Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Looney Toons, Yosemite Sam, and Road Runner..are just a few birthed by Warner. This may be pushing buttons, but I am fairly sure if any of the brothers were still running things...the brakes would have been pulled on this one long before it had started. Warner Bros. were comprised of four Jewish brothers out of a 12 sibling clan: Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner In terms of their birth names, Harry was born “Hirsz,” Albert was “Aaron,” Sam was “Szmul,” and Jack was “Itzhak"...all children of Benjamin and Pearl Leah Eichelbaum.
The family Warner, (Originally of the Eichelbaum name), immigrated in the late 1800's from Poland with dreams of making a better life for themself and their three children at the time, Harry, Albert, and Anna. Upon the father (Benjamin's) arriving in New York, he introduced himself as "Benjamin Warner", and the surname "Warner" remained with him, and the family from then on. In all, the family grew to include 12 siblings comprised of brothers, and 'yes', there were some Warner Sisters in the bunch. Benjamin and the family relocated to America in 1896 and settled in Youngstown, Ohio. The family was hard working...VERY hard working. It was while in Ohio, Sam had come across an Edison Kinetoscope Projector in an old garage. He was mystified by it and learned how to operate the primitive projector. After introducing the new found addiction to brother Harry, who was just as mystified, both brothers traveled to Chicago where they conducted a screening to fasinated audiences at Chicago's White City Park and charged to see it to a packed crowd. It was at this point the brothers were convinced that there was a real future in movies, and people would pay to see them. The brothers convinced his father to pawn a watch and his horse for a new projector and a copy of Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery. They then rented out an empty storefront in nearby Niles, Ohio and enlisted the family in the new business venture.
To say people went nuts for this new phenomenon would be an understatement. They played a short film to sold out crowds and used brother Jack to sing after the show while one crowd transitioned to the next. After seeing the proven demand for this new phenomenon, Harry suggested the brothers start making their own films. The brothers moved to the west coast, and Warner Bros. Pictures was born!! Their first successful film being 'My Four Years in Germany' in 1918. Now meet thy brothers behind the brand ....
The family Warner, (Originally of the Eichelbaum name), immigrated in the late 1800's from Poland with dreams of making a better life for themself and their three children at the time, Harry, Albert, and Anna. Upon the father (Benjamin's) arriving in New York, he introduced himself as "Benjamin Warner", and the surname "Warner" remained with him, and the family from then on. In all, the family grew to include 12 siblings comprised of brothers, and 'yes', there were some Warner Sisters in the bunch. Benjamin and the family relocated to America in 1896 and settled in Youngstown, Ohio. The family was hard working...VERY hard working. It was while in Ohio, Sam had come across an Edison Kinetoscope Projector in an old garage. He was mystified by it and learned how to operate the primitive projector. After introducing the new found addiction to brother Harry, who was just as mystified, both brothers traveled to Chicago where they conducted a screening to fasinated audiences at Chicago's White City Park and charged to see it to a packed crowd. It was at this point the brothers were convinced that there was a real future in movies, and people would pay to see them. The brothers convinced his father to pawn a watch and his horse for a new projector and a copy of Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery. They then rented out an empty storefront in nearby Niles, Ohio and enlisted the family in the new business venture.
To say people went nuts for this new phenomenon would be an understatement. They played a short film to sold out crowds and used brother Jack to sing after the show while one crowd transitioned to the next. After seeing the proven demand for this new phenomenon, Harry suggested the brothers start making their own films. The brothers moved to the west coast, and Warner Bros. Pictures was born!! Their first successful film being 'My Four Years in Germany' in 1918. Now meet thy brothers behind the brand ....
It is with GREAT pride, preciseness, and prejudice I write on Harry Warner. He is among my favorite of all the Hollywood moguls! With that said, here is his story. Not only did he have imaginative, creativeness, and a 'no limit on production' to Warner Bros. success ... he managed to stay down to earth, a great family man, and good hearted!! Here is his story ..
Harry Eichelbaum was born December 12, 1881, in Poland to Benjamin, a shoemaker, and Pearl Leah Eichelbaum. Young Harry immigrated with his mother and sister to America via the steamship Hermann. Benjamin, Harry's father, had immigrated two years earlier to pursue his trade in shoes and shoe repair. Like many immigrants of the time - Benjamin had the family last name changed to Warner.
