Who doesn't love going to the movies? Well, we have Adolph Zukor to thank for it.

You can make the case that Zukor invented modern cinema. It all started with nickelodeons, the five-cent small theaters that showed, among other things, short films. Zukor noted their rising popularity among America's immigrants: nickelodeons were cheap, and, with films being silent, did not present the language barrier. (This is where we note that Zukor himself was an immigrant, coming from Hungary at the age of 16. His family wanted him to be a rabbi. It didn't stick.)

In 1912, to expand on the nickelodeon, Zukor imported the first feature-length film into America, France's "The Lovers of Queen Elizabeth". It became an instant hit. People wanted more.

Zukor gave them more by making his own films. He founded his own production company, Famous Players Film Company. You might know it by the name it acquired in 1924: Paramount.

So, Zukor's legacy lives on to this day, in more ways than one. Think about that the next time you go to the movies...

Sigh. Who DIDN'T love going to the movies?