Al Lichtman(1888-1958)

Al Lichtman was at one time a burlesque house usher and, in 1912, a field manager for Famous Players. In the early 1920s he owned and operated his own distribution company. He served as an executive at such studios as Famous Players, MGM, United Artists and 20th Century-Fox and was a major figure in the development of CinemaScope. In 1919 he worked with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith and William S. Hart in the formation of United Artists Pictures, of which he became president. Lichtman met Adolph Zukor and worked with him at Paramount Pictures before becoming a field manager for Zukor at Famous Players. Later, he created his own company, Alco Films, which went bankrupt after his partner stole money. Creditors took over and Alco was renamed Metro Pictures, the predecessor of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Lichtman and Zukor's paths kept intersecting during these years and he presented the idea of block booking to Zukor, which then became a new industry standard.

Many titles followed: president at Preferred Pictures, sales manager and president at United Artists, after which he reorganized MGM, serving as vice president and executive producer of films like "The Wizard of Oz" and "Gone With The Wind". Eventually, he joined 20th Century Fox and became head of distribution, during which time he played a crucial role in developing CinemaScope. He retired from Fox in 1957. Lichtman later served as President of Preferred Pictures and executive produced the film "The Young Lions" with Marlon Brando and Montgomery Cliff.