Roach saw significant success in the 1920s with series of shortcomedy films featuring stars such as Harold Lloyd, Snub Pollard, and the Our Gang kids. The studio produced both short films and features for distribution through Pathé Exchange until 1927, when they signed a new distribution deal with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. By the early 1930s, Hal Roach Studios had entered a golden age, with a star line-up that included some of the most popular comedians around: Laurel and Hardy, Charley Chase, Our Gang, Thelma Todd, and Zasu Pitts. As movie theaters began to favor double-feature bills over theater programs that featured added short films — the Roach studio's specialty — the production focus gradually shifted from short films to features such as Topper and Laurel and Hardy's Way Out West. In 1938, Hal Roach Studios began distributing its product through United Artists, selling the Our Gangshort film unit to MGM. In the early 1940s, Roach began producing "streamliner" features — shorter films running 40 to 50 minutes intended for exhibition as B movies. With the boom of television in the 1950s, Hal Roach Studios shifted to all-TV production by 1955, producing TV programs such as Amos 'n' Andy and The Stu Erwin Show. In April 1959, the Hal Roach Studios was closed due to bankruptcy under the management of Hal Roach’s son Hal Roach, Jr. Hal, Sr. returned to try and set the studio on a better course, but by December 1962, the studio was permanently closed. In August 1963, the studio lot was demolished after several auctions and sales of the company’s assets. Hal Roach, Jr. died of pneumonia in 1972. Hal, Sr. sold his interest in Hal Roach Studios to a Canadian investment group in 1971; he died in 1992. As a corporate entity, Hal Roach Studios survived into the 1980s managing the rights to its catalog, primarily the Laurel and Hardy films, and sporadic new productions such as Kids Incorporated. The studio also became a pioneer in digital film colorization, purchasing a 50% interest in pioneering company Colorization, Inc. Through Colorization, Inc., Hal Roach Studios produced colorized versions of classic black-and-white Roach films, with Topper and Way Out West being the first two, and became the first studio to distribute colorized films in 1985. Roach's Colorization, Inc. also colorized films from other studios as well. The company was gradually acquired from 1985 to 1988 by RHI Entertainment.