Harry was a calm, imaginative child with a strong will and helped his father in his shoe repair business...however the Warner family was growing, and Benjamin moved the family to Canada, inspired by a friend's advice that he could make an excellent living in fur exchange. It proved NOT to be as excellent as the friend had mentioned. After two years in Canada, the family relocated to Youngstown, Ohio where Harry and Benjamin started a shoe repair shop in the heart of the emerging industrial town. Harry would secure enough then to open a meat market, and grocery store. By the time Harry was 19, he was living in a crowded household and longed for more than what he had.
In 1905 ... Harry was introduced to the Edison Kinetoscope Projector, by his brother Sam. Harry had found what he longed for. He joined his brother, and set out to tackle the film industry. Harry sold his business' and with that money... they purchased a building to screen the films they already had. They would use this building to establish their first theater, called The Cascade. Business was so good there, they purchased two more theaters in Pennsylvania, and 13 theaters would follow. Harry, Sam, and Albert then formed, The Duquesne Amusement Supply Company. It would be their first venture into film distribution...and short lived. Around that time Thomas Edison, father of motion pictures, established Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company (also known as the Edison Trust), which charged distributors outrageous fees. The brothers, unable to afford such prices, would sell their thriving business and join with then independant filmmaker Carl Laemmle (LOVE that man!) to actually MAKE indy films. In 1912, the brothers earned a $1,500 profit with the film Dante's Inferno. They split with Laemmle and were able to make the film "My Four Years In Germany", in 1918 which turned out a HUGE success. With the funding from this film and other money the brothers had saved, they were able to establish and secure a studio near Hollywood, California which they named simply Warner Bros. Pictures.
Harry lived in this house, (that he himself had commisioned and built in 1923), in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. . He also co-founded Hollywood Park Racetrack. In 1907, he married his longtime girlfriend Rea Levinson. The couple had three children together and life was going great for Harry.
Under their newly formed company, Harry oversaw every aspect of the studio. From negotiations with banks, to turning lights off and even recycling old props into new ones. While Warner Bros. was a joint effort of all the brothers...it was Harry who ultimatly green-lighted each film made by their studios and supervised each film to be shot and edited to the perfection of his motto..."to educate, entertain, and enlighten." It was by this principle the studio rose to greatness.
Into the 30's, and Harry was looking to enjoy the fruits of his labor a bit more. He sold his pad in Hancock Park, and moved to a bigger, more luxurious pad here on Rexford Dr. .. aaannd cloooser. He was also in the market for a beach house. He had heard of the legendary "Gold Coast," running along the beaches of Santa Monica. Upon taking a visit to Santa Monica to 'look' at a few homes .. Harry fell in love with the place. Although he wanted to look at several homes there, Rea insisted on the first one they saw. Wife wins .. Harry bought it!! Doesn't it aaallllways work like that?? Wife always wins!! Anyhoo - the view was amazing, and the inside port of the home included an oasis. Could you resist?? I couldn't! I can't blame Harry for trusting Rea's persistant instinct.
By 1956, the brothers were ready to retire and they put their company on the market. Harry also wanted to retire & live at the beach home full time. A banker, Serge Semenenko, made an offer to buy 90% in stock. The other brothers took the offer, but Harry rejected Semenenko's offer to purchase his stock, but later accepted the offer after Semenenko increased his bid and agreed to make Simon Fabian- the head of Fabian Enterprises who had also become a friend of the Warners- the new Warner Bros. President. After the brothers sold their stock, Jack (through an under-the-table deal with Sememenko) joined Semenenko's syndicate and bought back all his stock, which consisted of 200,000 shares. The deal was completed in July 1956..After which, Jack, who was now the company's largest stockholder, officially appointed himself as the new company President.
Harry had been stabbed in the back by his younger brother...Harry and Jack never spoke again.
On the tragic afternoon of July 27, 1958, Harry died on from a cerebral occlusion at his beach home. Some people close to Harry, however, believed he died of a broken heart; Harry's wife Rea even stated, after Harry's funeral took place, that "he didn't die, Jack killed him." A great man, who left a legacy to prove it! Harry is entombed at Home of Peace Cemetery..you can leave digital flowers by clicking here.
Harry Eichelbaum was born December 12, 1881, in Poland to Benjamin, a shoemaker, and Pearl Leah Eichelbaum. Young Harry immigrated with his mother and sister to America via the steamship Hermann. Benjamin, Harry's father, had immigrated two years earlier to pursue his trade in shoes and shoe repair. Like many immigrants of the time - Benjamin had the family last name changed to Warner.
