Gulf and Western Industries

Gulf and Western Industries, Inc.
FormerlyMichigan Bumper Corporation (1934–1955)
Michigan Plating and Stamping Company (1955–1958)
Gulf and Western Corporation (1958–1960)
Company typePublic
NYSE: GW
IndustryConglomerate
Founded1934 (1934) (as the Michigan Bumper Corporation)
FounderCharles Bluhdorn
Defunct1989 (1989)
FateAsset management; rebranded as Paramount Communications in 1989
SuccessorParamount Communications
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, United States
Key people
Alexander N. Brainard, Alvaro L. Carta, Barry Diller, Carl E. Anderson, Carlos Morales Troncoso, Charles Moore, Charles S. Lowry, David Rosen, Dominic Tampone, Don Gaston, Everett L. Kelly, E. W. Kelley, Francis Levien, Frank V. Rogers, Frank Yablans, George Granger, Harold L. Glasser, Harold U. Zerbe, Harry E. Gould, Hayao Nakayama, James E. Poole, James I. Spiegel, J. D. Barnette, Jim Judelson, Joel Dolkart, John H. Duncan, John A. Leone, J. Robert Baylis, Judd Leighton, Lawrence E. Levinson, Lindsay F. Johnson, Martin S. Davis, Merrill L. Nash, Michael Eisner, Norman B. Parker, O. C. Carmichael Jr., Paul R. Dupee Jr., Philip Levin, Raymond D. Slavin, Reece A. Overcash Jr., Richard Snyder, R. L. McCann, Robert Evans, Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster, Samuel J. Silberman, Stanley Jaffe, Sidney Hack, Teobaldo Rosell, T. H. Neyland, Thomas S. Perry
Subsidiaries
  • Agrícola Panamericana
  • Airborne Research & Development
  • Aros
  • Autoparts Finance Company
  • Auto Precision Parts
  • Auto Spring & Supply
  • Banco Hipotecario de la Construcción
  • Caballo Blanco
  • Car Parts Depot
  • Central Auto Parts Warehouse
  • Central de Envases
  • Chas. S. James
  • Compañía Agrícola Santipera
  • Corporación de Hoteles
  • Corporación Financiera Asociada
  • Costasur Dominicana
  • Dawn Industries
  • Detroit Supply Company
  • East Carolina Auto Parts
  • Enrico Manufacturing
  • Far East Leasing Company
  • Farmers Produce
  • Fifty-Sixth Century Antrim Iron Works Company
  • Florida Cycle Supply Company
  • Francis Caird
  • Fred Campbell Auto Supply Company
  • Gilwise
  • Glasgow Industries
  • Gloucester Titanium Company
  • Gulf Automotive Supply
  • Harolds Auto Supply
  • Harrisburg Autoparts Company
  • Hartung, Kuhn & Company
  • Hoteles de la Costa
  • International Cycle Supply Company
  • International Raw Materials
  • J. J. Gibson Company
  • Jobbers Service Warehouse
  • J. W. Myers & Company
  • Ketring Products
  • Klock Company
  • Laird Forge
  • Le Par Engineering
  • Madison Square Garden Corporation
  • Marathon Automotive Products
  • M. B. Manufacturing Company
  • Metalmeg
  • Mid-Tennessee Services Company
  • Motor Supply
  • O.J. Marine Supply
  • Overseas
  • Paramount Pictures
  • Patten Sales
  • Pompano Packing Company
  • Producciones Automotrices
  • Rich-Wing Corporation
  • Santipera del Caribe
  • Simon & Schuster
  • Spencer Auto Electric
  • Standard Auto Parts
  • Stofin
  • Tassell Industries
  • The Kettlewell Company
  • Tool Industries
  • United Platers
  • Venezuelan Supply Company
  • Warehousing Service
  • Wheels
  • Windsor Bumper Company
  • Wood Tire & Supply
  • Youngflex

Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. (stylized as Gulf+Western) was an American conglomerate. The company originally focused on manufacturing and resource extraction, but it began purchasing a number of entertainment companies beginning in 1966 and continuing through the 1970s. Most notable among the acquisitions were film studio Paramount Pictures in 1966,[1] television studio Desilu Productions in 1967, arcade and later videogame manufacturer Sega in 1969, book publisher Simon & Schuster in 1975, and a number of music labels including Dot Records (a subsidiary of Paramount at the time of purchase). Some of these properties were reorganized under the Paramount brand, with Dot Records becoming the nucleus of Paramount Records and Desilu being renamed Paramount Television.[1]

The company pivoted to focus on entertainment and publishing, selling off its other assets through the course of the 1980s. Gulf and Western rebranded itself as Paramount Communications in 1989.

A controlling interest of Paramount Communications was purchased by Viacom in 1994, and the entertainment assets of Gulf and Western are today part of the media conglomerate Paramount Global.

  1. ^ a b "Gulf + Western Inc. | American corporation". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-08-16.

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