Goldstar Entertainment, Inc.

From Home Video

History[edit]

Goldstar Entertainment, Inc. (sometimes referred to as Gold Star Video or Gold Star Entertainment), not to be confused with Korean-based manufacturer and distributor Lucky-Goldstar (currently known as LG Corporation), was an American video distributor located in the East Coast. The company was formed sometime in 1988 by Ronald J. Goldsmith as Goldstar Video Corporation, or simply Goldstar Video, and had deals with several home video labels/distributors, most notably Random House Home Video, and duplication contracts with several companies, but sometimes self-duplicated as to some releases. Sometime in 1992, Goldstar formed a children's sub-label called The Little Red Schoolhouse Learning Center, or simply The Little Red Schoolhouse. Sometime in 1993, the company formed a subsidiary for releasing public domain cartoons; Goldrix Entertainment, a joint venture with duplicator Matrix Video Duplication Corporation. Much like Colex Enterprises (for Columbia Pictures Television and Lexington Broadcast Services Company, the latter which later became LBS Communications), the name of the venture was a portmanteau of the two companies' names (Goldstar and Matrix).

The company's releases were often duplicated in EP/SLP mode, sometimes with only a linear audio track, although some releases may be in SP mode, including releases duplicated by Agincourt Productions, or in some rare cases, LP mode. On releases sub-licensed by Random House Home Video, the original ISBN and/or UPC codes are replaced with Goldstar’s own ISBN and/or UPC codes, and the original stock number is usually left intact. The face labels of certain releases from this company often said "ADJUST TRACKING IF NECESSARY", while the face labels of releases sub-licensed by Random House Home Video said "ADJUST TRACKING FOR CLEARER PICTURE".

Until 1994, the prefix of the company's UPC codes was "054342". This was changed to "785476", as demonstrated on a few 1994 releases sub-licensed by Family Home Entertainment (a division of LIVE Home Video), which were all re-issues of titles originally released in the mid-1980s (when LIVE Home Video was known as International Video Entertainment).

From 1992 to 1993, the company was known for releasing videotapes teaching lessons for children, like how to clean your bedroom, how to get through in the dark at night, how to say no to strangers, and how to get along with your new friend. Between 1991 and 1992, it released a series of public domain horror films under the Tales of Horror umbrella.

However, as for the former, troubles started brewing in the latter year, with a lawsuit filed by Matrix Video, followed by Random House, its most prominent sub-licensor, terminating its contract a few months later. The termination of the contract was a result of violations of the contract dating back to May 1993. These troubles resulted in Goldstar Entertainment, Inc. filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection before the end of the year. In July 1993, Camelot Corporation acquired 40% of the company, resulting in both companies merging; Goldstar Entertainment, Inc. became Camelot Entertainment, Inc. as a subsidiary of Camelot Corporation (not to be confused with the ad sales division of King World Entertainment). Camelot Entertainment, Inc. continued to linger on for little more than another year before filing for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy protection in January 1995.

Former names[edit]

  • Goldstar Video Corporation (1988-1993)
    • Goldstar Video (shorthand form)

List of Subsidiaries[edit]

  • Goldrix Entertainment, Inc. (Public Domain Cartoons; a joint venture with Matrix Video)

List of Sub-Labels[edit]

  • The Little Red Schoolhouse Learning Center
    • The Little Red Schoolhouse (shorthand form)

List of Known Sub-Licensors[edit]

NOTE #1: *These titles were released by the company under their Little Red Schoolhouse sub-label.

NOTE #2: -These titles were released after the company's merger with Camelot Corporation.

  • Family Home Entertainment (1994) (Strawberry Shortcake videos)-
  • Happy Face Home Video (1993) (Holiday Classics videos)*-
  • J2 Communications (1991-1993) (The Mother Goose Treasury videos)*
  • Random House Home Video (1991-1993) (The Berenstain Bears, Dr. Seuss Beginner Book Video and Sesame Street Start-to-Read videos)
  • Strand Home Video (1993) (The Jungle Book videos)-
  • Turner Home Entertainment (1991-1993) (The Greatest Adventure Stories From The Bible videos)*

Trivia[edit]

  • This company is a contemporary family-oriented boutique label, like Feature Films for Families. Thus, this company duplicated its product at multiple facilities in its formative years.
  • This is probably the only home video distributor to have a joint venture with one of its duplicators, Goldrix Entertainment, as mentioned above.

Duplicators[edit]

On some tapes, Goldstar noted the duplicator's initials (in bold) on the face label.

Locations[edit]

  • Brentwood, New York (1988-1991)
  • Hauppauge, New York (1991)
  • Freehold, New Jersey (1991-1993)
  • Tinton Falls, New Jersey (1993-1994)
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