Harry was a calm, imaginative child with a strong will and helped his father in his shoe repair business...however the Warner family was growing, and Benjamin moved the family to Canada, inspired by a friend's advice that he could make an excellent living in fur exchange. It proved NOT to be as excellent as the friend had mentioned. After two years in Canada, the family relocated to Youngstown, Ohio where Harry and Benjamin started a shoe repair shop in the heart of the emerging industrial town. Harry would secure enough then to open a meat market, and grocery store. By the time Harry was 19, he was living in a crowded household and longed for more than what he had.
In 1905 ... Harry was introduced to the Edison Kinetoscope Projector, by his brother Sam. Harry had found what he longed for. He joined his brother, and set out to tackle the film industry. Harry sold his business' and with that money... they purchased a building to screen the films they already had. They would use this building to establish their first theater, called The Cascade. Business was so good there, they purchased two more theaters in Pennsylvania, and 13 theaters would follow. Harry, Sam, and Albert then formed, The Duquesne Amusement Supply Company. It would be their first venture into film distribution...and short lived. Around that time Thomas Edison, father of motion pictures, established Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company (also known as the Edison Trust), which charged distributors outrageous fees. The brothers, unable to afford such prices, would sell their thriving business and join with then independant filmmaker Carl Laemmle (LOVE that man!) to actually MAKE indy films. In 1912, the brothers earned a $1,500 profit with the film Dante's Inferno. They split with Laemmle and were able to make the film "My Four Years In Germany", in 1918 which turned out a HUGE success. With the funding from this film and other money the brothers had saved, they were able to establish and secure a studio near Hollywood, California which they named simply Warner Bros. Pictures.
Harry lived in this house, (that he himself had commisioned and built in 1923), in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. . He also co-founded Hollywood Park Racetrack. In 1907, he married his longtime girlfriend Rea Levinson. The couple had three children together and life was going great for Harry.
Under their newly formed company, Harry oversaw every aspect of the studio. From negotiations with banks, to turning lights off and even recycling old props into new ones. While Warner Bros. was a joint effort of all the brothers...it was Harry who ultimatly green-lighted each film made by their studios and supervised each film to be shot and edited to the perfection of his motto..."to educate, entertain, and enlighten." It was by this principle the studio rose to greatness.
Into the 30's, and Harry was looking to enjoy the fruits of his labor a bit more. He sold his pad in Hancock Park, and moved to a bigger, more luxurious pad here on Rexford Dr. .. aaannd cloooser. He was also in the market for a beach house. He had heard of the legendary "Gold Coast," running along the beaches of Santa Monica. Upon taking a visit to Santa Monica to 'look' at a few homes .. Harry fell in love with the place. Although he wanted to look at several homes there, Rea insisted on the first one they saw. Wife wins .. Harry bought it!! Doesn't it aaallllways work like that?? Wife always wins!! Anyhoo - the view was amazing, and the inside port of the home included an oasis. Could you resist?? I couldn't! I can't blame Harry for trusting Rea's persistant instinct.
By 1956, the brothers were ready to retire and they put their company on the market. Harry also wanted to retire & live at the beach home full time. A banker, Serge Semenenko, made an offer to buy 90% in stock. The other brothers took the offer, but Harry rejected Semenenko's offer to purchase his stock, but later accepted the offer after Semenenko increased his bid and agreed to make Simon Fabian- the head of Fabian Enterprises who had also become a friend of the Warners- the new Warner Bros. President. After the brothers sold their stock, Jack (through an under-the-table deal with Sememenko) joined Semenenko's syndicate and bought back all his stock, which consisted of 200,000 shares. The deal was completed in July 1956..After which, Jack, who was now the company's largest stockholder, officially appointed himself as the new company President.
Harry had been stabbed in the back by his younger brother...Harry and Jack never spoke again.
On the tragic afternoon of July 27, 1958, Harry died on from a cerebral occlusion at his beach home. Some people close to Harry, however, believed he died of a broken heart; Harry's wife Rea even stated, after Harry's funeral took place, that "he didn't die, Jack killed him." A great man, who left a legacy to prove it! Harry is entombed at Home of Peace Cemetery..you can leave digital flowers by clicking here.
Albert Warner was born July 23, 1884, in Poland. He immigrated here with his mother, sister Ana, and brother Harry. From the start, it was clear Albert had a mind for business. He could crunch very large numbers from an early age. Albert could well be called the shy, or silent one of the brothers. Always as gentle natured as Harry, In 1905, gentle but a giant when need be. Albert hit the ground running with his brothers to form Warner Brothers Pictures. He was the trustee of Warner. He would also attend functions in the name of/or representing Warner. Such a function happened in November of 1947.
