George S. Kaufman (1928-2018), was a real estate magnate from an established New York City real estate family. In 1980, leading a group of investors, he transformed the old Astoria Studio in Astoria, Queens, to major film and television production studio.

The original studio opened in 1920 by Adolph Zukor. It became the home for Paramount Pictures, producing over 120 silent and sound films during the years between the two world wars. It eventually fell into disuse.

The new studio produced some of the most famous TV shows and movies. The TV shows include: “The Cosby Show,” “Sesame Street,” “Orange Is the New Black” and “Nurse Jackie”. The movies include: “Goodfellas,” “Angels in America,” “The Wiz” and the 2009 remake of “The Taking of Pelham 123.”

The investment in the studio led to major commercial and residential growth in the surrounding neighborhoods in northwest Queens. Along with Tony Bennett, an Astoria native and his wife, Susan Benedetto, a public-school teacher, he established the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a public high school, in the neighborhood.

He was also the first president of a business improvement district in the Garment District in Manhattan, now known as the Garment District Alliance.