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| - Shut out of the profitable sound-film conversion business driven by the success of Warner Bros.' October 1927 release The Jazz Singer, RCA bought its way into the motion picture industry to gain an outlet for the optical sound-on-film system, Photophone, recently developed by General Electric, RCA's parent company. All of the major studios and their theater divisions were in the process of signing with ERPI, a subsidiary of AT&T's Western Electric division, to handle conversion. Hoping to join in the anticipated boom in sound movies, David Sarnoff, general manager of RCA, approached Joseph Kennedy in late 1927 about using the Photophone system for FBO pictures. Negotiations resulted in General Electric acquiring a substantial interest in the studio, followed by Sarnoff and Kennedy arrangin
- RKO Pictures was founded in 1928 when the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chains and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studio merged under Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The company was very successful throughout the first half of the 20th century, producing such iconic films as Citizen Kane and King Kong. In 1948, Howard Hughes purchased RKO Pictures, and the company began a steady decline. RKO ceased production in 1957 and closed its doors in 1959.
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| abstract
| - Shut out of the profitable sound-film conversion business driven by the success of Warner Bros.' October 1927 release The Jazz Singer, RCA bought its way into the motion picture industry to gain an outlet for the optical sound-on-film system, Photophone, recently developed by General Electric, RCA's parent company. All of the major studios and their theater divisions were in the process of signing with ERPI, a subsidiary of AT&T's Western Electric division, to handle conversion. Hoping to join in the anticipated boom in sound movies, David Sarnoff, general manager of RCA, approached Joseph Kennedy in late 1927 about using the Photophone system for FBO pictures. Negotiations resulted in General Electric acquiring a substantial interest in the studio, followed by Sarnoff and Kennedy arranging for a takeover of the large Keith-Albee-Orpheum circuit of theaters, then used for live vaudeville performances. Under the plan, largely conceived by Sarnoff, Kennedy acquired KAO on May 10, 1928, and with it the Pathé (U.S.)–De Mille filmmaking operations, which had united the previous year under the control of Keith-Orpheum (which soon brought the Albee chain into the fold). Meanwhile, Sarnoff had created RCA Photophone Inc. In October, a merger was effected primarily through a series of stock transfers and the creation of the Radio-Keith-Orpheum holding company was announced, with Sarnoff as chairman of the board. Kennedy, who was briefly president of the new operation before stepping aside, kept what was known as Pathé Exchange (Cecil B. DeMille having been bought out in August) separate from RKO and under his personal control. The prominence of "radio" in the corporate name "Radio-Keith-Orpheum" reflected RCA's 66% share in the concern. It was claimed that the broadcasting-tower logo of the production arm, "Radio Pictures," was suggested by Sarnoff himself. Kennedy's primary role in the new company, of which he remained a major stockholder even after departing his executive position, was to drive up the share value. He and his associates did so successfully, pushing RKO's price higher even before film production had begun under the new name. Looking to get out of the film business a couple of years later, Kennedy arranged in late 1930 for RKO to purchase Pathé from him. On January 29, 1931, Pathé, with its Culver City studio, backlot (formerly De Mille's), and contract players, was merged into RKO as Kennedy sold off the last of his stock in the company he had been instrumental in creating.
- RKO Pictures was founded in 1928 when the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chains and Joseph P. Kennedy's Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studio merged under Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The company was very successful throughout the first half of the 20th century, producing such iconic films as Citizen Kane and King Kong. In 1948, Howard Hughes purchased RKO Pictures, and the company began a steady decline. RKO ceased production in 1957 and closed its doors in 1959. Despite no longer producing films, RKO continued to own the rights to King Kong, and in 1962 licensed the rights to Kong to Toho Company Ltd., who produced King Kong vs. Godzilla and later King Kong Escapes. In the 1970s, RKO sold the film rights to King Kong to Paramount Pictures, causing Universal Pictures, who previously held King Kong's film rights in the United States, to sue RKO. In 1976, a federal judge found that RKO did not own the rights to the character King Kong, only the 1933 film and its sequel, and that the character's rights rightfully belonged to the estate of Merian C. Cooper, Kong's original creator. The rights reverted to Cooper's son, Richard, who promptly sold them to Universal. RKO began operating as a production subsidiary in 1981, and it and all of its remaining assets were sold to new owners in 1989. RKO continues operating as a small independent film company under these owners to this day.
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