On November 25, 1947, Albert Warner and other executives in the motion picture industry issued the Waldorf Statement, first promulgating the Hollywood Blacklist. Around this time, Albert also bought a beach home in Miami Beach, Florida, (it recently sold for a cool 12 mil..the yacht pictured not included...at last year, was formerly owned by a Miami music producer.) where he lived for the remaining years of his life. By 1956, the studio was losing money and Albert wanted to retire and live full time in his Miami Beach house. (according to the realator, no pictures of the inside without appointment and deposit!! Pfft!)
In May 1956, the brothers announced they were putting Warner Bros. on the market. Jack, however, had other plans. After the three brothers sold their stock, in an under-the-table deal with Sememenko, Jack joined Semenenko's syndicate and bought back all his stock, which consisted of 200,000 shares. By the time Harry and Albert learned of their brother's dealings, it was too late.
Albert read about Jack's dealings while spending time in New York City. He never spoke to Jack again, but he did later rejoin the company's board of directors amid coaxing from stockholders to quote.. "keep Jack from stealing the stockholders blind."
Albert Warner died in 1967 in Miami Beach, Florida where he had been living in retirement. A funeral service was held in the Los Angeles. Warner was then interred in Brooklyn, next to his first wife Bessie Krieger. After Albert's second wife Bessie Warner died in 1970 she was interred with him as well in Brooklyn.
Sam Warner, the father of talking pictures, was born August 10, 1885, in Baltimore, Maryland. From a very young age Sam could be seen as a visionary entertainer. As a kid he work sketch comedy and perform it for his family. As a teenager he took a job as a carnival barker and discovered in an old abandoned building, a Kinetoscope projector. Sam learned how to operate it, and anxiously introduced it to brothers Abe and Harry. They, like Sam, were facinated by it and the legend began..
Sam was, in large part, the creative mind at Warner Brothers. He would envision an idea, and usually Harry would then tweek and perfect it. Of all the brothers, Harry and Sam, would prove best at working together. In July of 1925, Sam married actress Lina Basquette and had a child named Lita. Not only was Sam a film connesuir, he was a home connesuir as well. The only movie mogul of the time to own 3 places of residence. He lived here when in California, here when in Maine, and here in this condo when in New York. It was Sam and family, enjoying the fruits of his labor to the fullest!!
In 1925 - Sam approached brother Harry with an idea that would revolutionize motion pictures forever. It was after a vacation visit to Western Electric's Bell Labritories headquarters, Sam envisioned syncing sound with film and urged Harry, to sign an agreement with Western Electric to develop a series of "talking" shorts using the newly-upgraded Sound-on-film technology. Harry muttered the now famous.."who the hell wants to hear actors talk." That seemed to be the end of the talk .. however, the more Sam thought about it - the more he liked the idea and started presenting the idea to a skeptical Harry more and more. By February of 1926, the studio had suffered dropping loss in revenue of WB films. Harry, after a long period of refusing to accept Sam's demands, then agreed to use synchronized sound in Warner Bros. shorts, as long as it just for usage of background music, Harry then made a visit to Western Electric's Bell Laboratories in New York and was impressed. Harry signed a partnership agreement with Western Electric to use Bell Laboratories to test the sound-on-film process. The first film they used the 'sound on film..Vitaphone' technology on, Don Juan, flopped. Much to Sam's dismay, Harry quickly put the brakes on the Vitaphone. Paramount chief, Aldolf Zukor, saw potential in the 'sound-on-film' technology and offered Sam an executive producer spot at Paramount Pictures if he brought Vitaphone with him. Sam, seeing that brother Harry's refusal to move forward with using sound in future Warner films, agreed to accept Zukor's offer. Before the deal was solidified, Paramount lost it's top star, Rudolph Valentino, and alot of profits. By 1927, Warner Bros. was in bad shape. The other big studios, (FOX, Universal, Paramount, and MGM), were putting a strain on Warner to make better quality films at a faster rate. Harry gave the green-light to Sam in whatever he needed to make the picture with 'sound-on-film Vitaphone. Sam anxiously pressed forward and put long, strainuous hours into the film...supervising it to perfection. Nearing the end of production on "The Jazz Singer," Jack (who was working nonstop with Sam on production of The Jazz Singer), noticed Sam started having severe headaches and nosebleeds. By the end of the month, Sam was unable to walk straight. Sam was then hospitalized and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. The Jazz Singer was to debut in days and Sam was determined to be there for the premiere.
Sadly, it would never happen...unfortunately, the sinus infection soon developed into an acute mastoid infection, his and body had now become riddled with infection. Sam's infection soon developed into pneumonia and on October 5, 1927, Sam died from a cerebral hemorrhage as doctors were trying to remove infected cells from his brain. Sam was only 40 years old.
