The Amazing Howard Hughes is a 1977 American made-for-television biographical film about American aviation pioneer and filmmaker Howard Hughes , based on the book Howard: The Amazing Mr. Hughes by Hughes' business partner Noah Dietrich . The film starred Tommy Lee Jones , Ed Flanders , and Tovah Feldshuh . The Amazing Howard Hughes recounts the life and times of Howard Hughes and was made within a year of Hughes's death in April 1976. It was originally broadcast in two parts on CBS on April 13 and 14, 1977.
100-454: Howard Hughes ( Tommy Lee Jones ), from early life, is portrayed as an eccentric perfectionist and later, a hypochondriac . He grew up as a wealthy but isolated individual who was able to indulge some of his obsessions. As a Hollywood producer, he was able to create some of the most memorable films of the era, including Hell's Angels (1930), Scarface (1932) and The Outlaw (1943, 1946). His passion as an aviator led to both designing as
200-509: A "... fascinating account of the life and times of eccentric millionaire, aviation pioneer and filmmaker ..." Other reviews of The Amazing Howard Hughes were, likewise, mainly positive. Part one was the fifth highest-rated show of the week; part two was the highest-rated. It was seen by over 60 million people. Universal agreed to distribute The Amazing Howard Hughes theatrically outside the United States. The Amazing Howard Hughes
300-587: A 21st birthday present. Universal already had a reputation for nepotism —at one time, 70 of Carl Sr.'s relatives were supposedly on the payroll. Many of them were nephews, resulting in Carl Sr. being known around the studios as "Uncle Carl". Ogden Nash famously quipped in rhyme, "Uncle Carl Laemmle/Has a very large faemmle". Among these relatives was future Academy Award-winning director/producer William Wyler . "Junior," Laemmle persuaded his father to bring Universal up to date. He bought and built theaters, converted
400-683: A 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) cattle ranch in San Saba County, Texas , and a ranch near Van Horn, Texas , which served as the set for his film The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada . He owned an equestrian estate in Wellington, Florida , until he sold it in 2019. Jones is a polo player, and he has a house in a polo country club in Buenos Aires , Argentina. He is a supporter of the Polo Training Foundation. He
500-508: A Time , The Jeffersons , The Facts of Life , and Silver Spoons which premiered on NBC that same fall. At this time, Hal B. Wallis , who had recently worked as a major producer at Paramount, moved over to Universal, where he produced several films, among them a lavish version of Maxwell Anderson 's Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and the equally lavish Mary, Queen of Scots (1971). Although neither could claim to be
600-465: A big financial hit, both films received Academy Award nominations, and Anne was nominated for Best Picture , Best Actor ( Richard Burton ), Best Actress ( Geneviève Bujold ), and Best Supporting Actor ( Anthony Quayle ). Wallis retired from Universal after making the film Rooster Cogburn (1975), a sequel to True Grit (1969), which Wallis had produced at Paramount. Rooster Cogburn co-starred John Wayne , reprising his Oscar-winning role from
700-521: A box office for hours, counting patrons, and calculating the day's takings. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first several nickelodeons . For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Patents Company (or the "Edison Trust") meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on
800-600: A co-production arrangement with producer Walter Wanger and his partner, director Fritz Lang , lending the studio some amount of prestige productions. Universal's core audience base was still found in the neighborhood movie theaters , and the studio continued to please the public with low- to medium-budget films. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in new Sherlock Holmes mysteries (1942–46), teenage musicals with Gloria Jean , Donald O'Connor , and Peggy Ryan (1942–43), and screen adaptations of radio's Inner Sanctum Mysteries with Lon Chaney Jr. (1943–45). Alfred Hitchcock
900-565: A contract with Universal ensuring three more years of Oswald cartoons. However, after Mintz had unsuccessfully demanded that Disney accept a lower fee for producing the films, Mintz took most of Walt's animators to work at his own studio. Disney and Iwerks would create Mickey Mouse in secret while they finished the remaining Oswald films they were contractually obligated to finish. Universal subsequently severed its link to Mintz and formed its own in-house animation studio to produce Oswald cartoons headed by Walter Lantz , which would later result in
1000-535: A contract with Universal in the presence of its vice president, R. H. Cochrane. Mintz's company, Winkler Pictures, was to produce 26 " Oswald the Lucky Rabbit " cartoons for Universal. Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created the character and the Walt Disney Studio provided the animation for the cartoons under Winkler's supervision. The films enjoyed a successful theatrical run, and Mintz would sign
1100-514: A drifter opposite Sally Field in Back Roads , a comedy that received middling reviews. In 1982, he co-starred with Tuesday Weld in the HBO adaptation of The Rainmaker , directed by John Frankenheimer . In 1983, he received an Emmy for Best Actor for his performance as murderer Gary Gilmore in a TV adaptation of Norman Mailer 's The Executioner's Song . The same year, he starred in
