Paramount president Adolph Zukor had acquired a controlling interest in the Chicago-based Balaban and Katz theater chain, and with it the services of Sam Katz, who became the head of Paramount's theater division.
Part of the Balaban and Katz chain, the lavishly decorated venue, with plush carpeting and velvet drapes featured some of the most celebrated black entertainers in America.
Sam Neill | Sam Cooke | Sam Shepard | Sam Phillips | Uncle Sam | Sam Raimi | Sam Houston | Sam Brownback | Yosemite Sam | Fort Sam Houston | Sam's Club | Sam Peckinpah | Sam Mendes | Sam Waterston | Sam Worthington | Sam & Dave | Alex Katz | Sam Taylor-Wood | Sam Houston State University | Sam Kelly | Sam Bush | Sam Zell | Sam Spade | Sam Milby | Sam Wood | Sam Wanamaker | Sam Walton | Sam Snead | Sam Rockwell | Sam Phillips (singer) |
Canadian Football League commissioner Mark Cohon, Premier Greg Selinger, David Asper, and Mayor Sam Katz and U of M President David Barnard officially broke ground at the site on May 20, 2010.
His sister Ida married Sam Katz, the two in-laws made plans for a chain of cinemas in the Midwest, the Balaban and Katz Theatre Chain.
In 2006, Frank and his wife, Vida, co-wrote "Sam Katz on the Loose" a pop-up children's book illustrated by Charles Fazzino and published by Random House.