Harry Cohn, Joe Brandt and Jack Cohn had a vision, and built that vision....thier way! Their vision came in the form of a studio in which they named CBC Sales Film Corporation. The CBC in thier name stood for the initial to each of there last names, however some film industry insiders joked the initials CBC stood for "Corned Beef and Cabbage" because of the fact that Columbia started out as one of the so-called "Poverty Row" studios of Hollywood's Gower Street. The studio was known for making low-budget westerns, B-movies and serials. Gradually, however, Columbia built up its reputation with a number of high-profile films. In 1924 in an effort to strengthen its brand, the studio renamed itself to Columbia Pictures, which was considered to be a more upscale brand. The critics hadnt seen anything yet .....
Harry Cohn was born July 23rd, 1891, the first son of an immigrant Polish-Jewish tailor, Cohn quit school at age 14 and worked at sundry jobs before becoming a vaudeville singer and song plugger. His motion picture career began in 1913, when he worked as a secretary for a film distributor. In 1918 he became personal secretary to (my favorite Hollywood innovater) film pioneer and founder of Universal, Carl Laemmle . He was notorious for his ruthlessness and vulgarity. He ruled his studio like a despot, spying on employees through informers and a hidden-microphone system, hiring and firing at will, courting the strong and humiliating the weak. Harry was personally responsible for the development of many stars, notably Rita Hayworth, but clashed frequently with his stars, directors, and writers. He was known as "Harry the Horror" until Ben Hecht gave him the nickname that stuck, "White Fang." He lived in the heart of Los Angeles, and today is availible for filming your movie! On top of being co-founder of Columbia Pictures, he was also president up until his death Febuary 27, 1958 of a heart attack. See his grave here! He was quoted as saying once, "If I wasn't the head of a studio, who would talk to me?" Harry was probably the most feared and hated man in Hollywood, but even his enemies acknowledged his uncanny sense of what made a picture successful and also his ability to run a studio effectively and profitably. In all his years as president of Columbia, he never ended a production year in the red. Red Skeleton reportedly commented at his funeral, upon seeing the large number of people turn out: "Give the people what they want and they'll turn out for it." Harry was 67.
Joe Brandt was Harry's brother, grew up together (obviously), and faught constantly, especially when Columbia was formed, for dominant power. Throughout his career as production head in New York's Columbia, he was engaged in a power struggle with his brother Harry, who ran the company's studio headquarters in Los Angeles. Their battles were so intense that for many months they spoke to each other only through intermediaries. In 1932, Harry successfully avoided Jack's attempt to oust him and from then on solidified his position as the real boss of Columbia. He died in New York on December 8, 1956. Click here to see his gave!
Joe Brandt was born July 20, 1882, in Troy, New York. He had been the writer for three films prior to his co-founding Columbia in 1920, and worked for Universal Pictures with Harry and Jack. After co-founding Columbia, Brandt stayed in the New York headquarters to run the company's administration and sales. He died Febuary 22, 1939 in Beverly Hills, CA.
The company really began to rocket in the early 30's, thanks in part to great directors like Frank Capra, who made a majority of his films at the studio. The critical acclaim and popularity of Capra's 1933 It Happened One Night (the first film to win all five major Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay) solidified Columbia's position as a major studio. Among Capra's other films at Columbia included You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, and the original 1937 Lost Horizon (which Columbia itself remade as a critically excoriated musical 36 years later).
Columbia was also home to The Three Stooges, which was in a series of 180 short subjects made during a period from the 1930s through the 1950s.
Coca Cola bought Columbia in 1982, and in 1984, Columbia would merge with CBS, and HBO to form a film company called NOVA. Each company would share the cost of making a film. Columbia was changed to Tri-Star Pictures, and Coca-Cola eventually bought the two thirds of the company it didn't already own. Throughout the rest of the eighties and early 90's, Tri-Star made it's mark on the entertainment industry. Five years later, under pressure from shareholders to focus on its core product, Coca-Cola abandoned the volatility of the film business and sold its entertainment holdings to Sony in 1989. As of 2004, the Columbia Pictures brand is part of Sony Pictures Entertainment and was renamed Columbia Tri Star. |