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#17327976590121200-533: A hit, the arrangement would become the rule for many future productions at Universal and eventually at other studios as well. In the early 1950s, Universal set up its own distribution company in France . In the late 1960s, the company also started a production company in Paris , Universal Productions France S.A. , although sometimes credited by the name of the distribution company, Universal Pictures France . Except for
1300-684: A label within the Universal Music Group. The following year, G. P. Putnam's Sons was sold to the Penguin Group subsidiary of Pearson PLC . Matsushita provided a cash infusion, but the clash of cultures was too great to overcome, and five years later, Matsushita sold an 80% stake in MCA/Universal to Canadian drinks distributor Seagram for $ 5.7 billion. Seagram sold off its stake in DuPont to fund this expansion into
1400-708: A leading man in the 1990s, known for his gruff and authoritative film roles. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in the thriller film The Fugitive (1993). His other Oscar-nominated roles were as businessman Clay Shaw in JFK (1991), Hank Deerfield in In the Valley of Elah (2007), and Congressman Thaddeus Stevens in Lincoln (2012). He played Agent K in
1500-498: A niche for the studio, beginning a series of horror films which extended into the 1940s, affectionately dubbed Universal horror . Among them are Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933). Other Laemmle productions of this period include Tay Garnett 's Destination Unknown (1933), John M. Stahl 's Imitation of Life (1934) and William Wyler's The Good Fairy (1935). Universal's forays into high-quality production spelled
1600-798: A number of other popular figures who sang two sentimental songs in remembrance of those lost in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami . In 2010, Jones appeared alongside Ben Affleck in the recession drama The Company Men . The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival , where early reviews praised Jones's performance as "pitch-perfect". Jones had a role in the Marvel Studios film, Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). He also directed, produced and co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson in an adaptation of The Sunset Limited (2011). In 2012, there
1700-541: A number of supporting roles. In 1970, he landed his first film role, coincidentally playing a Harvard student in Love Story ( Erich Segal , the author of Love Story , said that he based the lead character of Oliver on aspects of two undergraduate roommates he knew while on a sabbatical at Harvard, Jones and Al Gore ). In early 1971, he returned to Broadway in Abe Burrows ' Four on a Garden where he shared
1800-653: A pirate adventure, Nate and Hayes , playing pirate captain Bully Hayes . In 1986, Jones played a former thief working for the FBI in the action thriller Black Moon Rising . In 1988, Jones co-starred with Chad Lowe and Robert Urich in the made-for-TV film April Morning , which depicted the battle of Lexington in the American Revolutionary War . In 1989, he earned another Emmy nomination for his portrayal of Texas Ranger Woodrow F. Call in
1900-441: A publisher, Fawcett , the next day. Fawcett released a million copies but only sold a third of them, which Thomas attributed to Irving's book. On the death of Hughes in 1976, numerous producers announced Hughes projects, including Warren Beatty and David Wolper , the latter based on Irving's book. Thomas' agents succeeded in selling the film rights to Thomas' book to Roger Gimbel who had a deal with EMI Television . The project
2000-676: A rare public "appearance" by conference call in order to denounce Clifford Irving's book to a group of trusted journalists Hughes had known personally, was recreated with four of the actual participants instead of actors: James Bacon from Hearst, Marvin G. Miles of the LA Times, Gene Handsaker from AP and Wayne Thomas of the Chicago Tribune. Film historian Simon D. Beck in The Aircraft-Spotter's Film and Television Companion (2016) described The Amazing Howard Hughes as
2100-497: A remake of its earlier 1929 part-talkie production, and produced as a high-quality, big-budget film rather than as a B-picture . The new film featured several stars from the Broadway stage version, which began production in late 1935, and unlike the 1929 film, was based on the Broadway musical rather than the novel. Carl Jr.'s spending habits alarmed company stockholders. They would not allow production to start on Show Boat unless
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#17327976590122200-430: A return on some of the expenditure by launching a sensational ad campaign that attracted moviegoers. Character actor Lon Chaney became a drawing card for Universal in the mid-1910s, appearing steadily in dramas. However, Chaney left Universal in 1917 because of a salary dispute, and his two biggest hits for Universal were made as isolated returns to the studio: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of
2300-454: A rich partner. He located Japanese electronics manufacturer Matsushita Electric (now known as Panasonic ), which agreed to acquire MCA for $ 6.6 billion in 1990. On December 9, 1996, the new owners dropped the MCA name; the company became Universal Studios, Inc. and MCA's music division, MCA Music Entertainment Group, was renamed Universal Music Group . MCA Records continued to live on as
2400-484: A sequel, U.S. Marshals (1998). When he accepted his Oscar , his head was shaved for his role in the film Cobb (1994), which he made light of in his speech: "The only thing a man can say at a time like this is 'I am not really bald'. Actually I'm lucky to be working". Among his other well-known performances during the 1990s were those of a terrorist who hijacks a U.S. Navy battleship in Under Siege (1992),
