Since Hollywood stars began forming their own independent production companies and breaking away from the major studios, about the most creative activity on the southern Pacific Coast has been the matter of thinking up names for the "indies." Gregory ("Ahab") Peck calls his outfit Melville Productions. Kirk Douglas chose Bryna in honor of his mother. Scuderia Condor is Steve McQueen's firm, because he likes birds.
Some go for cute puns: John Payne's firm is called Window. Some like to suggest family background: Gordon MacRae's corporation is called Kintail after his family's ancestral Scottish home. That old West Side Tory, Frank Sinatra,...