Abrams, Hiram (1878 – 1926)

Abrams was the head of United Artists, which he and his partner Budd Schulberg formed in 1919. Their motion picture company came about by convincing Charlie Chaplain, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith to part from the studios that employed them. Abrams had previously been one of the founders and president of Paramount Pictures, but was fired by Adolph Zukor after he and others, including Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, were caught in an extortion scheme that cost Paramount $100,000. Born in Maine, Abrams was a merchant, a manager of theaters, a motion picture executive. He died at a rather young age and his funeral service at West End Funeral Chapel on Amsterdam Avenue at 91st Street was officiated by Rabbi Stephen Wise.