Harry Morris Warner

1881 - 1958

Harry Morris Warner


Warner was born Hirsch Moses "Wonsal" or "Wonskolaser" in Krasnosielc, Poland just outside Warsaw. He was born on December 12th, 1881. At the age of 8 Warner moved with his family to Baltimore, Maryland. His father had moved a few years before the family to establish himself in the shoe repair trade. Life was hard for the family when Warner's father was not able to make a living. The family moved around several times, going to London, Ontario, and Youngstown, Ohio. The members of the family also began anglicizing their names. Warner's father had changed the family name to Warner when he first arrived in the United States. Hirsch became Harry and Moses turned into Morris. This may have also been due to the fact, in the early 20th century there was a large anti semitic movement, particularly in the banking industry.

In 1903, after trying many different trades, Warner and his brothers began buying movie theaters in the Pennsylvania area. They continued to expand their business until 1910 when they sold the business due to pressures from outside companies, specifically Thomas Edison's Motion Picture Patents Company, which charged large distribution fees for their films.

After selling their theaters, the Warner brothers joined forces with an ind‐

ependent film maker and began to produce films. Their first was Dante's Inferno in 1912. The film made a profit, Warner and his brothers were convinced that the way to make money in the film industry was to make their own films.

Harry Morris Warner

The Warner brothers continued to make films until 1923. After the success of their film Gold Diggers, they officially formed Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. Harry was in charge of the studio.

Over the next few years, Warner Brothers Pictures made several films. Harry's younger brother Sam came to him with the idea of syncing sound up with the picture. Harry was reluctant at first and eventually agreed as long as it was the music only, no dialogue. After financial problems hit the studio, Harry eventually relented and agreed to allow dialogue, the first "talkie" went into production, The Jazz Singer. Ironically despite Harry's reluctance to use sound, in later years he was called the Godfather of talkies.

During the Great Depression, the studio was little affected. In fact Warner took the opportunity to increase the company holdings of theaters, particularly in the Northeast. Eventually they owned more than 250 movie theaters. During this time they also got into the radio business, although initially this prove unsuccessful until Warner began buying up record labels and producers.

During World War II, Warner was an anti-axis spokesperson for the movie industry. He also occupied a central place in the Hollywood-Washington wartime propaganda effort. Despite being a lifelong Republican, Warner was close friends with President Franklin Roosevelt and even supported his 1932 campaign in California.

In 1956, the remaining Warner brothers, their brother Sam passed away in the 1920's, decided to sell the studio. It was eventually bought largely by a syndicate headed by a Boston banker. Unknown to

Harry Warner at the time, his brother Jack had arranged with the syndicate to get the studio sold and then bought back controlling shares in the business.

Warner found out about Jack's dealing while reading an article in Variety magazine on May 31, 1956 and collapsed after reading the news. The next day, he checked into Cedars of Lebanon Hospital and doctors told him he had a suffered a minor heart attack the previous day. While at the hospital, Warner also suffered a stroke that impaired his walking ability and forced him to use a cane for the rest of his life. Six days after his stroke, he left the hospital and decided to sell 42 of his thoroughbred racehorses. This subterfuge proved too much for Warner and he and his family never spoke to Jack again; when Jack made a surprise appearance at Harry's San Fernando ranch, to attend Harry's 1957 wedding anniversary to Rea Levinson, nobody in the Warner family attending the event spoke to Jack. All Warner was now dedicated to doing was raising horses.

Shortly after this, when Jack was away one day, Warner made one last visit to the studio to take $6,000,000 (equivalent to about $60,858,130 in 2022) out of his old studio account. He gave $3 million to his wife Rea, and $1.5 million each to his two daughters Doris and Betty. In the meantime, he sold a large portion of the remaining studio stock he had to Semenenko and made sure he would never come near the Burbank studio ever again.

Warner died on July 25, 1958, from a cerebral occlusion. Some people close to Harry, however, believed he died of a broken heart; Harry's wife Rea even stated, after Harry's funeral took place, that "he didn't die, Jack killed him." He left an estate valued at $6,000,000 with 50% bequeathed to his wife and 25% to each of his daughters, Doris and Betty (married to producer Milton Sperling). For his contributions to the motion picture industry, Harry Warner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6441 Hollywood Boulevard.

Warner was a member of Mount Olive Lodge No. 506 in California.