a free time to relax, not even one whole evening a week. I always accompanied him at night, even though many times I slept through entire second acts of the best plays." Early retirement Balaban's success as a Paramount executive, he recalled, "nearly defeated me in another field of life which I deemed equally precious"—time with his family and his eagerness to travel. And his wife told him, "You have no time to eat or to sleep and you never smile any more. This grind will kill us all off if we stay." By his own admission, Balaban was "bleary-eyed from the loss of sleep and worry. ... I made the decision to take a six months' vacation and to leave for Europe where no theatres could claim my services." It appears that with the advent of sound pictures and their novelty, the influence of the presentation units so beloved by Balaban were on the wane and may have been an influence in his early retirement. Minnelli wrote in his memoir that Paramount ultimately disbanded all traveling presentation units in 1933. With his brother Barney and his partner Sam Katz, Balaban had spent more than twenty years building B&K, helped pull the family out of a life of near poverty and hardship (including the payment of all of his father's debts), and brought the younger brothers into the family business as each became old enough. (The youngest brother was born the same year the family first rented the Kedzie). A. J. and Barney were "very close and always felt a great sense of responsibility for their family's welfare." Each brother received a piece of B&K and the youngest were provided with college educations. Harry and Elmer would go on to form their own business and become pioneers in radio and television. Balaban was ready to retire. In April 1930, he confirmed his resignation to the press, announcing that he intended "to enter a larger field in the theatrical business." As early immigrants, Balaban's parents—intending to travel abroad with A.J. and his family—had no official "papers" with which to secure passports. Thanks to a last-minute intervention by William Morris Sr., all of the Balabans sailed at last on the Berengaria to Europe in May 1930. A.J. Balaban was 40 years old. The family lived in Geneva, Switzerland for a few years, and considered the city its base, no matter where their