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Universal Studios is a famous Hollywood film studio. It was founded by German
immigrant Carl Laemmle on
June 8, 1912. In 1929, Carl Laemmle Jr. took over the helm of the studio,
and tried to lift the reputation of the low-budget company by spending more on production and talent. The Universal horror
classics like Frankenstein,
Dracula, and The
Mummy were the result of this move, but they were not financially successful for the company, and they returned to
mass-produced dreck for some time thereafter.
In 1952, the studio was acquired by the record company Decca, who then sold it to
MCA in 1962. Universal finally began to
prosper, with the leadership of Lew
Wasserman. This also marked Universal's entry into the television
programming business; MCA owned Revue Studios, one of the biggest TV studios in Hollywood, which at the time produced such hits as
Leave It to Beaver, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Wagon Train. The studio was renamed
Universal Television, and made its name producing crime dramas and action/adventure series, such as the 1960s
Dragnet revival, Adam
12, Emergency!, Columbo, Baretta, Knight Rider, Quantum Leap, and Law & Order.
Three decades of steady success, with the occasional blockbusters like Jaws and
E.T:
The Extra-Terrestrial, seemed to poise the studio for great future potential. However, the era of huge media mergers
that began in the 1980s and continued in the1990s
put pressure on the firm. Wasserman sought and shepherded an alliance with Matsushita Electric (parent of Panasonic and other
brands). The cash infusion was helpful, but the corporate culture of the Japanese firm did not mesh easily with the headstrong
old Hollywood veterans. Matsushita tired of the battle, and sold a controlling share of the studio to the Seagram company in 1995.
Seagram went on to acquire Polygram and other entertainment properties in order
to build a media empire centered on Universal, but stock prices never took off the way they expected. In 1998, Universal's TV studios were spun off to USA Networks, and renamed Studios USA; in 2002, Universal
bought back USA's cable and studio holdings, thus reinstating the Universal Television name; Universal retained its pre-1998 TV
back catalog through all of this period.
In June of 2000, Universal was acquired by the French company Vivendi, now Vivendi
Universal. During this period, the studio was under the leadership of Ron Meyer, Stacey Snider, and Barry Diller.
In October 2003, it was announced that Vivendi would be selling the majority of
Universal's holdings (including the studio and theme parks) to General
Electric, parent of television network (and longtime Universal Television customer) NBC.
The merger cleared regulatory approval in April 2004, and closed on May 12, 2004. As of the closing, GE owns 80% of the combined NBC Universal, with the remaining 20% kept by Vivendi; Vivendi will have the option to sell its share
starting in 2006.
Vivendi will be keeping Universal Music Group, at least for
now.
Universal Studios Theme Parks
Universal Studios has long hosted tours of its Hollywood studios to eager California tourists. In 1964, the humble tram tour became a full-blown theme park -- the
narrated tram tour still runs through the studio's backlot, showing off the sets and props from a huge variety of Universal movie and TV productions, but the Universal Studios Hollywood park
has added some high-tech rides, stunt shows, and attractions.
Universal has since opened theme parks in Florida, Japan(Osaka), and Spain (although
without the working studio attached).
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