2500-520: A spin-off of the studio's 1947 hit The Egg and I and the inexpensive Francis (1950), the first film of a series about a talking mule, became mainstays of the company. Once again, the films of Abbott and Costello, including Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), were among the studio's top-grossing productions. But at this point, Rank lost interest and sold his shares to the investor Milton Rackmil , whose Decca Records would take full control of Universal in 1952. Besides Abbott and Costello,
2600-471: A test flight of the XF-11 , an experimental aircraft. The test flight culminated in a horrific crash, resulting in a concussion that left Hughes with brain damage and mental dysfunction going into his old age and eventual death. His final years were spent as a recluse, and Hughes died while aboard a private flight to Houston. In 1971, Bob Thomas was contacted by director George Sidney , who had gotten to know
2700-480: Is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Universal Studios , which is owned by NBCUniversal , a division of Comcast . Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle , Mark Dintenfass , Charles O. Baumann , Adam Kessel , Pat Powers , William Swanson, David Horsley , Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour , Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States and
2800-500: Is an avid San Antonio Spurs fan; he is often seen courtside at Spurs games. At the 2000 Democratic National Convention , he gave the nominating speech for his former college roommate, Al Gore , as the Democratic Party 's nominee for President of the United States. Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC , doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios , or Universal ),
2900-614: Is of Cherokee descent. He was raised in Midland, Texas , and attended Robert E. Lee High School . Jones later moved to Dallas and graduated from the St. Mark's School of Texas in 1965, which he attended on scholarship. Jones entered Harvard College in 1965 on need-based aid. As an upperclassman, he lived in Dunster House and was roommates with future U.S. Vice President Al Gore and with Bob Somerby, who later became editor of
3000-559: The Men in Black franchise . Other notable roles were in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Under Siege (1992), Natural Born Killers (1994), The Client (1994), Batman Forever (1995), Double Jeopardy (1999), No Country for Old Men (2007), The Company Men (2010), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Jason Bourne (2016), and Ad Astra (2019). Jones won
3100-599: The Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), with studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey , where many early films in America's first motion picture industry were produced in the early 20th century. Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers. By naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to
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3200-655: The Latham Loop used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition and attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution. Soon, Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their own pictures. In June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with his brothers-in-law Abe Stern and Julius Stern . That company quickly evolved into
3300-588: The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his role as executed murderer Gary Gilmore in The Executioner's Song (1982). He was further nominated for playing Texas Ranger Woodrow F. Call in the television miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989). He portrayed Howard Hughes in the CBS film The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977). He directed and starred in
3400-516: The highest-grossing films of all time during their initial releases. Universal Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), and was one of the "Little Three" majors during Hollywood's golden age . Universal was founded by Carl Laemmle , Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann , Adam Kessel, Pat Powers , William Swanson, David Horsley , Robert H. Cochrane and Jules Brulatour . One story has Laemmle watching
3500-686: The Bandit (1977), Animal House (1978), The Jerk (1979), The Blues Brothers (1980), The Four Seasons (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Breakfast Club (1985), Back to the Future (also 1985), An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), Jurassic Park (1993) and Casper (1995), but the film business was financially unpredictable with some films like The Thing (1982), Scarface (1983), Dune (1984), Howard
3600-531: The Duck (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) or Waterworld (1995), which turned out to be big box office disappointments despite their high budget, however, fortunately, these films became cult films in later years. UIP began distributing films by start-up studio DreamWorks in 1997 due to the founders' connections with Paramount, Universal, and Amblin Entertainment. In 2001, MGM dropped out of
3700-582: The Jackal (1973). It was only involved in approximately 20 French film productions. In the early 1970s, the unit was incorporated into the French Cinema International Corporation arm. By the late 1950s, the motion picture business was again changing. The combination of the studio/theater-chain breakup and the rise of television saw the reduced audience size for cinema productions. The Music Corporation of America (MCA),
3800-704: The Laemmles obtained a loan. Universal was forced to seek a $ 750,000 production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation, pledging the Laemmle family's controlling interest in Universal as collateral . It was the first time Universal had borrowed money for a production in its 26-year history. The production went $ 300,000 over budget; Standard called in the loan, cash-strapped Universal could not pay, and Standard foreclosed and seized control of
