Associated Artists Productions

Associated Artists Productions, Inc.

The a.a.p. logo, as seen in the end of many Popeye cartoons.
Former type	Private
Industry	Television syndication
Fate	Folded into United Artists
Successor	United Artists Television Distribution
Founded	1948 (first incarnation) 1954 (second incarnation)
Founder	Eliot Hyman
Defunct	1958
Headquarters	New York City, New York, United States
Products	Television packages of feature films and theatrical short subjects and cartoons
Owner	Eliot Hyman (1948–1951; 1954–1958)
Parent	Independent (1948–1951, 1954–1958) United Artists (1958–1968)
Subsidiaries	a.a.p. Records, Inc.

Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) was a distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. Through acquisitions, a.a.p. was later folded into United Artists, with its library eventually passing to Turner Entertainment Co., now part of Time Warner.

Associated Artists was founded in 1948 by Eliot Hyman. It handled syndication of 500 films, including the Republic Pictures and Robert Lippert libraries, but soon both companies entered television distribution. It also served for Monogram Pictures and Producers Releasing Corporation.

In 1951, Hyman sold the company to David Baird's Lansing Foundation then to a newly started Motion Pictures for Television (MPTV), where Hyman served as a consultant. Hyman also became a partner in Mouline Production, production company on Moby Dick, while financing and producing other films and TV projects.

In July 1954, Hyman launched another TV distribution company which used the Associated Artists name, Associated Artists Productions, with his purchasing the syndication rights to the Universal Sherlock Holmes films from MPTV. His son Ken served as vice-president. Associated also acquired distribution right to Johnny Jupiter, Candid Camera, 13 Artcinema Associates feature films, 37 Western films and 3 serials.

In 1956, the company was refinanced and its name changed to Associated Artists Productions Corp. (a.a.p.). Lou Chelser's PRM, Inc. closed the purchase of the entire pre-1950 library owned by Warner Bros. Pictures in June 1956 for $21 million with a.a.p. and its theatrical subsidiary Dominant Pictures handling distribution sales.