A.C. Lyles – Paramount’s Reigning King

pic

By Bruce Edwin

An Exclusive Interview with Paramount’s Very Own, A.C. Lyles

The following is part two of our exclusive interview with the most well connected producer in the world, Paramount’s A.C. Lyles. Part One of the interview can be found in the last issue.

THE HOLLYWOOD SENTINEL - BRUCE EDWIN: I had a person that was a client and friend who passed away about a month ago. I went to his funeral, and I bring this up because in some of the clips you’ve done, you stated you’ve done a lot of eulogies. So the question is, is there any thing you haven’t done that you want to do before it’s over?

A.C. LYLES: (…) As you can see, I have hundreds of pictures all over the wall, and a lot of them, we have lost, and it’s a tragedy because talent is hard to find, and in this business, it’s tough. There are 120,000 members of Screen Actors Guild, and the days we talked, I think its close to 90 percent that were un-employed, (…) Because you can’t employ 120,000 people every day, and in that 120,000 people, there are actors, there are stars, there are superstars, and there are fewer legends. And I’ve been lucky, I’ve known actors, and I’ve know stars, I’ve known superstars, and I’ve known legends. With the pictures we make, all of it comes together, and there are a lot of young people in Hollywood now and they too will become actors, and stars, and superstars, and they will become legends, and I’ve seen that happen to so many, many people.

I remember the day Bob Hope came here, and did a picture here called ‘The Big Broadcast of 1938,’ (the musical comedy won and Oscar® for best music and best original song of ‘Thanks for the Memory,’) and he got I believe sixth or seventh billing, but he became one of the biggest legends here. And I remember the first picture John Wayne did for us in 1941, ‘Shepherd of the Hills,’ and we became close, close friends, so I’ve seen a lot of people come through the gates (of Paramount). And this office used to belong to Fred Astaire. (…)

GREATNESS HONORED

A.C. LYLES: They named an A.C. Lyles building for me. We have buildings named after a lot of our favorite people, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Marlene Dietrich (...), so I feel very honored to have that. And then my other friends of mine, are on the walk of fame, in front of the El Capitan Theatre, which is right across from the Chinese Theatre, and there are a lot of famous names of my friends there, and I am honored to be among them (with his own star).

BRUCE EDWIN: That’s very commendable. So many people try to break in to this business, and obviously getting attached to a big picture will do it, but do you think having worked with all of the big names you have, aside from ‘Obsession, Obsession, Obsession,’ do you think there is any other ingredient that really helps make one a star or a superstar?


Continued on next page.


© The Hollywood Sentinel ®, 2009.