3900-548: The Opera (1925). During the early 1920s Laemmle entrusted most of Universal's production policy decisions to Irving Thalberg . Thalberg had been Laemmle's personal secretary, and Laemmle was impressed by his cogent observations of how efficiently the studio could be operated. Promoted to studio chief in 1919, Thalberg made distinct improvements of quality and prestige in Universal's output in addition to dealing with star director Erich von Stroheim 's increasing inability to control
4000-609: The Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men . For the former, he was nominated for an Academy Award . Jones has been a spokesman for Japanese brewing company Suntory since 2006. He can be seen in various Japanese TV commercials of Suntory's Coffee brand Boss as a character called "Alien Jones", an extraterrestrial who takes the form of a human being to check on the world of humans. Many of these commercials can be seen on YouTube. In 2011, Jones appeared in public service announcements on Japanese television, joining
4100-526: The UIP venture and went with 20th Century Fox 's international arm to handle the distribution of their titles, an ongoing arrangement. UIP nearly lost its connection with Universal Pictures in 1999 when Universal started Universal Pictures International to take over the assets of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and wanted UPI to distribute their films starting in 2001. Only a small handful of films were released theatrically by Universal Pictures International, up until
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4200-720: The acclaimed television mini-series Lonesome Dove , based on the best-seller by Larry McMurtry . In the 1990s, Jones was featured in blockbuster films such as JFK (1991) co-starring Kevin Costner (which earned him an Oscar nomination), The Fugitive (1993) co-starring Harrison Ford , Batman Forever (1995) co-starring Val Kilmer , Volcano (1997) co-starring Anne Heche , and Men in Black (1997) with Will Smith . His performance as Deputy U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive received broad acclaim that included an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor , and
4300-518: The advent of sound, these productions were made in the German language or, occasionally, Hungarian or Polish. In the U.S., Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary's films. Still, some of them were exhibited through other independent, foreign-language film distributors based in New York City without the benefit of English subtitles. Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for
4400-614: The comic adventures of infant Baby Sandy (1938–41); comedies with Hugh Herbert (1938–42) and The Ritz Brothers (1940–43); musicals with Robert Paige , Jane Frazee , The Andrews Sisters , and The Merry Macs (1938–45); and westerns with Tom Mix (1932–33), Buck Jones (1933–36), Bob Baker (1938–39), Johnny Mack Brown (1938–43); Rod Cameron (1944–45), and Kirby Grant (1946–47). Universal could seldom afford its own stable of stars and often borrowed talent from other studios or hired freelance actors. In addition to Stewart and Dietrich, Margaret Sullavan and Bing Crosby were two of
4500-576: The creation of Woody Woodpecker in 1940. In February 2006, NBCUniversal sold all the Disney-animated Oswald cartoons, along with the rights to the character himself, to The Walt Disney Company . In return, Disney released ABC sportscaster Al Michaels from his contract so he could work on NBC's recently acquired Sunday night NFL football package . Universal retained ownership of the remaining Oswald cartoons. In 1928, Laemmle Sr. made his son, Carl Jr. , head of Universal Pictures,
4600-544: The creation of the star system . In 1910, he promoted Florence Lawrence , formerly known as " The Biograph Girl ", and actor King Baggot , in what may be the first instance of a studio using stars in its marketing. The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was incorporated in New York City on April 30, 1912. Laemmle, who emerged as president in July 1912, was the primary figure in the partnership with Dintenfass, Baumann, Kessel, Powers, Swanson, Horsley, and Brulatour. The company
4700-583: The decade was primarily a television studio. When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased United Artists in 1981, MGM could not drop out of the CIC venture to merge with United Artists overseas operations. However, with future film productions from both names being released through the MGM/UA Entertainment plate, CIC decided to merge UA's international units with MGM and reformed as United International Pictures . There would be other film hits like Smokey and
4800-435: The earlier film, and Katharine Hepburn , their only film together. The film was only a moderate success. In 1983, Universal Pictures launched an independent film arm designed to release specialty films, Universal Classics, and the division has sights on separation. In 1987, Universal Pictures, MGM/UA Communications Co. , and Paramount Pictures teamed up to market feature film and television products to China. Consumer reach
4900-487: The early 1970s, Universal teamed up with Paramount to form Cinema International Corporation , which distributed films by Paramount and Universal outside of the US and Canada. Although Universal did produce occasional hits, among them Airport (1970), The Sting (1973), American Graffiti (also 1973), Earthquake (1974), and a big box-office success which restored the company's fortunes: Jaws (1975), Universal during
