Kaufman Astoria Studios

The Kaufman Astoria Studios, known historically as the Paramount Studios Complex, is a film studio located in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The studio was constructed for Famous Players–Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Theater District. The property was taken over by real estate developer George S. Kaufman in 1982 and renamed Kaufman Astoria Studios. The studio is home to New York City's only backlot, which opened in December 2013. The property was designated a national historic district and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. History 20th century The studio was originally constructed for Famous Players–Lasky in 1920 to provide the company with a facility close to the Broadway theater district. Many features and short subjects were filmed there between 1920 and 1933. W. C. Fields made his silent features there. The first Sherlock Holmes sound film, The Return of Sherlock Holmes (also 1929), was made at the studio by the British producer Basil Dean. The first two films featuring the Marx Brothers, The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930), were shot at the Astoria Studio. Paramount used the Astoria studio heavily in the early years of talking pictures, primarily for short subjects starring New York-based stage and radio performers: Burns and Allen, Eddie Cantor, Tom Howard, Ethel Merman, Rudy Vallee, Lillian Roth, and many others. During this period the studio facility was known as the Paramount Studio. In 1932, after Paramount Pictures moved all studio operations to California, the Astoria location was turned over to independent producers, including Walter Wanger, whose films were released through Paramount or other Hollywood film companies. All the films starring tango icon Carlos Gardel made in the United States were shot at Astoria Studios. Gloria Swanson cites the studio as, "the studio where I'd been making all of my pictures since 1923" in her autobiography Swanson on Swanson. In 1938, ...One Third of a Nation... was the last feature film to be shot there during that era. Educational Pictures rented space at the facility during the 1930s, until Educational closed its doors in 1938. The last theatrical films produced at Astoria were a series of short Robert Benchley comedies released by Paramount between 1940 and 1942. In 1942, the United States Army Signal Corps Army Pictorial Service took over the studio for the making of Army training films until 1971, including The Big Picture, shown on American network television and later in syndication. In 1975, the studio opened again for shooting on Thieves. In 1978, the property was designated a national historic district and added to the National Register of Historic Places. The district encompasses six contributing buildings. In 1981, New York City received an Urban Development Action Grant from the federal government for the renovation and expansion of the studio which Kenneth Schuman, NYC Commissioner for Economic Development, described as being of "compelling public interest". In 1982, the property was taken over by real estate developer George S. Kaufman and renamed Kaufman Astoria Studios. 21st century Kaufman Astoria Studios has seven sound stages including the new Stage K, designed by the Janson Design Group. In 2008, Martin P. Robinson, who plays Mr. Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster, and Slimey the Worm on Sesame Street, married Annie Evans, a writer for the show on the Sesame Street set. The ceremony was performed on the steps of 123 Sesame Street and the reception was held throughout the rest of the set. In February 2013, the studio announced plans to close off one block of 36th Street to make it into a backlot. Work on the backlot started that July, and the 34,800-square-foot (3,230 m2) backlot was dedicated on December 3, 2013, becoming the only studio backlot in New York City. In 2014, Kaufman Astoria Studios announced plans to build a new 18,000-square-foot soundstage on its Astoria campus within two years. In 2020, Kaufman Astoria Studios announced a five-block redevelopment project around the studio, in conjunction with Larry Silverstein, Bedrock Real Estate, and ODA Architecture. The area would be called Innovation QNS and stretch from 37th to 43rd Streets from 35th to 36th Avenues. The project, to cost $2 billion, would add 2,700 residential units, 200,000 square feet (19,000 m2) for shops and restaurants, and 250,000 square feet (23,000 m2) for creative industries. Construction was planned to begin in 2023. In 2022, the New York City Council approved the Innovation QNS project, although local activists had opposed the plans. Construction was delayed in part because of the expiration of the 421-a tax exemption and the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike. Two of the buildings in the Innovation QNS site were sold in early 2025, and the project was canceled that August due to industry and tax-policy uncertainty. Deutsche Bank, which held a mortgage loan on Kaufman Astoria Studios, sought to foreclose on the property by 2026. Notable productions Motion pictures filmed there include the musicals Hair and The Wiz, and the films Goodfellas, The Money Pit, and Carlito's Way. In 1984, The Jacksons' music video "Torture" was filmed there as well. Many sequences, especially the 'visitation' sequence in 2002 TV mini series Angels in America, were also shot there. A 2009 remake, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, also used the studios. In 2011, the remake of Arthur filmed a few scenes there. Television shows filmed at the studio include Sesame Street, Succession, Orange Is The New Black, Onion News Network, Johnny and the Sprites, Bear in the Big Blue House, Between the Lions, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, Oobi, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego, and its successor Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? Other projects recorded at the studios have included Judge Judy, Power of 10, The Cosby Show, Cosby, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Swans Crossing, Law & Order, Million Dollar Password, the 2009 pilot of The $1,000,000 Pyramid, Video Power, Spin City, Generation Gap and Mariah Carey's MTV Unplugged. WFAN, a local sports radio station owned by Audacy, was formerly based at the studio before moving to lower Manhattan in the fall of 2009. Performers' images The walls of the studio are lined with signed images of the performers who have worked in the studios, including Milton Berle, Frank Sinatra, The Marx Brothers, Ginger Rogers, George Burns, Lena Horne, Ethel Merman, Paul Robeson, Lillian Gish, Claudette Colbert, Gloria Swanson, Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Diana Ross, and Jerry Orbach. References Further reading Famous Players–Lasky Studio (PDF) (Report). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. March 14, 1978. Koszarski, Richard (1983). The Astoria Studio and Its Fabulous Films. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-24475-4. Koszarski, Richard (2008). Hollywood on the Hudson. New Brunswick, N.J: Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-4293-5. OCLC 156892017. Retrieved June 5, 2025. External links Official website Army Pictorial Center, built in 1919 as Famous Players Studio Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NY-5716, "Astoria Studios, Barracks Buildings, Thirty-fourth Ave between Thirty-fifth & Thirty-sixth Streets, Queens (subdivision), Queens County, NY", 3 data pages Kaufman Astoria Studios at Internet Movie Database