 In late 1926 the struggling Associated Exhibitors was subsumed into Pathé, as part of a trend of mergers in the American film industry.In March 1927, American Pathé was acquired by Joseph P. Kennedy, and in 1928 merged with the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theaters, along with Cecil B. DeMille's independent Producers Distributing Corporation to create what would eventually come to be known as RKO Radio Pictures.In that interim period, production of short subjects credited to American Pathé increased to about 150 in five years, under the nameplates "Manhattan Comedies", "Campus Comedies", "Melody Comedies", "Checker Comedies", "Folly Comedies", "Rainbow Comedies", "Rodeo Comedies", and "Capitol Comedies", featuring players such as Franklin Pangborn, Thelma White, Buck and Bubbles, and Alan Hale.