Lorimar Television
- "Lorimar Television" redirects here.
| File:Normal lorimar78 002.jpg | |
| Company type | Entertainment , Television , Film |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1968 |
| Defunct | 1993 |
| Fate | folded into Warner Bros. Television |
Key people | Irwin Molasky, Merv Adelson and Lee Rich , Founders of Lorimar |
| Parent | Telepictures (1986-1989) Time Warner (1989-1993) |
Lorimar, later known as Lorimar Television, was an American television production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1968-1993. It was founded by Irwin Molasky, Merv Adelson and Lee Rich, who named the company after Adelson's ex-wife Lori, and their last initials (M for Molasky, A for Adelson, R for Rich).
History
Early years
Lorimar's first major hit production was The Waltons, which premiered in 1972 following a one-hour TV movie in 1971. Throughout the 1970s, Lorimar produced several other shows as well; of these, the most popular by far was Dallas. In 1980, Lorimar purchased the bankrupt Allied Artists Pictures Corporation.
In the 1980s, Lorimar's output swung toward family-friendly sitcoms; among these were Perfect Strangers and Full House, which were produced by Miller-Boyett Productions.
In 1986, Lorimar merged with television syndication firm Telepictures, becoming Lorimar-Telepictures; later that year, they purchased the MGM lot from Ted Turner.
Purchase by Warner Communications
In 1988, Lorimar-Telepictures became Lorimar Television, however the L-T distribution business remained until 1989. In 1989, Lorimar was purchased by Warner Communications, which was merging with Time Inc. to form Time Warner. Lorimar's distribution business was folded into Warner Bros. Television; since then, the Telepictures name has been resurrected as both a production company (circa 1990), and once again as a syndication company (1996, after the Turner merger).
The former MGM studio lot was sold to Sony to house Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Sony's other film operations. Lorimar continued as a production company until 1993, when it was folded into Warner Bros. Television. The last series to premiere under the Lorimar name was Time Trax.
Key components Lorimar owned
Additionally, Lorimar has owned key components of the film library of the defunct Allied Artists film studio (originally Monogram Pictures), which includes Cabaret and Papillon; these too are now owned by Warner.
TV productions
- The Good Life (with Screen Gems, 1971–1972)
- The Waltons (1972–1981)
- Apple's Way (1974-1975)
- Sybil (TV movie) (1976)
- Helter Skelter (TV mini-series) (1976)
- Eight Is Enough (1977–1981)
- Dallas (1978–1991)
- Knots Landing (1979–1993)
- "Skag Iron" (1980)
- Flamingo Road (1980–1982)
- The People's Court (1981–1993)
- Falcon Crest (1981–1990)
- King's Crossing (1982)
- ThunderCats (1983)
- SilverHawks (1986)
- Love Connection (1983–1994, 1998–1999)
- Hunter (1984–1991) (distribution only)
- Mama's Family (1986-1990 version, distribution only)
- Valerie/The Hogan Family (1986–1991)
- Perfect Strangers (1986–1993)
- Full House (1987–1995)
- Gumby (1988)
- Midnight Caller (1988–1991)
- Freddy's Nightmares (1988–1990)
- Family Matters (1989–1998)
- Reasonable Doubts (1991–1993)
- Sisters (1991–1996)
- Step by Step (1991–1998)
- Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (1992–1997)
- Time Trax (1993–1994)
- It Had to Be You (1993)
- Island City (film) (TV movie) (1994)
Other ventures
Theatrical films
Lorimar not only specialized in producing television programs, they also produced (sporadically) a number of theatrical motion pictures starting in 1974, most of which were originally distributed by other studios as noted. In the late 1980s they had a film production and distribution unit known as Lorimar Motion Pictures. In 1988, the film unit was reorganized as Lorimar Film Entertainment. At the same time, Lorimar made a distribution deal with Warner Bros. (oddly a year before Warner's takeover of Lorimar). Under Warner, Lorimar continued to make theatrical films until 1990.
The rights to most of the films noted here have been retained by their original distributors (as noted with an * asterisk), while others are now in the hands of Warner Bros. The television rights to The Last Starfighter are owned by Warner, while Universal holds theatrical and home video rights. In the UK, films produced by Lorimar in the late 1970s/early 1980s were distributed by ITC Entertainment. Lorimar Motion Pictures also distributed the non-Lorimar movies The Fourth Protocol and Siesta in North America.
- The Tamarind Seed (1974, in association with ITC; distributed by Avco Embassy Pictures)
- Mitchell (1975) (re-release only, originally distributed by Allied Artists Pictures Corporation)
- The Choirboys (1977, distributed by Universal.)*
- Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? (1978, originally distributed by Warner Bros.; WB summarily relinquished the rights, but reclaimed them after the Lorimar/WB merger)*
- The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979, distributed by United Artists)
- Being There (1979, distributed by United Artists)
- Americathon (1979, distributed by United Artists)
- Cruising (1980, distributed by United Artists)
- Carny (1980, distributed by United Artists)
- The Big Red One (1980, distributed by United Artists)
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981, distributed by Paramount)
- Night School (1981, distributed by Paramount)
- S.O.B. (1981, distributed by Paramount)
- Victory (1981, distributed by Paramount)
- An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) (Lorimar/Paramount co-production)*
- The Dead Zone (1983) (in silent partnership with Dino De Laurentiis Corporation, distributed by Paramount, who still owns major rights today)
- Tank (1984, distributed and co-produced by Universal)*
- The Last Starfighter (1984, distributed and co-produced by Universal)*
- Power (1986, distributed by 20th Century Fox)
- American Anthem (1986, distributed by Columbia Pictures)
- The Boy Who Could Fly (1986, distributed by 20th Century Fox)
- The Morning After (1986, distributed by 20th Century Fox)
- Big Shots (1987, distributed by 20th Century Fox)
- In The Mood (1987, a co-production with Kings Road Entertainment)
- Orphans (1987)
- Made In Heaven (1987)
- The Fourth Protocol (1987, U.S. distribution)
- Siesta (1987, U.S. distribution)
- Two Moon Junction (1988)
- Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
- Action Jackson (1988)
- Running On Empty (1988, distributed by Warner Bros.)*
- Dangerous Liaisons (1988, distributed by Warner Bros.)*
- Bert Rigby, You're a Fool (1989, distributed by Warner Bros.)*
- Dead Bang (1989, distributed by Warner Bros.)*
- See You in the Morning (1989, distributed by Warner Bros.)*
- Cookie (1989, distributed by Warner Bros.)*
- Next of Kin (1989, distributed by Warner Bros.)*
- Second Sight (1989, distributed by Warner Bros.)*
- The Witches (1990, distributed by Warner Bros.)*
Home video
In 1984, Lorimar purchased Karl Video Corporation (KVC), also known as Karl Home Video, which was named after its founder, Stuart Karl (1953–1991). KVC, which was best known for producing the bestselling Jane Fonda workout videos, was renamed Karl-Lorimar Home Video after the acquisition. Relationships between Lorimar and Karl grew sour, which forced Karl to resign in March 1987. Karl-Lorimar continued to exist under the name Lorimar Home Video until it closed sometime later.[1][2] Lorimar Home Video closed in 1989 and was folded into Warner Home Video.