Corporations: New Star at Paramount

• Share

For almost a year, the biggest drama at Paramount Pictures Corp. has taken place in the front office rather than the back lot. Charging that Paramount's longtime management had about as much vitality as a silent movie, Baldwin-Montrose Chemical Co. Chairman Herbert J. Siegel and Broadway Producer Ernest H. Martin (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) teamed up in a try to take over the company. They bought 143,100 shares, about 9% of Paramount stock, got two seats on the eleven-man board, promised a proxy fight for full control. Last week, however, the drama ended suddenly with the old management still in control. Presumably because they had already spent $225,000 in legal battles, would need to spend at least another $200,000 on a proxy fight, and still have only a slight chance of winning, Siegel, 37, and Martin, 46, sold their stock for $11.8 million, picking up a profit of $2,574,000.

The man they sold out to seemed likely to stage an even bigger drama of his own. At 39, Vienna-born Charles G. Bluhdorn is already a millionaire (TIME cover, Dec. 3), has swiftly built his Gulf & Western Industries into a $300 million collection of auto-parts companies. Last week G. & W. moved to add another by a merger with Universal American, which does a $150 million business in tools, auto parts and machinery. Bluhdorn makes no secret of his urge to make Gulf & Western even bigger. As he handed Siegel and Martin a certified check for their $11.8 million, he observed: "We're interested in companies with great potential. We believe we can be of constructive help."