5000-469: The end of the Laemmle era at the studio. Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a film conglomerate in the depths of the Great Depression was risky, and for a time, Universal slipped into receivership . The theater chain was scrapped , but Carl Jr. held fast to distribution, studio, and production operations. The end for the Laemmles came with a lavish version of Show Boat (1936),
5100-419: The expense and length of his films, eventually firing Stroheim on October 6, 1922, six weeks into the production of Merry-Go-Round (1923) and replacing him with Rupert Julian . Louis B. Mayer lured Thalberg away from Universal in late 1922 to his own growing studio, Louis B. Mayer Productions , as vice-president in charge of production, and when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was formed in 1924 Thalberg continued in
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#17327976590125200-544: The few women directing films in Hollywood. Starting in the mid-1920s, Universal branded its most expensive and heavily promoted feature films as "Super-Jewel" productions. These included films such as Erich von Stroheim 's Foolish Wives (1922), Clarence Brown 's The Acquittal (1923), Hobart Henley 's A Lady of Quality (1924), Harry A. Pollard 's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927), and Edward Sloman 's Surrender (1928). Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, he
5300-402: The fifth oldest in the world after Gaumont , Pathé , Titanus , and Nordisk Film , and is one of the "Big Five" film studios . Universal's most commercially successful film franchises include Fast & Furious , Jurassic Park , and Despicable Me . Additionally, the studio's library includes many individual films such as Jaws and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , both of which became
5400-526: The film Space Cowboys , in which both played retired pilots and friends/rivals leading a space rescue mission together. In 2002, he and Will Smith co-starred in the Men in Black sequel, Men in Black II . In 2005, the first theatrical feature film Jones directed, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada , was presented at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival . Jones's character speaks both English and Spanish in
5500-517: The film. His performance won him the Best Actor Award at Cannes. His first film as a director had been The Good Old Boys in 1995, a made-for-television movie. Two strong performances in 2007 marked a resurgence in Jones's career, one as a beleaguered father investigating the disappearance of his soldier son in In the Valley of Elah , the other as a Texas sheriff hunting an assassin in
5600-534: The head of the Hughes Aircraft Company , as well as flying top-secret aircraft he had built in record-breaking speed and endurance flights ( Hughes H-1 Racer ). As well as pouring money into films and projects such as the huge H-4 Hercules aircraft, Hughes is also seen with many of the women in his life, including Jean Harlow , Ginger Rogers , Katharine Hepburn ( Tovah Feldshuh ), and Jane Russell (Marla Carlis). An incident in 1946 involved
5700-415: The independent company International Pictures , and producer Kenneth Young. The new combine, United World Pictures, was a failure and was dissolved within one year. However, Rank and International remained interested in Universal, culminating in the studio's reorganization as Universal-International; the merger was announced on July 30, 1946. William Goetz , a founder of International along with Leo Spitz ,
5800-498: The late 1930s was Destry Rides Again (1939), starring James Stewart as Destry and Marlene Dietrich in her comeback role after leaving Paramount . By the early 1940s, the company was concentrating on lower-budget productions that were the company's main staple: westerns, melodramas, serials, and sequels to the studio's horror pictures, the latter now solely B pictures. The studio fostered many series: The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys action features and serials (1938–43);
5900-420: The lucrative non-theatrical field, buying a majority stake in home-movie dealer Castle Films in 1947 and taking the company over entirely in 1951. For three decades, Castle would offer "highlights" reels from the Universal film library to home-movie enthusiasts and collectors. Goetz licensed Universal's pre–Universal-International film library to Jack Broeder's Realart Pictures for cinema re-release, but Realart
6000-414: The major names that made a couple of pictures for Universal during this period. Some stars came from radio, including Edgar Bergen , W. C. Fields , and the comedy team of Abbott and Costello ( Bud Abbott and Lou Costello ). Abbott and Costello's military comedy Buck Privates (1941) gave the former burlesque comedians a national and international profile. During the war years, Universal did have
6100-555: The media criticism site The Daily Howler . Jones majored in English literature and was a pupil of dramatist Robert Chapman . He graduated in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts , cum laude . His senior thesis was on "the mechanics of Catholicism" in the works of Flannery O'Connor . Jones played guard on the Harvard Crimson football team from 1965 to 1968. He was a member of Harvard's undefeated 1968 football team . He
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#17327976590126200-442: The melodramas directed by Douglas Sirk and produced by Ross Hunter , which were critically reassessed more positively years later. Among Universal-International's stable of stars were Rock Hudson , Tony Curtis , Jeff Chandler , Audie Murphy , and John Gavin . Although Decca would continue to keep picture budgets lean, it was favored by changing circumstances in the film business, as other studios let their contract actors go in
