for Katharine Hepburn. New ownership under Avco Embassy enjoyed its greatest success with The Graduate, which became the highest-grossing film of the year. This enabled Levine to sell his company to Avco for a deal worth $40 million, although he stayed on as chief executive. In 1969, Embassy appointed Mike Nichols to the board of directors and acquired his film production company, Friwaftt. Levine also ended a four-year feud with Ponti and Loren and produced Loren's first film since she became a mother, Sunflower (1970). Levine also started a record label with music industry executives Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore, Avco Embassy Records, later shortened to Avco Records. In 1969, the company bought out Mike Nichols' production company and signed him to make two movies. The company became less successful in the 1970s and only had hits with Mike Nichols' Carnal Knowledge (1971) and A Touch of Class (1973). In 1972, the company had begun cutting back on production and in 1973 recorded a loss of $8.1 million. Levine resigned as president on May 28, 1974, to re-enter independent production and was replaced by Bill Chaikin. By 1975, Avco Embassy stopped making movies altogether. In 1968, Avco Embassy launched Avco Embassy Television, to syndicate films from the Avco Embassy library on television. In 1976, Avco Embassy sold their broadcasting division and Avco Program Sales to Multimedia, Inc., becoming Multimedia Entertainment (since folded into what is now NBCUniversal Syndication Studios). Robert Rehme years In late 1977, Avco Embassy announced its intention to resume production. In 1978, Robert Rehme was appointed president and chief operating officer and he convinced the company to give him $5 million for a production fund. Under his stewardship, Avco Embassy concentrated on lower budgeted genre films, six of which were successful: The Manitou (1978), Phantasm (1979), The Fog (1980), Scanners (1981), Time Bandits (1981) and The Howling (1981). They benefited in part from the fact that American International Pictures recently left the exploitation field, lessening competition in this area. Rehme left the company in 1981, having seen it increase its revenue from $20 million to $90 million. In 1981, Tom Laughlin offered to buy the company for $24 million but withdrew his offer. Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio In January 1982, television producer Norman Lear and his partner Jerry Perenchio bought the studio for $25 million, reverted the name to the previous Embassy Pictures by dropping T.A.T.