Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment
American film production and distribution company
Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment was a company formed at the height of the home video industry in 1987 by producer Leonard Shapiro and director James Glickenhaus to produce and distribute low-budget horror and action films. The company's films were heavily distributed through video rental stores and late night cable channels.
History
The company known also as SGE or Shapiro Entertainment Corporation (SEC) during the company's earlier years, which was initially set up by Leonard Shapiro, Kelly Ross, and Alan Solomon, who merged its firm with Glickenhaus Films, a firm headed by James Glickenhaus in 1987, with a conjunction production agreement in the works, and had a domestic theatrical unit that was headed by firm Jerry Landesman, which specializes in regional theatrical releases, and whose video unit was known as SGE Home Video would produce 14 films and distribute more than 100 pick-up films in its 12 years of operation. While Shapiro Entertainment was founded, it signed a deal to distribute Bill Wyman Presents, a two-hour music video movie.
SGE's home video titles were distributed by the Video Sales Organization (VSO) under the label SGE Home Video until 1991 when MCA/Universal began to distribute the SGE catalog. The company, at one time, owned a television syndication division, SGE Television, to handle television sales of the catalog, to be headed by Sy Shapiro. On February 17, 1991, SouthGate Entertainment and SGE had to negotiate plans about planning on to merge their video distribution links. Both suppliers combined their sales offices in March 1991, and decided to maximize their potential and increase their market share.
On February 24, 1991, SGE announced they would scrap production of smaller budget films in favor of producing a single big-budget film. The Video Sales Organization, a joint venture between SGE and SouthGate went into dissolution on October 12, 1991, due to a lack of more lucrative titles.
The public source identifies “Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment” as american film production and distribution company. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Shapiro-Glickenhaus, Entertainment and American.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment”, the useful work is to connect “american film production and distribution company” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7489279. VIAF identifies the subject as 145605520. The Library of Congress control number is no99016606. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1987 and 1991.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment primary sources, Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment archive and Shapiro-Glickenhaus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Shapiro-Glickenhaus Entertainment” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.