On October 6, 1927 - The Jazz Singer debuted in New York to massive success. The studio spent only $500,000 in the film, but reaped $3 million in profits. The film hurled Warner Bros. to the top in Hollywood. Hollywood's five major studios, which controlled most of the nation's movie theaters, initially attempted to block the growth of "talking pictures." In the face of such organized opposition, Warner Bros. produced 12 "talkies" in 1928 alone. The following year, the newly formed Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences recognized Warner Bros. for "revolutionizing the industry with sound"
Sadly, Sam never lived to see his idea revolutionize the industry...but he will forever be known as, "the father of talking pictures." Visit his grave and leave virtual comments here.
Jack Warner was born in Ontario, Canada, August 2, 1892. As a youth in Youngstown, Ohio, he would try to emulate his brothers. He joined a gang, and tried unsuccessfully singing at local theaters and forming a brief business partnership with another aspiring "song-and-dance man". He was...according to some, a man without a lick of talent. Of course...according to Jack - the critics wouldn't know talent if it bit them on the ass!! (**ON A SIDE NOTE..I do have to agree with him there!) To his credit, he did have a rather mild success in the local circuit of Yongstown as a lounge singer.. however when his brothers jumped into the film industry... Jack quit singing and joined them.
Jack's venture with his brothers, to say the least, did not come without the up's and downs. (MOSTLY downs.) He and brother Harry fought almost from the start of the venture. It's important to note that Jack had a serious side, and a joking side. He was, as some put it, two people in one. Out of jealousy, he, on several well documented occasions, put down Warner top singing talent. To say he was forceful at times .. would be an understatement. According to his own son, Jack, Jr., he quote..."genuinely glorified and enjoyed being the top fly on Hollywood's shithill." According to some accounts, it would not be unlikely to see Harry chasing Jack through a studio set with a pipe yelling "I'll get you for this (or) I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!" While it's no doubt Jack was Hollywood style cutthroat...there is also no denying that Warner could not be where it is without the lone brother Jack. Although his management style frustrated many studio employees, he ran the studio direct and forcefully. Even in the days of running it alongside his brothers, his shady dealings were known. For his brothers, it could be said he was the black sheep of the family. In 1956, Jack, in an effort to gain money underhandedly, sold the Warner Bros.' pre-1949 films to United Artists Television for the modest sum of $21 million. Harry was heard buy his secretary telling Jack.."This is our heritage, what we worked all our lives to create, and now it is gone." Upon this deal, Jack took a vaca to France where he had a nice house. This is where he would go when he wanted to escape, often neglecting studio responsibilities. Film director Gottfried Reinhardt claimed that Warner "derived pleasure" from humiliating subordinates. "Harry Cohn (Columbia Pictures) was a sonofabitch," Reinhardt said, "but he did it for business; he was not a sadist. Louis B. Mayer (MGM) could be a monster, but he was not mean for the sake of meanness. Jack was."
Jack lived in THIS posh pad in Beverly Hills. He never moved...would you?? He unfortunatly followed Harry to the "Gold Coast" as well for a beach home..not eeeven then, did they speak!
In May 1956, the remaining brothers, Harry, Albert, and Jack agreed on putting Warner Bros. on the market. Jack saw this as a prime opportunity to buy the brothers shares and own the company streight out. Knowing Albert and ESPECIALLY Harry would never go for this, he organized a secret syndicate headed by Boston banker Serge Semenenko. After a rejection then agreement with Harry, the deal was done. Jack then went back and bought 200,000 shares making him the largest stockholder and self proclaiming him president of Warner Brothers. Jack announced that the company and its subsidiaries would be "directed more vigorously to the acquisition of the most important story properties, talents, and to the production of the finest motion pictures possible". While this did happen ... the brothers never spoke to Jack again. Jack made a surprise appearance at Harry's San Fernadino ranch, to attend Harry's 1957 wedding anniversary to Rea Levinson, nobody in the Warner family attending the event spoke to Jack. When Harry died on July 27, 1958, Jack avoided the funeral and departed for his annual vacation at his usual France getaway. When asked to respond to his brother's death, Jack said, "I didn't give a shit about Harry." Jack did, however, take pride in the fact that U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent him a letter of condolence on Harry.
