the field films, or “flickers”, were really quite short, they were never any longer than twelve minutes. It seemed as if the film industry came up with the ludicrous idea that people didn’t want to see anything longer. I have always felt that if the movie was worth it, if it had a good plot and characters the audience would sit as long as necessary to see the ending twist.”

 “I soon bought rights to a movie called Passion Play. Many people saw the movie and viewed it with awe. The movie was a complete success. It proved my thoughts that Americans would sit through better longer films.”

Interviewer: “You brought longer films to the screen what an idea. How, would you say, the major cultural, economic, and political situations of the time impact your work?”

Zukor: “I once said ‘the public is never wrong’ I tried to follow popular culture and anticipate the public’s desire’s in an attempt to get larger audiences. So I created Famous Players by selling some of my stocks, it followed the slogan ‘famous players in famous plays’. I stepped out of my position as treasurer of the penny arcade to further Famous Players.”

“Famous Players was just what the slogan said it was created to put famous actors into famous plays and really center on those stars. The only way to do that would be to have a merger with a big production company. So Famous Players and other smaller producers teamed with Paramount Pictures to create one single company that would be able to do all the part necessary to produce a movie.”

Interviewer: “After your whole life, looking back what would you say your biggest accomplishments would be?”

Zukor: “My biggest accomplishments would have to be the creation of Paramount Pictures. I felt like no matter what I would always have a home there. While I was at Paramount I did so many things to further the movie making industry. All of us at Paramount produced so many movies together as a family.”

“Another success would definitely have to be the Famous Players Company. Our first picture, in 1913, was The Count of Monte Cristo, the star being James O’Neill. I concluded it a huge success. There were many companies that merged with us one namely was the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Picture Play Company. Soon we were spitting out sixty movies a year and playing them in some of out own theaters.”

Interviewer: “What would you say were some key opportunities that eventually made you turn out the way your life and companies did?”

Zukor: “I got to work with the ever lovely and ever talented Mary Pickford. Even though I had to renegotiate her contract a number of times she was always worth ever penny. She once told me "You know, for years I've dreamed of making $20,000 a year before I was 20, and I'll be 20 very soon". Well I could take the hint and soon she was making $20,000 and then $100,000 a year. She had always been worth it.”

“Another opportunity would be I became Paramount’s Board Chairman in 1935. I was really honored when I was told. Eventually I was demoted to Honorary Chairman. I always had Paramount’s best ideals at heart. I always did and always will.”

Interviewer: “How inspiring. Were there any problems you had along the way that slowed down your efforts?”

Zukor: “Well on March 4^th, 1923, a fire broke out in the shooting gallery of the penny arcade. Smoke started to pour into the theater while a full house was watching Charlie Chaplin played on the screen. Everyone was evacuated and no one was seriously hurt. There were so many people that gathered in Union Square to watch the firefighters extinguish the flames. I was so heartbroken; so many hours were spent in that theater watching the films.”
“The fire had completely gutted the building. The building wasn’t reconstructed until 1965. The penny theater however was dead forever. My lovely Crystal Hall was gone forever.”

Interviewer: “That must have been horrible. Was there anybody that you admire or that inspired you?”

Zukor: “Georges Méliès was the man I admired. He was a magician who became a film maker and used his talents from being a magician to develop camera tricks. It was these tricks that gave all his film their fairytale quality. Georges Méliès was a great artist in his times.”

“Once I even tried to search for him in France. He had dropped out of the public’s eye. Years later he was found selling News Papers on the streets of Paris.  Eventually Georges Méliès was awarded the Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor) which was presented to him in 1931 by Louis Lumière.”

Interviewer: “Searching out the man you admired how interesting. Well I have one final question to ask you today were there any personal stories you would be willing to share that would show us how you became successful in the arts?”

Zukor: “There was a man who one day said to me ‘Why I say you described in the News Paper only the other day as a movie mogul. It happens all the time, except that sometimes you are a cinema tycoon or perhaps the Old Napoleon. I’ve seen you described as a caliph, and even, in a respected history book, as a wild Sioux Indian ghost dancer striking terror into the hearts of the enemy.’

‘Oh’ I said, ‘in this industry superlatives are not unknown. I never did pay much attention to what people call me. Don’t yet.’”

Interviewer: “There you have it folks, Adolph Zukor and his life as a movie mogul.”

Works Cited

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