Sam Warner
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Samuel Warner (August 10, 1887 – October 5, 1927) was a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Brothers film company. The other Warner brothers were Harry Warner (1881–1958), Albert Warner (1883–1967), and Jack L. Warner (1892–1978).
His interest in film came after seeing Thomas Edison's The Great Train Robbery while working as an employee at Cedar Point Pleasure Resort in Sandusky, Ohio.
Sam Warner can be credited as the brother who brought sound to Warner Brothers theaters, after tricking his brother Harry into attend a convention on the matter. However, a dispute with a motorcycle stunt driver resulted in Sam Warner being punched in the face by the stunt man, breaking his nose. Unfortunately, complications arrising due to his injuries eventually killed him.
Sam died the day before The Jazz Singer made its debut in New York City and he never saw his creation come to the theater, nor for that matter the enormous impact it had on the motion picture business.
He is interred in the Home of Peace Cemetery in East Los Angeles, California. His tombstone [1] shows his birth year to be 1885.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Sam Warner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard.