Peter Rodgers Organization
 | |
| Film distribution company | |
| Founder | Peter S. Rodgers |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Website |
www |
The Peter Rodgers Organization (PRO) is a television syndication company based in Hollywood, California. It distributes more than 2,000 films, and dozens of documentaries and off-network television series to global markets. PRO claims to hold the largest library of films of any studio distributor.
History
The company was founded in 1976 by Peter S. Rodgers, a Viennese escapee of Nazi persecution, who arrived in the United States in 1938. Following a distinguished tour of service in the United States Army as a military intelligence officer during World War II, Rodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1954 to work for National Telefilm Associates (NTA), where he would serve as Vice President of Domestic Distribution and Sales, reporting to President and Chairman of the Board Ely Landau.
In 1976, he left NTA to form the Peter Rodgers Organization. Over the last four decades, the company has represented and managed the rights to classic television shows such as Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, Lock-Up, Ripcord, The Bill Cosby Show, The Rifleman, Candid Camera, Flipper, I Spy,[1] The Saint, Peter Gunn, Mr. Lucky, My Favorite Martian, The Invisible Man, and the 1990 series Zorro.
Daily Variety called Rodgers a "pioneer in TV syndication."[2]
Peter Rodgers died on February 21, 1988 at age 68. He was succeeded by his son, Stephen Rodgers.
Rodgers' death left family members arguing, with some of them wanting to liquidate the prestigious and prosperous entertainment company he had formed. After resulting legal clashes, Rodgers’ son Stephen surrendered all inheritance left to him by his father, and purchased the agency from the estate in 1988. He has served as its CEO since that time. At the time, Stephen Rodgers was believed to be the youngest CEO of any active business in this field, having succeeded his father at age 25.[3]
Stephen Rodgers personally holds the copyright to several films, including The Unearthly (1957) and Beginning of the End (1957) He also owns O’Kennedy’s Ireland, a documentary about President John F. Kennedy’s visit to his ancestral home of Dublin, Ireland, where the O'Kennedy dynasty began, only months prior to his assassination in 1963. Rodgers serves as a representative for the content owners and estates of several film copyright holders, including the Zane Grey estate. Grey’s prolific writing is the basis for more than 100 films. Other clients that Rodgers works with include holdings from William Morris Agency. Rodgers has also handled independent projects for celebrities including rapper/actor/reality show star Ice-T, Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor. The Peter Rodgers Organization’s status as a non-studio affiliated company made it a neutral and trusted source of programming for many of the new cable channels proliferating the airwaves during the 1990’s. Many of the companies proven programs were used in the initial program line-up of now heralded cable giants, such as MTV’s TV Land and NBC Universal’s Syfy Channel. Other emerging cable channels, Discovery, TLC and Turner Classic movies also turned to PRO for schedule content. PRO represents over 3000 feature film and television properties on behalf of nearly 35 various individuals, estates, investment firms and has served as the exclusive U.S. based distributor for the British Consulate General and foreign based distribution companies, such as Indigo Films, ITV London and The Fremantle companies, distributors of “All My Children” in conjunction with ABC. PRO is also credited for a substantial number of films licensed to the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. PRO also provided footage for productions to E!, The Discovery Channel, the MTV Video Music Awards, The Kennedy Center Honors, the Emmy Awards, and other productions.