Jack Warner - The Warner Brothers

Jack Leonard "J.L." Warner (August 2, 1892 – September 9, 1978), born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, Canada, of a Polish-Jewish family, was the president and driving force behind the successful development of Warner Brothers Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. His 45-year career exceeded that of any other studio head.[1]
As co-head of production at Warner Bros. Studios, Jack Warner worked with his brother, Sam Warner, to develop the film industry's premier "talking picture". After Sam's death, Jack often clashed with his surviving older brothers, Harry and Albert Warner. He assumed exclusive control of the film production company in the 1950s, when he secretly purchased his brothers' shares in the business – a scheme that left him estranged from some of his closest relatives.[2]
Warner proved an enigmatic figure during his long career. Although he was a staunch Republican, he encouraged film projects that promoted the agenda of the New Deal.[3] Warner speedily grasped the threat posed by European fascism and criticized Nazi Germany well before America's involvement in World War II.[4] During the postwar era, however, he supported an anti-Communist crusade that culminated in the "blacklisting" of Hollywood directors, actors, screenwriters, and technicians.[5] Despite his controversial public image, Warner remained a force in the motion picture industry until his retirement in the late 1960s.

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.[7] The Warner family lived in a "hostile world" where the "night-riding of cossacks, the burning of houses, and the raping of women were part of life's burden for the Jews of the stetl".[8] 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.[9] 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.[8]

After two arduous years in Canada, Benjamin Warner and his family made the long trek back to Baltimore.[10] 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.[11] Benjamin Warner worked with his son, Harry, in the shoe repair shop, until he secured a loan to open a meat counter and grocery store in the city's dowtown area.[12] During this period, two more children were born to Benjamin and Pearl Warner: Sadie in 1895, and Milton in 1896.[13]
Jack Warner, who spent much of his youth in Youngstown, observed in his autobiography that his experiences there molded his 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".[14] Warner claimed that he briefly belonged to a street gang based at Westlake's Crossing, a notorious neighborhood located to just west of the city's downtown area.[15] Meanwhile, he received his first taste of show business in the burgeoning steeltown, singing at local theaters and forming a brief partnership with another aspiring "song-and-dance man".[16] His older brother, Sam, disapproved of these youthful pursuits, however. "Get out front where they pay the actors", Sam Warner advised Jack. "That's where the money is".

Warner Bros Entertainment céget a három fivér (Harry Warner (1881-1958), Albert Warner (1883-1967) és Sam Warner (1887-1927) közül az egyik az elnöki tisztet töltötte be, a többiek a forgalmazásért és a gyártásért feleltek. 1903-ban kezdték meg működésüket, de csak 1925-ben kezdődött a Warners Stúdió szárnyalása, mikor a cég hajlandó volt kockáztatni a hangosfilm technológiájával. A Don Juannal már bemutatták s saját fejlesztésű vitaphone eljárásukat, ami néma film volt, de a kisérőzenét már korongról játszották le. 1918-ban nyitották meg stúdiójuk kapuját a Sunset Boulevardon, Hollywoodban. A Dzsesszénekes és a 1928-ban bemutatott New York fényei korszakalkotó munkáik voltak. Az utóbbi volt az első párbeszédes hangosfilm a világon. A negyvenes években több nagy sztár szerződtetése garantálta a stúdió sikerét. Animációs filmjeik az élvonalba tartoztak. A Tapsi Hapsi és társai még ma is rendkívül népszerű figurák. 1956-ban két Warner fivér eladta cégbeli érdekeltségét egy televíziós társaságnak. A hatvanas évek filmjei közül kasszasikereket a Nem félünk a farkastól és a Bonnie és Clyde jelentettek. 1967-ben Jack Warner értékesítette a még meglévő tulajdonrészét a Seven Arts vállalatnak. Ekkortájt készültek számos sikerfilmjeik, többek között az Ördögűző, majd 1989-ben bemutatták a Batman című filmsorozat első darabját, ami a filmtörténet egyik legnagyobb bevételét hozta meg a stúdió részére. Ugyanebben az évben a Warner fúziónált a Time sajtóbirodalmával, és létrehozták a világ egyik legnagyobb médiavállalkozását a Time Warner Company-t. A Warner Bros. birodalomba beletartozik a Warner Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, WB Television, Warner Home Video, Castle Rock Entertainment, Turner Entertainment, Dark Castle Entertainment, DC Comics, és a Cartoon Network Studios – ami a Hanna-Barbera rajzfilmeken keresztül ismert.