6300-415: The motion pictures and television arms of the formerly Universal Pictures Company and Revue Productions (officially renamed as Universal Television in 1966). And so, with MCA in charge, Universal became a full-blown, A-film movie studio, with leading actors and directors under contract; offering slick, commercial films; and a studio tour subsidiary launched in 1964. Television production made up much of
6400-470: The parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary. In the early years, Universal had a "clean picture" policy. However, by April 1927, Carl Laemmle considered this a mistake as "unclean pictures" from other studios generated more profit while Universal lost money. In early 1927, Universal had been negotiating deals with cartoon producers since they wanted to get back into producing them. On March 4, Charles Mintz signed
6500-475: The release of the film Mickey Blue Eyes . UIP then took over the theatrical distribution inventory of future films planned to be released by Universal Pictures International, such as The Green Mile and Angela's Ashes . On October 4, 1999, Universal renewed its commitments to United International Pictures to release its films internationally through 2006. Anxious to expand the company's broadcast and cable presence, longtime MCA head Lew Wasserman sought
6600-610: The role of "Reverend" Roy Foltrigg in The Client (1994), a maximum-security prison warden who's in way over his head in Natural Born Killers (1994), and a parole officer in Double Jeopardy (1999). In 2000, Jones co-starred with Samuel L. Jackson as a Marine colonel serving as Jackson's defense attorney in the film Rules of Engagement , and co-starred with director Clint Eastwood as astronauts in
6700-529: The same corporate entity, the central element of the Studio system era. Following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912, the company was focusing its production efforts in the Hollywood area. Universal Weekly and Moving Picture Weekly were the alternating names of Universal's internal magazine that began publication in this era; the magazine was intended to market Universal's films to exhibitors. Since much of Universal's early film output
6800-498: The same position for the new company. Without Thalberg's guidance, Universal became a second-tier studio and would remain so for several decades. In 1926, Universal opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak . This unit produced three to four films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler 's increasing domination of central Europe. With
6900-517: The stage with Carol Channing and Sid Caesar . Between 1971 and 1975 he portrayed Dr. Mark Toland on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live . He returned to the stage for a short-lived 1974 production of Ulysses in Nighttown , an adaptation of one episode from James Joyce 's novel Ulysses , playing Stephen Dedalus opposite Zero Mostel 's Leopold Bloom and directed by Burgess Meredith . It
7000-417: The studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists. Universal became the largest studio in Hollywood and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in small towns, producing mostly inexpensive melodramas , westerns , and serials . In 1916, Universal formed a three-tier branding system for their releases. Unlike
7100-410: The studio on April 2, 1936. Although Universal's 1936 Show Boat (released a little over a month later) became a critical and financial success, it was not enough to save the Laemmles' involvement with the studio. They were unceremoniously removed from the company they had founded, with studio advertisements referring to "the new Universal". Because the Laemmles personally oversaw production, Show Boat
7200-476: The studio retained the Walter Lantz cartoon studio, whose product was released with Universal-International's films. In the 1950s, Universal-International resumed their series of Arabian Nights films, many starring Tony Curtis . The studio also had success with monster and science fiction films produced by William Alland , with many directed by Jack Arnold and starring John Agar . Other successes were
7300-547: The studio to sound production, and made several forays into high-quality production. His early efforts included the critically panned part-talkie version of Edna Ferber 's novel Show Boat (1929), the lavish musical Broadway (1929) which included Technicolor sequences; and the first all-color musical feature (for Universal), King of Jazz (1930). The more serious All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) won its year's Best Picture Oscar . Laemmle Jr. created
7400-620: The studio's output from its wartime average of fifty films per year (nearly twice the major studio's output) to thirty-five films a year. Distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc. Goetz set out an ambitious schedule. Universal-International became responsible for the American distribution of Rank's British productions, including such classics as David Lean 's Great Expectations (1946) and Laurence Olivier 's Hamlet (1948). Broadening its scope further, Universal-International branched out into
7500-505: The studio's output, with Universal heavily committed, in particular, to deals with NBC (which much later merged with Universal to form NBC Universal; see below ) providing up to half of all prime time shows for several seasons. An innovation during this period championed by Universal was the made-for-television movie. In 1982, Universal became the studio base for many shows that were produced by Norman Lear 's Tandem Productions / Embassy Television , including Diff'rent Strokes , One Day at
