20th Century Pictures

A Tribute to Sharon Tate: Fox’s “Valley of the Dolls”

The Simpsons Go Mad!

The Simpsons Go Mad!

Freaky Fridays

Music Mondays: “Glee”

The music industry has been on the decline for at least a decade. While it has often blamed the rise of the internet and the easy availability of piracy, the music industry’s problems are deeper than that. As the 2000’s wore on, it seemed as though the sales records racked up during recorded music’s heyday were not likely to ever be beaten. In 2009, Twentieth-Century-Fox Television introduced a show that would not only challenge decades-old sales record but would  regularly break them. Glee, a show about a high school glee club, would dominate the sales charts becoming a phenomenon that re-invigorated the recording industry and set its own seemingly unbeatable records.

Glee released 460 singles, of which a record 207 charted, beating legendary acts like The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Queen. This amazing sales record will not likely be beaten, though the show’s music has yet to prove that it has as much staying power as the acts whose records it shattered.

Toontown Tuesdays: A Cromulent Substitution

When Twentieth-Century-Fox originally approached Matt Groening to produce short cartoons that would air on The Tracey Ullman Show, they wanted him to base the shorts on his comic strip Life in Hell. A meeting between Matt and Fox executives was quickly scheduled and he prepared some concept drawings for them to look at.

While Mr. Groening sat in Twentieth-Century-Fox’s waiting room, however, he began to panic. These were his characters, his life's work. He would have to sign away his rights to them to get these cartoons made. What if the show got canceled? Matt pondered walking out of the building completely. 

But then, he had a spark of  inspiration. He quickly began drawing a strange looking family. The cartoon could follow their adventures. He wasn't sure if the network would like the idea, but at least he wouldn't burn any bridges by walking out. 

The executives loved the idea. Using his Life in Hell characters might have been too edgy. But this dysfunctional family? They'd be perfect. Strange to think that the phenomenon that became The Simpsons began on a whim.

Disney Buys Fox

In 1923, Walt Disney arrived in California with $40, a suitcase, a lot of dreams and little else. William Fox, on the other hand, was a multi-millionaire who owned a chain of movie theaters and the Fox Film Corporation.

Most people in 1923, if told that the company established by one of these men would eventually buyout the company established by the other, would have guessed that it was William Fox’s company that would buy Walt Disney’s company. Of course, today we know it was the opposite. Walt Disney’s Company grew exponentially, making his name known throughout the world. Today, Twentieth Century Fox becomes part of The Walt Disney Company- because anything can be done with just one dream.

Disney Closes the Deal With Fox

The Walt Disney Company officially took over 20th Century Fox at 9PM PDT. Welcome aboard!

Fox Facts

Fox Facts

Fox Facts

Fox Facts

Fox Facts

Fox Facts

Fox Facts

Fox Facts

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Fox Facts

Fox Facts: “In Old Chicago”