Kaufman Astoria Studios
(studio)34-12 36th St.
Long Island City, NY 11106
Website: Kaufman Astoria Studios
Adolph Zuckor opened the doors to Astoria Studios in 1920. Eventually, the studio became a home for Paramount Pictures, and during the next 20 years, over 120 silent and sound films were produced here. The main stage, basement stages and exterior backlot were heavily utilized, with up to six feature films in production at any given time. From Valentino, Swanson, the Gish sisters, the Marx Brothers and W.C. Fields, Astoria was home to the great talents of the industry. Also -- the talking film debuts of Claudette Colbert, Edward G. Robinson and Tallulah Bankhead were filmed here.
About the Kaufman Astoria Studios : 34-12 36th St. Long Island City NY
The Kaufman Astoria Studios is an historic movie studio located in the Astoria section of the New York City borough of Queens.
It was originally built by 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 here between 1920 and 1933. The two most famous movies to be shot here during that period are The Cocoanuts (1929) and Animal Crackers (1930), the first two Marx Brothers films. It was also known as Astoria Studio and Paramount Studio. After Paramount Pictures moved all studio operations to California in 1932, the Astoria location was turned over to independent producers whose films were released through Paramount.
In 1942, the United States Army Signal Corps Army Pictorial Service took over the studio for the making of Army training and indoctrination films until 1971. The property was designated a national historic district and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The district encompasses six contributing buildings.
Motion pictures filmed there include the musicals Hair and The Wiz, and the film 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 here. A 2009 remake, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, also used the studios. In 2011 the remake of Arthur (2011 film) filmed and few scenes there.
Television shows filmed at the studio include Sesame Street, Onion News Network, Johnny and the Sprites, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego, and its successor Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?, Power of 10, The Cosby Show, Swan's Crossing, Law & Order, Million Dollar Password, Video Power and Spin City. WFAN, a local sports radio station owned by CBS, was formerly based at the studio before moving to lower Manhattan in the fall of 2009.
In addition to the scores of feature films produced at Astoria, the Studio was home to the famed Paramount NewsreelsThe walls of the studio are lined with images of the performers who have worked in the studios, including Milton Berle, George Burns, Bill Cosby, Diana Ross, and Jerry Orbach.
Read article at WikipediaKaufman Astoria Studios: 34-12 36th St., Long Island City, NY 11106
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