Famous Players-Lasky

American film production company, one of the dominant studios of the silent era. Formed in 1916 by the merger of Jesse L. Lasky's Feature Play Company and Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company, it produced and distributed major hits including The Sheik (1921). The company was the corporate ancestor of Paramount Pictures and controlled the Paramount distribution network, making it one of the most powerful studios of the 1920s.