On BoingBoing, AV writes:

“George Atkinson, the man who opened the first video rental store in the 70’s has died at 69. To start his rental business, Mr. Atkinson bought 50 movies that had recently been made available on video, including ‘The French Connection,’ ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.’ He then advertised their availability for rental in a one-inch ad in The Los Angeles Times. Customers arrived in droves and willingly paid the $10-a-day rental fee. (Only the wealthy could afford the $1,000 that VCR’s cost then.)”

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=peopleNews&storyID=7844927

Video Rental Pioneer Atkinson Dies at 69
Tue Mar 8, 2005 07:59 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - George Atkinson, credited as a father of the home video retail business, died March 3 at his home in Northridge, Calif., after a struggle with emphysema. He was 69.

In 1977, Atkinson converted his Los Angeles retail store that had been selling super 8 movies and projectors into Video Station, the industry’s first video rental store.

Atkinson had heard of Detroit businessman Andre Blay’s acquisition of video rights to about 50 films from 20th Century Fox and his direct-mail sales of those titles through his Video Club of America. Sensing an opportunity, Atkinson placed an ad in the Los Angeles Times that offered videocassettes for rent. He received thousands of inquiries.

Fox and other studios demanded that he cease renting the videos. Atkinson hired a lawyer and launched a protracted court battle that galvanized small retailers nationwide and led to the formation of the Video Software Dealers Assn., which still serves as the industry’s lobbying organization. The effort eventually brought about a federal court decision that allowed for the rental of home videos.

Atkinson charged $50 for an annual membership and $100 for a lifetime membership. Members could rent movies on Betamax or VHS for $10 a day.

From his initial storefront on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, Atkinson went on to organize the opening of more than 600 Video Station affiliates nationwide. He retired from Video Station in 1997.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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