Throught the Warner rule of the lone Warner brother, Warner Bros. did flurish! Throughout the 1960s, Warner kept pace with changes in the industry and played a key role in developing films that were commercial and critical successes. Jack still, however, ruled the studio with a sharp hand and at times, and unmistakeable rudeness. At the 16th Academy Awards ceremony, when Casablanca was named Best Picture, Hal B. Wallis, the film's producer, was on his way to the stage to accept the Oscar when Jack cut him off and accepted on behalf of the studio. At the time, the Oscar for Best Picture customarily went to the studio. But, Jack's public rudeness had two consequences: first, Wallis resigned from Warner Brothers in protest; second, producers began exerting more power with the Academy. Within eight years, starting with An American in Paris the Oscar for Best Picture would go to the film's producer(s)- instead of the studio. On another occasion, about Erroll Flynn, he said, "You know Flynn, he's either got to be fighting or fucking." If you were employed by Warner, you either loved him..or pretended you did.
By the early 70's, Jack's wife was pressuring him to retire and more, he was ready. Those employees closest to Warner became aware of signs that he was becoming disoriented. Shortly after losing his way in the building that housed his own office, Warner retired. He sold his 106 million studio stocks for about $24 million. He was quoted as saying, "Who would ever have thought that a butcher boy from Youngstown, Ohio, would end up with twenty-four million smackers in his pocket?" After retirement, Jack, with the exception of his then wife, was alone it appeared. Even in resturants he didn't get the same respect he had commanded in the days as chief of Warner. One night, apparently inhebriated, he loudly quipped, "I guess you have to be a major studio head to get anyone to pay you any respect." In 1974, the former studio chief suffered a stroke that left him blind and enfeebled. During the next several years, he gradually lost the ability to speak and became unresponsive to friends and relatives. He stayed home much of the time after that. On the morning of August 13, 1978, he was suffering chest pains and rushed to Cedars-Sinai Hospital. He lapsed in and out of a coma and finally died of a heart inflammation on September 9. He was 86 years old. At his funeral, his widow Ann Warner eulogized: "He was extremely sensitive." (to this I am fairly sure a few in attendence were thinking, NO SHIT LADY!), she then went on to say, "but there are few who know that because he covered it with a cloak." To Jack's credit - his 45-year career was longer than that of any other traditional Hollywood studio mogul. You can leave your virtual flowers and notes here. Warner Brothers today is owned by Time-Warner, Inc. and is the largest media outlet on air today!
On November 25, 1947, Albert Warner and other executives in the motion picture industry issued the Waldorf Statement, first promulgating the Hollywood Blacklist. Around this time, Albert also bought a beach home in Miami Beach, Florida, (it recently sold for a cool 12 mil..the yacht pictured not included...at last year, was formerly owned by a Miami music producer.) where he lived for the remaining years of his life. By 1956, the studio was losing money and Albert wanted to retire and live full time in his Miami Beach house. (according to the realator, no pictures of the inside without appointment and deposit!! Pfft!)
In May 1956, the brothers announced they were putting Warner Bros. on the market. Jack, however, had other plans. After the three brothers sold their stock, in an under-the-table deal with Sememenko, Jack joined Semenenko's syndicate and bought back all his stock, which consisted of 200,000 shares. By the time Harry and Albert learned of their brother's dealings, it was too late.
Albert read about Jack's dealings while spending time in New York City. He never spoke to Jack again, but he did later rejoin the company's board of directors amid coaxing from stockholders to quote.. "keep Jack from stealing the stockholders blind."
Albert Warner died in 1967 in Miami Beach, Florida where he had been living in retirement. A funeral service was held in the Los Angeles. Warner was then interred in Brooklyn, next to his first wife Bessie Krieger. After Albert's second wife Bessie Warner died in 1970 she was interred with him as well in Brooklyn.
Sam Warner, the father of talking pictures, was born August 10, 1885, in Baltimore, Maryland. From a very young age Sam could be seen as a visionary entertainer. As a kid he work sketch comedy and perform it for his family. As a teenager he took a job as a carnival barker and discovered in an old abandoned building, a Kinetoscope projector. Sam learned how to operate it, and anxiously introduced it to brothers Abe and Harry. They, like Sam, were facinated by it and the legend began..
Sam was, in large part, the creative mind at Warner Brothers. He would envision an idea, and usually Harry would then tweek and perfect it. Of all the brothers, Harry and Sam, would prove best at working together. In July of 1925, Sam married actress Lina Basquette and had a child named Lita. Not only was Sam a film connesuir, he was a home connesuir as well. The only movie mogul of the time to own 3 places of residence. He lived here when in California, here when in Maine, and here in this condo when in New York. It was Sam and family, enjoying the fruits of his labor to the fullest!!