7600-536: The studio. Gone were the big ambitions, and though Universal had a few big names under contract, those it had been cultivating, like William Wyler and Margaret Sullavan , left. Meanwhile, producer Joe Pasternak, who had been successfully producing light musicals with young sopranos for Universal's German subsidiary, repeated his formula in the United States. Teenage singer Deanna Durbin starred in Pasternak's first American film, Three Smart Girls (1936). The film
7700-520: The top-tier studios, Universal did not own any theaters to market its feature films. Universal branding their product gave theater owners and audiences a quick reference guide. Branding would help theater owners judge films they were about to lease and help fans decide which movies they wanted to see. Universal released three different types of feature motion pictures: Directors of "Jewel" films included Jack Conway , John Ford , Rex Ingram , Robert Z. Leonard , George Marshall , and Lois Weber , one of
7800-579: The two first films it produced, Claude Chabrol 's Le scandale (English title The Champagne Murders , 1967) and Romain Gary 's Les oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou (English title Birds in Peru ), it was only involved in French or other European co-productions, including Louis Malle 's Lacombe, Lucien , Bertrand Blier 's Les Valseuses (English title Going Places , 1974), and Fred Zinnemann 's The Day of
7900-449: The wake of the 1948 U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al. decision. Leading actors were increasingly free to work where and when they chose, and in 1950 MCA agent Lew Wasserman made a deal with Universal for his client James Stewart that would change the rules of the business. Wasserman's deal gave Stewart a share in the profits of three pictures in lieu of a large salary. When one of those films, Winchester '73 (1950), proved to be
8000-518: The western TNT movie The Good Old Boys (1995). He directed, starred in and executive produced the HBO film The Sunset Limited (2011). Jones was born on September 15, 1946, in San Saba, Texas . His mother, Lucille Marie Jones ( née Scott ; 1928–2013), was a police officer, school teacher, and beauty shop owner, and his father, Clyde C. Jones (1926–1986), was a cowboy and oil field worker. The two were married and divorced twice. Jones
8100-459: The world's largest talent agency, had also become a powerful television producer, renting space at Republic Studios for its Revue Productions subsidiary. After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its 360-acre (1.5 km ) studio lot to MCA in 1958 for $ 11 million, renamed Revue Studios . MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, yet was increasingly influential on Universal's products. The studio lot
8200-402: The writer while the latter was researching King Cohn , a biography of Harry Cohn . Sidney said Stanley Meyer, the financier, was looking for someone to help write Noah Dietrich's memoirs. Thomas met with Dietrich and wrote a book about Hughes. They struggled to find a publisher due to the fact Clifford Irving had released Hughes' diaries. When it was revealed the diaries were fake, the book found
8300-544: Was a box-office hit and reputedly resolved the studio's financial problems. The film's success led Universal to offer her a contract, which for the first five years of her career, produced her most successful pictures. When Pasternak stopped producing Durbin's pictures, and she outgrew her screen persona and pursued more dramatic roles, the studio signed 13-year-old Gloria Jean for her own series of Pasternak musicals from 1939; she went on to star with Bing Crosby , W. C. Fields , and Donald O'Connor . A popular Universal film of
8400-491: Was a major break-through for Jones. Filming of The Amazing Howard Hughes took eight weeks. During filming, Gimbel's company was bought out by EMI Television. A large group of aircraft were assembled for the production by Tallmantz Aviation . The aircraft included two Curtiss JN-4 biplanes , Learjet 23 , Lockheed P-38 Lightning , Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior , North American AT-6 Texan , and Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 . The incident in 1972 where Howard Hughes made
8500-416: Was also borrowed for two films from Selznick International Pictures : Saboteur (1942) and Shadow of a Doubt (1943). As Universal's main product had always been lower-budgeted films, it was one of the last major studios to contract with Technicolor . The studio did not make use of the three-strip Technicolor process until Arabian Nights (1942), starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez . Technicolor
8600-429: Was also used for the studio's remake of their 1925 horror melodrama, Phantom of the Opera (1943) with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy . With the success of their first two pictures, a regular schedule of high-budget Technicolor films followed. In 1945, J. Arthur Rank, who had already owned a stake in the studio almost a decade before, hoping to expand his American presence, bought into a four-way merger with Universal,
8700-447: Was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor , William Fox , and Marcus Loew , Laemmle chose not to develop a theater chain . He also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. This policy nearly bankrupted the studio when actor-director Erich von Stroheim insisted on excessively lavish production values for his films Blind Husbands (1919) and Foolish Wives (1922), but Universal shrewdly gained
