# RKO Pictures

RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.|  |
| Industry | Motion pictures |
| Predecessors | * Keith-Albee-Orpheum Corporation
* Film Booking Offices of America
 |
| Founded | October 23, 1928 (1928-10-23) (original) 2009 (2009) (revival) |
| Founder | David Sarnoff |
| Defunct | March 7, 1959 (1959-03-07) (original) |
| Fate | Closed |
| Headquarters | 11301 West Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, US |
| Parent | * Radio Corporation of America (Technicolor SA)
* Atlas Corporation
* General Tire and Rubber Company (ARH)
 |
| Website | www.rko.com |

**RKO Pictures** is a company in the United States that makes and sells movies. It was first known as **RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.** RKO was an acronym for Radio-Keith-Orpheum, the original parent company of RKO Radio Pictures. It was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The company was made by the merger of the Keith-Albee-Orpheum (KAO) theater chain and the Film Booking Offices of America (FBO) studio in October 1928. It was put together by David Sarnoff of RCA. His goal was to create a market for RCA's photophone, which was their sound-on-film technology. By the mid-1940s, the studio was under the control of investor Floyd Odlum.

RKO is well known for the musicals it made in the 1930s. These starred Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Other well-known actors got their start at RKO. Among these were Katharine Hepburn, Robert Mitchum, and Cary Grant. Many praise RKO's work on film noir. Val Lewton's low-budget horror movies are also praised by movie critics. RKO made two of the most famous movies in history. These are *King Kong* and *Citizen Kane*. They also made movies with other studios. These include the well-known *It's a Wonderful Life* and *Notorious*. RKO also took care of sales for movies made by Walt Disney from 1937 to the mid-1950s. They also took care of sales for Samuel Goldwyn.

In 1948, Howard Hughes took over RKO, which led to a time of decline. Then in 1955, it was bought by the General Tire and Rubber Company. RKO stopped making new movies in 1957 and mostly shut down two years later. In 1959, the assets of RKO moved to a new company, called RKO General. In 1981, RKO was revived under the name **RKO Pictures Inc.** In 1989, it was sold to new owners, who ran it by using the name **RKO Pictures LLC**.

## 1933-1937 (Classic Style)

RKO Radio Pictures in Classic Style

RKO Radio Pictures was established in 1933 from the joint venture of the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain and Film Booking Offices of America

## 1936-1959 (Olden Days)

RKO Radio Pictures in Olden Days

The iconic Radio Pictures transmitter was inspired by a two-hundred-foot tower built in Colorado for a giant electrical amplifier, or Tesla coil, created by inventor Nikola Tesla. It continued to used as an opening until it's last debut in 1959.

## 1937-1959 (Disney Style)

RKO Radio Pictures in Disney Style

The thunderbold logo was redesigned in 1937. Arguably the most iconic logo second to the radio transmitter due to appearances on Disney films from 1937 to 1956.

RKO Radio Pictures was purchased by General Teleradio, Inc. and folded into RKO Teleradio Pictures before the brand's retirement in 1959.

## Other websites

* Media related to RKO Pictures at Wikimedia Commons
* Official website
* RKO Radio Pictures at IMDb
* RKO Pictures at IMDb