In 1925 - Sam approached brother Harry with an idea that would revolutionize motion pictures forever. It was after a vacation visit to Western Electric's Bell Labritories headquarters, Sam envisioned syncing sound with film and urged Harry, to sign an agreement with Western Electric to develop a series of "talking" shorts using the newly-upgraded Sound-on-film technology. Harry muttered the now famous.."who the hell wants to hear actors talk." That seemed to be the end of the talk .. however, the more Sam thought about it - the more he liked the idea and started presenting the idea to a skeptical Harry more and more. By February of 1926, the studio had suffered dropping loss in revenue of WB films. Harry, after a long period of refusing to accept Sam's demands, then agreed to use synchronized sound in Warner Bros. shorts, as long as it just for usage of background music, Harry then made a visit to Western Electric's Bell Laboratories in New York and was impressed. Harry signed a partnership agreement with Western Electric to use Bell Laboratories to test the sound-on-film process. The first film they used the 'sound on film..Vitaphone' technology on, Don Juan, flopped. Much to Sam's dismay, Harry quickly put the brakes on the Vitaphone. Paramount chief, Aldolf Zukor, saw potential in the 'sound-on-film' technology and offered Sam an executive producer spot at Paramount Pictures if he brought Vitaphone with him. Sam, seeing that brother Harry's refusal to move forward with using sound in future Warner films, agreed to accept Zukor's offer. Before the deal was solidified, Paramount lost it's top star, Rudolph Valentino, and alot of profits. By 1927, Warner Bros. was in bad shape. The other big studios, (FOX, Universal, Paramount, and MGM), were putting a strain on Warner to make better quality films at a faster rate. Harry gave the green-light to Sam in whatever he needed to make the picture with 'sound-on-film Vitaphone. Sam anxiously pressed forward and put long, strainuous hours into the film...supervising it to perfection. Nearing the end of production on "The Jazz Singer," Jack (who was working nonstop with Sam on production of The Jazz Singer), noticed Sam started having severe headaches and nosebleeds. By the end of the month, Sam was unable to walk straight. Sam was then hospitalized and was diagnosed with a sinus infection. The Jazz Singer was to debut in days and Sam was determined to be there for the premiere.
Sadly, it would never happen...unfortunately, the sinus infection soon developed into an acute mastoid infection, his and body had now become riddled with infection. Sam's infection soon developed into pneumonia and on October 5, 1927, Sam died from a cerebral hemorrhage as doctors were trying to remove infected cells from his brain. Sam was only 40 years old.
On October 6, 1927 - The Jazz Singer debuted in New York to massive success. The studio spent only $500,000 in the film, but reaped $3 million in profits. The film hurled Warner Bros. to the top in Hollywood. Hollywood's five major studios, which controlled most of the nation's movie theaters, initially attempted to block the growth of "talking pictures." In the face of such organized opposition, Warner Bros. produced 12 "talkies" in 1928 alone. The following year, the newly formed Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences recognized Warner Bros. for "revolutionizing the industry with sound"
Sadly, Sam never lived to see his idea revolutionize the industry...but he will forever be known as, "the father of talking pictures." Visit his grave and leave virtual comments here.
Jack Warner was born in Ontario, Canada, August 2, 1892. As a youth in Youngstown, Ohio, he would try to emulate his brothers. He joined a gang, and tried unsuccessfully singing at local theaters and forming a brief business partnership with another aspiring "song-and-dance man". He was...according to some, a man without a lick of talent. Of course...according to Jack - the critics wouldn't know talent if it bit them on the ass!! (**ON A SIDE NOTE..I do have to agree with him there!) To his credit, he did have a rather mild success in the local circuit of Yongstown as a lounge singer.. however when his brothers jumped into the film industry... Jack quit singing and joined them.
Jack's venture with his brothers, to say the least, did not come without the up's and downs. (MOSTLY downs.) He and brother Harry fought almost from the start of the venture. It's important to note that Jack had a serious side, and a joking side. He was, as some put it, two people in one. Out of jealousy, he, on several well documented occasions, put down Warner top singing talent. To say he was forceful at times .. would be an understatement. According to his own son, Jack, Jr., he quote..."genuinely glorified and enjoyed being the top fly on Hollywood's shithill." According to some accounts, it would not be unlikely to see Harry chasing Jack through a studio set with a pipe yelling "I'll get you for this (or) I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!" While it's no doubt Jack was Hollywood style cutthroat...there is also no denying that Warner could not be where it is without the lone brother Jack. Although his management style frustrated many studio employees, he ran the studio direct and forcefully. Even in the days of running it alongside his brothers, his shady dealings were known. For his brothers, it could be said he was the black sheep of the family. In 1956, Jack, in an effort to gain money underhandedly, sold the Warner Bros.' pre-1949 films to United Artists Television for the modest sum of $21 million. Harry was heard buy his secretary telling Jack.."This is our heritage, what we worked all our lives to create, and now it is gone." Upon this deal, Jack took a vaca to France where he had a nice house. This is where he would go when he wanted to escape, often neglecting studio responsibilities. Film director Gottfried Reinhardt claimed that Warner "derived pleasure" from humiliating subordinates. "Harry Cohn (Columbia Pictures) was a sonofabitch," Reinhardt said, "but he did it for business; he was not a sadist. Louis B. Mayer (MGM) could be a monster, but he was not mean for the sake of meanness. Jack was."
