Jack Warner

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Jack Warner
Born August 2, 1892
London, Ontario
Died September 9, 1978
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California

This article is about Jack Warner, the head of Warner Brothers. For other people named Jack Warner see Jack Warner (disambiguation)

Jack Warner (J.L. for short) (August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978), born John Eichelbaum in London, Ontario, Canada of a Polish-Jewish family, was the president and driving force behind the highly successful development of Warner Brothers Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

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[edit] Formative years

The other Warner brothers were Harry Warner (1881–1958), Albert Warner (1883–1967), and Sam Warner (1887–1927), members of a Yiddish-speaking Jewish family from Krasnosielc, Poland. A cobbler named Benjamin Warner (probably Varna), had married Pearl Leah Eichelbaum in 1876. The couple had three children, one of whom died at age four. Desiring a better future for his family and himself, in 1883 Benjamin made his way to Hamburg, Germany, and then took a ship to America.[1] The two surviving children, Hirsch (later Harry) and Anna, and wife Pearl joined him in Baltimore less than a year later. The rest of the Warner brothers (and two sisters) were born in the United States, except for Jacob (later Jack), who was born in London, Ontario, Canada, in 1892.

After two arduous years in Canada, Benjamin Warner and his family made the long trek back to Baltimore.[2] In 1896, the family relocated to Youngstown, Ohio, following the lead of Harry Warner, who established a shoe repair shop in the heart of the emerging industrial town.[3] Jack Warner, who spent much of his youth in Youngstown, indicated in his autobiography that his experiences there shaped his early sensibilities. Warner wrote: "J. Edgar Hoover told me that Youngstown in those days was one of the toughest cities in America, and a gathering place for Sicilian thugs active in the Mafia. There was a murder or two almost every Saturday night in our neighborhood, and knives and brass knuckles were standard equipment for the young hotheads on the prowl".[4]

[edit] Early film career

In Youngstown, the Warner brothers made their momentous leap into the movie business, albeit in a limited manner. In the early 1900s, Sam Warner took a job as a projectionist at Idora Park, a local amusement park.[5] He quickly persuaded the family of the new medium's possibilities, and arranged the purchase of a Model B Kinetoscope from a projectionist who was "down on his luck".[6] The enterprising brothers screened a well-used copy of The Great Train Robbery throughout Ohio and Pennsylvania before seizing the chance to purchase a small theater in 1906.[7] That year, the brothers purchased the Cascade movie palace in New Castle, Pennsylvania, a business they maintained until moving into film distribution in 1907.[8] The Warner brothers established the Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Amusement Company, which proved lucrative until the advent of the Motion Pictures Patent Company, which charged distributors exorbitant fees.[9]

[edit] Formation of Warner Bros.

In 1910, the Warner brothers pooled their resources and moved into film production studio.[10] When Warner Bros. was formed in 1918, Jack became co-head of production along with elder brother Sam.[11] Sam died in 1927 (just before the premiere of the first "talking" picture, The Jazz Singer), and Jack became sole head of production.[12] He ran Warners' Burbank studio with an iron hand.

In 1956, Jack, Harry and Al announced they were putting Warner Bros. on the market. Jack secretly put together a syndicate that bought control of the company. By the time Harry and Al learned of their brother's dealings, it was too late. The three brothers had gotten into numerous arguments over the past decades, but this subterfuge was too much even for Harry and Al; they never spoke to Jack again.

Comedian Jack Benny, who once worked at Warner Brothers, quipped, "Jack Warner would rather tell a bad joke than make a good movie."[13]

[edit] Later years

Jack was the second studio chief to also serve as company president, after Columbia Pictures' Harry Cohn, but could not keep up with changes in the industry. He sold the studio to Seven Arts Productions in 1967, after producing the film adaptation of Lerner & Loewe's Camelot, but remained active as an independent producer until the early 1970s. Among his last productions was another film adaptation of a Broadway musical, 1776.

In 1936, Jack Warner married Ann Boyar of Ferriday, Louisiana, the former wife of actor Don Alvarado and mother of actress Joy Page. They remained together for forty-two years until his death in 1978.

Jack Warner died on September 9, 1978 in Los Angeles, California and is buried in Home of Peace Cemetery in East Los Angeles, California. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving Warner brother. Aged 86 by the time of his death, he was also the longest lived of all Warner brothers.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Jack Warner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Blvd. He also has a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto, which honors outstanding Canadians from all fields.

According to his World War I draft registration card, he was born August 2, 1889.

See also: Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood

[edit] References

  1. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, p. 18. 
  2. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, pp. 23-24. 
  3. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, pp. 25-26. 
  4. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, p. 29. 
  5. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, p. 49. 
  6. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, p. 50. 
  7. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, p. 54-55. 
  8. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, pp. 55-57. 
  9. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, pp. 65-66. 
  10. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, p. 73. 
  11. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, pp. 100-101. 
  12. ^ Warner, Jack (1964). My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random Books, pp. 180-181. 
  13. ^ Here's Looking at You, Warner Brothers documentary, Turner Classic Movies

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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