Filmways, Inc. was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper in 1952. It is probably best remembered as the production company of CBS' "rural comedies" of the 1960s, including Mister Ed, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres, as well as the comedy-drama The Trials of O'Brien, the western Dundee and the Culhane, the adventure show Bearcats!, the police drama Cagney & Lacey, and The Addams Family.
Filmways, Inc. was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper in 1952. It is probably best remembered as the production company of CBS' "rural comedies" of the 1960s, including Mister Ed, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres, as well as the comedy-drama The Trials of O'Brien, the western Dundee and the Culhane, the adventure show Bearcats!, the police drama Cagney & Lacey, and The Addams Family.
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Filmways, Inc. (also known as Filmways Pictures and Filmways Television) was a television and film production company founded by American film executive Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper in 1952. It is probably best remembered as the production company of CBS' "rural comedies" of the 1960s, including Mister Ed, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres, as well as the comedy-drama The Trials of O'Brien, the western Dundee and the Culhane, the adventure show Bearcats!, the police drama Cagney & Lacey, and The Addams Family.
The company also briefly distributed SCTV in the United States and also distributed a syndicated half-hour edition of reruns of Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s. Notable films the company produced include The Sandpiper, The Cincinnati Kid, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Ice Station Zebra, Summer Lovers, The Burning, King, Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill and Blow Out, as well as Death Wish II.
Filmways acquired several companies over the years, such as Heatter-Quigley Productions, Ruby-Spears Productions, and American International Pictures. It was also the owner of the film distributor Sigma III Corporation (Closely Watched Trains, Hi, Mom!), and Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood.
Announcements at the end of productions
Most productions ended with an announcement, "This has been a Filmways presentation". For some shows, the voice-over was made by a cast member:
Petticoat Junction: first, Billie Jo Bradley (Jeannine Riley) and later, Betty Jo Bradley (Linda Kaye Henning)
Green Acres: Lisa Douglas (Eva Gabor), who says, "This has been a Filmways presentation, darling."
The Beverly Hillbillies: Elly May Clampett (Donna Douglas). Following a few e
Filmways was formed in 1952 by Martin Ransohoff and Edwin Kasper, who parted with Filmways five years later. The company originally produced television commercials and documentary films. In 1959, Filmways entered the television sitcom arena in a big way when many executives of McCadden Productions (a production company founded by comedian and actor George Burns) joined Filmways following McCadden's Chapter 7 bankruptcy earlier the same year. Filmways TV Productions was formed with former McCadden executive Al Simon as president, producing its first TV series, 21 Beacon Street. During that time, McCadden also produced the pilot which would later become the series Mister Ed. Burns sold the rights to Filmways, and Burns and director Arthur Lubin formed The Mister Ed Company as a joint venture. As a result, Mister Ed became a smash hit. From 1962 until 1971, Filmways produced its biggest hit, The Beverly Hillbillies for CBS, created by Paul Henning, another former McCadden executive.
In 1965, the company entered into a partnership with Bob Stewart Productions, to produce television game shows for Filmways, such as Eye Guess, The Face Is Familiar, Personality and You're Putting Me On. The partnership ended in 1969, shortly before Filmways bought out Heatter-Quigley Productions. In 1966, Filmways had started Filmways Syndication Sales, which ran in partnership with Firestone Film Syndication (headed by former Four Star Television executive Len Firestone) to syndicate television programs.
In 1967, the company had acquired small film distributor Sigma III Corporation, as well as its film library in an effort to expand onto motion picture production and distribution. In 1968, the company expanded and diversified into an entertainment company by purchasing Yorkshire Productions, producers of Kraft Music Hall, as well as Pic Mount Corp.. Wally Heider Studios, Lee Rothberg Productions, and other entertainment-oriented companies, and in 1969, the company acquired Heatter-Quigley Productions, the game show producer known for their biggest hit, Hollywood Squares. Also that year, the company bought Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma County, California, and Wally Heider's recording studios in Hollywood and San Francisco. Filmways was also listed as a co-developer of the Ontario Motor Speedway in San Bernardino County, California, which opened in 1970. In 1971, Filmways bought out National General Television Productions from National General Corporation. In 1972, Ransohoff left Filmways as president.
Filmways housed studios in Manhattan at 246 East 127th Street, which were built for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1920s.
In 1974, it acquired book publisher Grosset & Dunlap from American Financial Group. In May 1975, it revived the television syndication firm Rhodes Productions after former parent Taft Broadcasting renamed the original company to Taft, H-B Program Sales two weeks earlier. In 1976, Richard L. Bloch became CEO. In 1977, it founded Ruby-Spears Productions with former Hanna-Barbera alumni Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. Later that year, Rhodes Productions was spun off into an independent corporation, and launched its syndication unit Filmways Enterprises, headed by Jamie Kellner. In 1978, the company signed a partnership with Moonlight Productions to produce television movies, the relationship was dissolved after Filmways turned into Orion. On July 12, 1979, after Samuel Z. Arkoff's retirement, Filmways purchased American International Pictures (AIP). Their TV subsidiary, AITV was eventually merged into Filmways Enterprises.
Filmways had lost nearly $20 million during the nine months ending in November 1981. However, it partially exited bankruptcy by selling a few of its previously acquired assets. In 1981, Ruby-Spears Productions was sold to Taft Broadcasting, owners of the Hanna-Barbera animation studio, the Heatter-Quigley game show studio and team split from Filmways and became Merrill Heatter Productions, and Sears Point Raceway was sold to Speedway Motorsports. In 1982, Grosset & Dunlap was sold to G. P. Putnam's Sons.
In February 1982, Filmways was acquired by Orion Pictures (with E. M. Warburg Pincus & Company and Home Box Office (HBO) for its pay and cable television rights). Filmways was then reincorporated as Orion Pictures Corporation on August 31, 1982.
