Floyd Odium Takes Over

Hollywood wiseacres sometimes call the sonorous roll of an elite society known as the R.K.O. Alumni Association, for R.K.O has let more talent slip through its fingers than it has kept. Examples: David Selznick (now de facto head of United Artists), William Le Baron (now sparking 20th-century Fox), Sam Briskin (who has helped put Columbia into the big money), Joan Fontaine (whom R.K.O. once had for practically nothing a week--as Hollywood salaries go--but had to borrow back last year at $75,000 for Suspicion), Katharine Hepburn, Jack Oakie, ired Astaire, Ginger Rogers.*

Last week R.K.O. had a new alumnus: its president, George Schaefer. ex-general manager of United Artists, ex-sales vice president of Paramount, resigned. Mr. Schaefer was pushed into R.K.O. in 1938 by Rockefeller Center (alias Nelson Rockefeller) and R.C.A. (alias David Sarnoff), which were both stuck with large R.K.O. holdings. The choice of a salesman to lick production and financial problems roused grave misgivings in Floyd Odium, whose Atlas Corp. was up to its ears in R.K.O. stock too, and Mr. Odium turned out to be right: the studio mess at R.K.O. was too much for able Salesman Schaefer.

For the first 13 weeks of this year, R.K.O.'s consolidated net earnings were only $439,000 v. $643,000 last year. For a while there was only one picture in production--and a huge operation like R.K.O. needs much more than that to stay in the black. In fact, R.K.O. is scraping the bottom of the barrel again, and Mr. Odium, who got it out of receivership in 1939 was out looking for a $3,000,000 working-capital loan (which he will probably get from New York City's Manufacturers Trust Co.--provided he guarantees it).

R.K.O.'s troubles are all the more obvious when contrasted with the rest of the industry, which is coining money, and even mild Floyd Odium was ready to put up a fight if need be to get a new management. In the past few months he has been pouring good money into R.K.O., has bought incontestable control (some 46%) on a total investment of some $8,500,000.

But by last week nobody on the Rockefeller side of the fence had any fight left anyway. From now on R.K.O. will sink or swim at Floyd Odium's orders.

*Loyal Ginger still has a three-year contract to give R.K.O. one picture a year, in gratitude for the early build-up R.K.O. gave her.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.