[Islam-Online- Art & Entertainment]

Long a dominant force in the entertainment industry, Universal Studios (formerly known as MCA) has been a subsidiary of The Seagram Company Ltd. since 1995. Jules Stein, an ophthalmologist-turned-talent agent, founded the Music Corporation of America (MCA) in Chicago, Illinois, in 1924. Stein had worked his way through medical school as a part-time musician and agent for other musical acts. Originally a music booking company, MCA gradually became a talent agency representing a variety of entertainers.

MCA opened an office in Los Angeles, California, in 1937. In the 1940s, the company began representing prominent actors, such as Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman. After MCA acquired the New York-based Hayward-Deverich agency in 1945, the company was widely acknowledged as the premier talent agency in the United States.

In 1946, Lou Wasserman succeeded Stein as president and chief executive officer of MCA. Under his direction, the company expanded its reach into other areas of the entertainment field. In 1949, MCA moved into the field of television production. In that year, the company formed MCA TV, acquired Revue Studios production facilities and began producing "Stars Over Hollywood." It was a television variety show featuring many MCA clients. By 1954, MCA's earnings from television were higher than its talent agency commissions. Four years later, MCA TV bought the television broadcast rights to all Paramount Studios motion pictures made before 1948. Over the years, MCA either produced or distributed many of television's most successful shows, from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Leave It to Beaver" in the 1950s to "Coach" and "Law & Order" in the 1990s.

In 1959, MCA Inc. was formed as a new parent company for the company's increasingly diverse operations. In 1962, MCA bought Decca Records and its motion picture subsidiary, Universal Pictures. By this time, MCA had become both the largest talent agency and the largest producer of shows in the television industry. The U.S Justice Department, responding to complaints that MCA productions routinely hired only MCA talent, took action under antitrust laws to force the company to give up either its agency or its production business. MCA divested itself of its talent agency and began to look for investments outside of the entertainment industry.

In 1968, MCA acquired Spencer Gifts, a chain of novelty stores that found a profitable niche in suburban malls and grew rapidly. MCA produced a number of popular and profitable motion pictures, including The Sting (1973), Jaws (1975), The Deer Hunter (1978), and E.T. (1983). During this period, many of the company's television shows, such as "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "Kojak" were highly successful.

MCA had acquired the Universal Studios back lot property in 1959. In 1964, the company began offering tours of the Universal lot and production facilities to provide tourists with a behind-the-scenes look at movie making. By the mid-1970s, MCA's Universal Studios had developed interactive versions of segments of its motion pictures for visitors, including stunt shows and special effects scenes. In 1990, MCA opened a second movie-themed tourist attraction in Orlando, Florida, near Disney World.

In 1991, the Japanese corporation Matsushita purchased MCA. Matsushita, citing a "clash of cultures," sold 80 percent of MCA to the Canadian beverage manufacturer The Seagram Company, Ltd., in 1995.

In 1996, MCA Inc. was renamed Universal Studios, Inc. in order to establish a unified corporate identity for all of the company's diverse enterprises.

Universal Studios continues to be a diverse company with important holdings in many areas of the entertainment industry. MCA Records, historically a major recording company, is now part of Universal Music Group, which also includes Geffen Records, Interscope Records, GRP Records, MCA Music Publishing, and MCA Concerts. MCA Publishing Group includes Grosset Books, Jeremy P. Tarcher, and Price Stern Sloan. Universal Studios also has investments in the USA Networks (consisting of USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel) and Cineplex Odeon, one of the largest motion-picture exhibitors in North America. Multimedia Entertainment Co., acquired in 1996, produces syndicated television programming.

Samir Ben Omar is an independent filmmaker residing in Paris. He has a degree in Film and TV production and MA in film history. He can be reached at samirart@yahoo.com