8800-647: Was another turning point in Jones's career, starting with playing Agent K again in Men in Black 3 , portraying Arnold Soames in the romantic dramedy Hope Springs , and co-starring as Thaddeus Stevens in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln . Jones's performance in Lincoln received wide critical acclaim, and he was nominated for an Oscar for the fourth time, for Best Supporting Actor. Since Lincoln , Jones has continued appearing in popular films, including Jason Bourne (2016) and Ad Astra (2019). Jones
8900-481: Was destroyed in subsequent fires and nitrate degradation, the surviving issues of these magazines are a crucial source for film historians. On March 15, 1915, Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios , on a 230-acre (0.9-km ) converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood. Studio management became the third facet of Universal's operations, with
9000-615: Was established on June 8, 1912, formed in a merger of Independent Moving Pictures (IMP), the Powers Motion Picture Company , Rex Motion Picture Manufacturing Company , Champion Film Company , Nestor Film Company , and the New York Motion Picture Company . Eventually all would be bought out by Laemmle. The new Universal studio was a vertically integrated company , with movie production, distribution, and exhibition venues all linked in
9100-827: Was followed by the acclaimed TV movie The Amazing Howard Hughes , where he played the lead role. In films, he played a hunted escaped convict in Jackson County Jail (1976), a Vietnam veteran in Rolling Thunder (1977), an automobile mogul, co-starring with Laurence Olivier , in the Harold Robbins drama The Betsy (1978), and a police detective opposite Faye Dunaway in the 1978 thriller Eyes of Laura Mars . In 1980, Jones earned his first Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of country singer Loretta Lynn 's husband, Doolittle "Mooney" Lynn , in Coal Miner's Daughter . In 1981, he played
9200-468: Was made head of production at the renamed Universal-International Pictures, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures Company, Inc. which also served as an import-export subsidiary, and copyright holder for the production arm's films. Goetz, a son-in-law of Louis B. Mayer , decided to bring "prestige" to the new company. He stopped the studio's low-budget production of B movies , serials and curtailed Universal's horror and " Arabian Nights " cycles. He also reduced
9300-485: Was married to Kate Lardner, the niece of screenwriter and journalist Ring Lardner Jr. , from 1971 to 1978. He has two children from his second marriage to Kimberlea Cloughley, the daughter of Phil Hardberger , former mayor of San Antonio. On March 19, 2001, he married his third wife, Dawn Laurel. Jones resides in Terrell Hills, Texas , a city just outside of downtown San Antonio , and speaks Spanish. He owns
9400-626: Was measured in terms of the 25 billion admission tickets that were clocked in China in 1986, and Worldwide Media Sales, a division of the New York-based Worldwide Media Group, had been placed in charge of the undertaking. In the early 1980s, the company had its own pay television arm Universal Pay Television (a.k.a. Universal Pay TV Programming, Inc.), which spawned in 1987, an 11-picture cable television agreement with then-independent film studio New Line Cinema . In
9500-514: Was named as a first-team All- Ivy League selection, and played in the 1968 Game . The game featured a memorable and last-minute Harvard 16-point comeback to tie Yale. He recounted his memory of "the most famous football game in Ivy League history" in the documentary Harvard Beats Yale 29–29 . After graduating from Harvard in 1969, Jones moved to New York City to become an actor, making his Broadway debut in 1969's A Patriot for Me in
9600-454: Was not allowed to show the films on television. The production arm of the studio still struggled. While there were to be a few hits like The Killers (1946) and The Naked City (1948), both produced by Mark Hellinger , Universal-International's new theatrical films often met with disappointing response at the box office. By the late 1940s, Goetz was out. The studio returned to low-budget and series films such as Ma and Pa Kettle (1949),
9700-418: Was originally developed by Roger Gimbel's production company. At one stage, Gimbel had negotiations with Warren Beatty to play Hughes. But when these broke down the producer decided to go "180 degrees the other way" and cast an unknown. He picked Tommy Lee Jones who had appeared in films such as Jackson County Jail and who Gimbel said "matches the image the public has of Hughes". The Amazing Howard Hughes
9800-401: Was released (despite the takeover) with Carl Laemmle and Carl Laemmle Jr.'s names on the credits and in the film's advertising campaign. Standard Capital's J. Cheever Cowdin had taken over as president and chairman of the board of directors and instituted severe cuts in production budgets. Joining him were British entrepreneurs C.M. Woolf and J. Arthur Rank , who bought a significant stake in
9900-415: Was the original release of EMI Television, an off-shoot of EMI Films. Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received various accolades including an Academy Award , a Golden Globe Award , a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards . While fame somewhat eluded him for much of the 1970s and 1980s, Jones established himself as
10000-542: Was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day , Lana Turner , Cary Grant , and director Alfred Hitchcock were signed to Universal contracts. The long-awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA, Inc. happened in mid-1962 as part of the MCA- Decca Records merger. As a final gesture before leaving the talent agency business, virtually every MCA client was signed to a Universal contract. In 1964, MCA formed Universal City Studios, Inc ., merging
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