Who was Harry Warner? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Harry Morris Warner, Hirsz Mojżesz Wonsal

Died At Age: 77

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Rea Levinson

father: Benjamin Warner

mother: Pearl Leah Eichelbaum

siblings: Albert Warner, Anna Warner, David Warner, Fannie Warner, Henry Warner, Jack L Warner, Jack Warner, Milton Warner, Rose Warner, Sadie Warner, Sam Warner

children: Betty Warner, Doris Warner, Lewis Warner

Philanthropists Business People

Died on: December 27, 1958

place of death: Los Angeles, California, United States

Founder/Co-Founder: Warner Bros. Entertainment, Warner Leisure Hotels

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Childhood & Early Life

Harry Morris Warnerwas born Hirsch Moses Wonsal, Dec 12, 1881, near Warsaw, Poland. His father, Benjamin, was a shoemaker, and his mother’s name was Pearl. There were 13 children, though several of them died in childhood. The family immigrated to the U.S. when Harry was 8 years old.

His first venture into the movie business was in 1905, when he sold his bicycle shop and purchased a theater. To furnish the second theater he bought, called the ‘Bijou’, he borrowed chairs from a local undertaker.

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Career

With his brothers Albert, Sam and Jack, he soon owned 15 theatres across Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as a film distribution company. Due to patent laws, the high cost of securing the films persuaded the brothers they’d be better off producing their own movies. They began doing so in 1912.

‘Warner Bros. Pictures’ was established following the success of ‘The Gold Diggers’ in 1923. Around this time, Harry discovered the trained German shepherd who would become ‘Rin Tin Tin’. The dog was the studio’s most valuable asset.

The first talking picture produced by the studio, ‘The Jazz Singer’, was released in 1927. There were only two minutes of speech in the movie, but “talkies” were the new film frontier.

The studio survived the Great Depression by wooing a number of top stars from rival companies. Throughout the 1930s, gangster movies like ‘Little Caesar’ and ‘The Public Enemy’ were its bread and butter.

In 1933, a separate animation unit was created. While Harry and his brothers didn’t actually produce the movies, they released the cartoons to theaters. ‘Merrie Melodies’ and ‘Looney Tunes’ brought enduring fame to ‘Porky Pig’, ‘Sylvester’ and ‘Tweety Bird’, ‘Bugs Bunny’, and ‘Wile E. Coyote’ and ‘Road Runner’.

Contracted actor, for their production house, Paul Muni won ‘Best Actor’ in 1937 Oscar Awards. That same year, ‘The Story of Emile Zola’ won the ‘Oscar for Best Picture’.

During WWII, while releasing war films like ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy’ and ‘This Is the Army’, he spurred audiences to spend $20 million in war bonds. By 1945, his employees had donated 5,200 pints of plasma to the Red Cross.

In 1947, disgusted by the shady business practices of his brother Jack, he began to devote more time to his racehorses. He further withdrew when the studio branched into television.

Major Works

‘Little Caesar’ was one of the first films to spark the interest of audiences in the U.S. criminal justice system. It was released in 1931 and starred Edward G. Robinson.

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Warner was initially criticized for removing the word “Jew” from the script of ‘The Life of Emile Zola,’ 1937. But his decision made the film’s condemnation of prejudice universal, and the movie won the ‘Oscar for Best Picture’.

Released in 1942, ‘Casablanca’ is the tale of two men vying for the same woman. Set against the backdrop of WWII, it is one of best-loved films of all time.

Awards & Achievements

For revolutionizing the film industry, ‘The Jazz Singer’ earned a special Oscar at the first ‘Academy Awards’ ceremony in 1929. Ten years later, Harry was again honored by the Academy, receiving a certificate for patriotic short films.

He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. It’s on the north side of the 6400 block of Hollywood Blvd.

Personal Life & Legacy

Harry was married to Rea Levinson from 1907 until his death. The couple had three children, Lewis, Doris and Betty.

A man of high morals, he was incensed by his brother Jack’s marital infidelities and lack of family loyalty. He was devastated when Jack sold their film library for $21 million in 1956.

After the four siblings sold the studio to a syndicate of investors, Jack underhandedly bought back all his own shares and named himself president. The brothers never spoke again. Rea Warner blamed Jack's treachery for her husband’s eventual stroke and death on July 25, 1958 in Los Angeles.

’Slippery Rock University’ of Pennsylvania holds an annual ‘Harry Warner Film Festival’ in the institution dedicated to his name. It opened in 2004.

Trivia

In the late ‘20s, ‘The Jazz Singer’ and ‘Gold Diggers of Broadway’ succeeded with the new Vidaphone sound technology. Journalists nicknamed him “the godfather of the talking screen”.

This famous film producer insisted that films like ‘The Public Enemy,’ 1931, reinforce that crime never pays. “The motion picture presents right and wrong, as the Bible does,” he once said. “By showing both right and wrong, we teach the right.”

As a teenager, the future film executive was a jack-of-all-trades. His ventures through the early 1900s included a shoe repair shop, meat counter, bicycle shop and bowling alley

Harry Warner Biography