Al Lichtman

Al Lichtman was at one time a burlesque house usher and, in 1912, a field manager for Famous Players. In the early 1920s he owned and operated his own distribution company. He served as an executive at such studios as Famous Players, MGM, United Artists and 20th Century-Fox and was a major figure in the development of CinemaScope. In 1919 he worked with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith and William S. Hart in the formation of United Artists Pictures, of which he became president. In 1935 he reorganized MGM and served as an executive producer from 1938-1949, when he joined 20th Century-Fox. He retired from Fox in 1957. Lichtman later served as President of Preferred Pictures.