Born in a family of 12 children with
the original last name of Eichelbaum, the brothers emmigrated from
Poland to Canada and then finally settling down in Youngstown, Ohio
and where their name was changed to Warner. Harry, the oldest of the
children wanted to get into the new film industry and recruited 3
of his younger brothers to join him. The four brothers were:
Harry - the oldest of the 12, born
in 1881 in Poland and died in Los Angeles in 1958. Harry was considered
the brains of the family and was the President.
Albert - born in 1882 in Poland and
died in 1967 in Miami Beach where he had retired. Albert was the
Treasurer.
Sam - born in 1887 in Baltimore Maryland
and died in 1927 in Los Angeles. Sam was the Chief Executive of
Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. and known as the 'Father of Talking Pictures'
Jack - born 1892 in Canada and died
in Los Angeles in 1978. Jack was the youngest of the 12 and most
famous of the Brothers. Jack was the studio's Executive in Charge
of Production until 1967 when he lost interest after Alberts death
and sold the studio to Seven Arts.
Wanting to get into the new booming film
industry, the Warner Brothers established a nickelodeon in Newcastle,
Pa. in 1905. They expanded into the film distribution business in
1907 establishing a film exchange in Pennsylvania (as the Duquesne
Film Exchange) and soon in Norfolk, Virginia and Atlanta, Georgia.
Legal problems with Edison forced them to sell out to the Patents
Company. Then in 1913, they moved into film production with Warner
Features.
In 1918, they produced their first full-scale
picture, "My Four Years in Germany," which grossed an amazing
(for that time) $1.5 million.
In 1918 with their success, the Warner
brothers purchased property at 5842 Sunset Boulevard for $25,000,
and the Warner Bros. West Coast Studio was born.
Warner Bros. was incorporated on April
4, 1923 and soon after purchased their first theatre at Youngstown,
Ohio (their hometown).
In 1925, Warner accquired Vitagraph,
Inc. which operated 34 exchanges in the US and Canada as well
as acquiring a few other foreign exchanges. Later in 1925, Warner
purchased the rights for developing sound-on-disc process from Western
Electric at the insistance of Sam Warner. They took the main offices
of Vitagraph and renamed it Vitaphone to use for sound developing.
The first Vitaphone production premiered
August 1926 with the feature Don Juan with full musical and sound
effects track. Success was so overwhelming that they produced 'The
Jazz Singer' for a premiere in October 1927. This was not a full talking
picture, but had musical score with some dialogue at the end of the
film.
In 1927 Sam Warner, who was the driving
force and the one that convinced his brothers to invest in sound,
died on October 5th. This was the DAY BEFORE the premiere of the Jazz
Singer.
In July, 1928, Warner released Lights
of New York which was the first 100% All Talking Picture. It was a
one hour feature that broke all box office records.
The pioneering in sound brought Warner
Bros. to the forefront and inspired expansion in spite of the economic
condition of the country.
Warner acquired the Stanley Company of
America, with had approximately 250 theaters in 1928. That same year,
they also bought First National Pictures which had a 135 acre studio
and back lot as well as exchanges and theaters. Warner also purchased
several music publishing companies to help in production of their
musicals.
In 1952, Warner was forced to divide
the company due to the government's Consent Decree. The theaters were
sold to Fabian Enterprises and the company renamed Stanley Warner
Corporation. The production-distribution company remained as Warner
Bros. Pictures Inc.
In 1956, Harry and Albert retired. They
sold their shares to an investment group headed by Serge Semenenko
and Charles Allen Jr. Jack retained his shares, remaining as the largest
single stockholder and becoming President of the company. During the
restructure, United Artists purchased the pre-1948 Warner film library
which consisted of approximately 850 features and 1000 shorts.
Harry Warner died in 1958.
Albert died in early 1967, leaving Jack
as the only surviving brother. After the death of Albert, Jack lost
interest in the studio and decided to retire. On July 15, 1967, a
subsidiary of Seven Arts Production, a Canadian company, acquired
Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. and changed the name to Warner Bros.-Seven
Arts Limited.
On July 8, 1969, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
was acquired by Kinney National Service, Inc. headed by Steven J.
Ross. The name was changed to Warner Communications Inc. in 1971.
Jack Warner died in 1978.
In the 1980's they purchased the Samuel
Goldwyn Studios and in 1988, they acquired Lorimar Studios.
In 1989, Warner Communications merged
with Time, Inc. in an $18 Billion merger that created one of the largest
communications and entertainment companies in the world. That same
year, they also regained full control of it's Burbank Studio when
it reacquired 35% interest that was owned by Columbia Pictures. This
was done as a result of a settlement of a lawsuit WB filed against
Sony Corp., who was the new owner of Columbia, over a 5 year contract
WB held with the Jon Peters and Peter Guber production company. To
free the 2 producers from their commitment to WB, Sony made the settlement.
In addition to acquiring the Columbia stake in the Warner lot, WB
received a 50% interest in the CBS Record Club, which Sony owns, and
the right to distribute Columbia's films and made-for -TV films for
10 years.
Warner Bros. continues to grow and prosper.