Jack lived in THIS posh pad in Beverly Hills. He never moved...would you?? He unfortunatly followed Harry to the "Gold Coast" as well for a beach home..not eeeven then, did they speak!
In May 1956, the remaining brothers, Harry, Albert, and Jack agreed on putting Warner Bros. on the market. Jack saw this as a prime opportunity to buy the brothers shares and own the company streight out. Knowing Albert and ESPECIALLY Harry would never go for this, he organized a secret syndicate headed by Boston banker Serge Semenenko. After a rejection then agreement with Harry, the deal was done. Jack then went back and bought 200,000 shares making him the largest stockholder and self proclaiming him president of Warner Brothers. Jack announced that the company and its subsidiaries would be "directed more vigorously to the acquisition of the most important story properties, talents, and to the production of the finest motion pictures possible". While this did happen ... the brothers never spoke to Jack again. Jack made a surprise appearance at Harry's San Fernadino ranch, to attend Harry's 1957 wedding anniversary to Rea Levinson, nobody in the Warner family attending the event spoke to Jack. When Harry died on July 27, 1958, Jack avoided the funeral and departed for his annual vacation at his usual France getaway. When asked to respond to his brother's death, Jack said, "I didn't give a shit about Harry." Jack did, however, take pride in the fact that U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent him a letter of condolence on Harry.
Throught the Warner rule of the lone Warner brother, Warner Bros. did flurish! Throughout the 1960s, Warner kept pace with changes in the industry and played a key role in developing films that were commercial and critical successes. Jack still, however, ruled the studio with a sharp hand and at times, and unmistakeable rudeness. At the 16th Academy Awards ceremony, when Casablanca was named Best Picture, Hal B. Wallis, the film's producer, was on his way to the stage to accept the Oscar when Jack cut him off and accepted on behalf of the studio. At the time, the Oscar for Best Picture customarily went to the studio. But, Jack's public rudeness had two consequences: first, Wallis resigned from Warner Brothers in protest; second, producers began exerting more power with the Academy. Within eight years, starting with An American in Paris the Oscar for Best Picture would go to the film's producer(s)- instead of the studio. On another occasion, about Erroll Flynn, he said, "You know Flynn, he's either got to be fighting or fucking." If you were employed by Warner, you either loved him..or pretended you did.
By the early 70's, Jack's wife was pressuring him to retire and more, he was ready. Those employees closest to Warner became aware of signs that he was becoming disoriented. Shortly after losing his way in the building that housed his own office, Warner retired. He sold his 106 million studio stocks for about $24 million. He was quoted as saying, "Who would ever have thought that a butcher boy from Youngstown, Ohio, would end up with twenty-four million smackers in his pocket?" After retirement, Jack, with the exception of his then wife, was alone it appeared. Even in resturants he didn't get the same respect he had commanded in the days as chief of Warner. One night, apparently inhebriated, he loudly quipped, "I guess you have to be a major studio head to get anyone to pay you any respect." In 1974, the former studio chief suffered a stroke that left him blind and enfeebled. During the next several years, he gradually lost the ability to speak and became unresponsive to friends and relatives. He stayed home much of the time after that. On the morning of August 13, 1978, he was suffering chest pains and rushed to Cedars-Sinai Hospital. He lapsed in and out of a coma and finally died of a heart inflammation on September 9. He was 86 years old. At his funeral, his widow Ann Warner eulogized: "He was extremely sensitive." (to this I am fairly sure a few in attendence were thinking, NO SHIT LADY!), she then went on to say, "but there are few who know that because he covered it with a cloak." To Jack's credit - his 45-year career was longer than that of any other traditional Hollywood studio mogul. You can leave your virtual flowers and notes here. Warner Brothers today is owned by Time-Warner, Inc. and is the largest media outlet on air today!
The Warner principle: "to educate, entertain, and enlighten."