ACT III
ACT III, founded by industry icon Norman Lear, is an independent entertainment company whose past and current portfolio reflects its diverse interests. Its history includes highly successful ventures in broadcasting, theatre exhibition, music and film.
Currently in a first look deal with Sony Pictures Television, at age 98, Lear continues to play an active role in ACT III’s television, film development and production, and licensing.
ACT III Productions is dedicated to creating and producing content that not only entertains, but also creates a conversation. Whether digital, television or film, ACT III pursues projects that are socially and politically relevant to the times we are living. ACT III Licensing specializes in the licensing of television, film, and music entertainment properties, offering a rich array of imagery, music lyrics, and film quotes which aim to create an emotion or spark a conversation.
Pre-ACT III
Norman Lear’s writing career began in 1949 doing routines for local Los Angeles comedians with his partner, Ed Simmons. In 1950, they persuaded Danny Thomas to use a routine they wrote for a performance at Ciro’s night club. It was seen by David Susskind, the well-known agent, and on the basis of that sketch, the partners were hired to write for the Ford Star Revue with Jack Haley in New York.
Almost immediately, Jerry Lewis hired them away to write for The Colgate Comedy Hour with Martin and Lewis. Simmons and Lear continued writing for Martin and Lewis until 1953, moving on to do The Martha Raye Show from 1954-1956.
Lear began writing on his own in 1957 for The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show and The George Gobel Show, and in 1958 teamed up with Bud Yorkin to form Tandem Productions. Together they produced several feature films, and Lear was nominated for an Academy Award in 1967 for writing the script for Divorce American Style.
In 1968, Tandem made a pilot for ABC of a television sitcom with Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton, and a second pilot in 1969. The show, Those Were the Days, was turned down by the ABC network. Then in 1970, CBS’s Robert Wood offered to put on the show, now renamed All in the Family, for thirteen weeks. Rob Reiner was cast as Archie Bunker’s son-in-law, Mike, and Sally Struthers as Archie’s and Edith’s daughter, Gloria. The program ran for nine seasons and earned four Emmy Awards for Best Comedy series as well as the Peabody Award in 1977.
Following the success of All in the Family, Tandem produced a series of TV sitcoms that included Maude, Sanford and Son, and Good Times. Lear wrote and produced the films The Night They Raided Minsky’s, and in 1970, was the executive producer of Start the Revolution Without Me, produced and directed by Yorkin. Lear made his debut as a theatrical film director in 1971 with Cold Turkey, a film he also wrote and produced.
In 1974, Lear partnered with agent-business executive Jerry Perenchio to form an entertainment consortium called T.A.T. The first project under the T.A.T. banner was The Jeffersons, which was soon followed by such other successes as One Day at a Time; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman; Fernwood 2Night; and America 2-Night.
In 1978, Lear took a leave from the day-to-day operation of his primetime comedy series to pursue his philanthropic endeavors and other projects. He was replaced at T.A.T. by Alan Horn. During this period, Lear produced the award-winning series The Baxters, followed by Palmerstown in 1980, a unique collaboration with Alex Haley. Concerned about the growing influence of radical religious evangelists, Lear decided to leave television for a time in 1980 and formed People For the American Way, a non-profit organization designed to speak out for Bill of Rights guarantees and to monitor violations of constitutional freedoms. Today PFAW remains an influential and effective voice for freedom. On March 21, 1982 I Love Liberty aired on ABC - a special developed by Lear and produced by People for the American Way.
With the acquisition of Avco/Embassy in 1982, Lear and Perenchio founded Embassy Communication, the successor to T.A.T. Communications. Embassy successfully developed, produced, and distributed television projects and theatrical motion pictures - among them, Rob Reiner’s first film as a director, This Is Spinal Tap - until 1985 when it was sold to Coca-Cola. Lear then formed Act III Communications, a multimedia holding company with interests in television, motion pictures, and licensing.
Amongst Act III’s notable early film projects are the cult-classic favorite directed by Reiner, The Princess Bride, released in 1987, and Fried Green Tomatoes in 1991. Hal Gaba joined ACT III in 1990 as Lear’s partner and together they ventured into the music industry when they decided to purchase the small, independent jazz record label Concord Records in 1999. In 2004, Concord partnered with Starbucks to release the final album from Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company. Now simply known as Concord, it has become a billion-dollar industry leader with vast holdings in music recording, publishing and theatrical.
In 2006, Lear and Gaba became majority stakeholders in Village Roadshow Pictures, a leading entertainment and media companies that has produced and released over 100 films, including The Matrix series, the Ocean’s series, Mystic River and Happy Feet.
