Who Am I? June 2019
I was born in Deutschland in the 19th century before German unification. As a young man I was apprenticed out for 3 years in the town of Ichenhausen to learn sales and accounting. My older brother had already emigrated to the U.S. when my dad bought me passage to the ‘goldene medina’ as a present for my 17th birthday. I eventually joined my brother who had a good job in Chicago at the Illinois Staatszeitung, a German newspaper. I worked at some low-paying jobs in Chicago.
Finally, when my English improved, I landed a good job as a bookkeeper in Oshkosh, WI . I was ambitious and mastered the art of promoting my boss’ business with catalogues, promotions and window displays. That skill was to serve me well in later life. I thought about opening retail chains myself in the Chicago area but one day, by chance, I saw a lot of people entering nickelodeons and so, I entered one myself to see what it was all about. I decided then and there I would try my luck in that field. I used my savings to open up a couple of my own nickelodeons and got into the business of film exchanges. Eventually, I became one of the largest film distributors in the nation.
I moved to NYC and began fighting many legal battles against “the Trust” which demanded excessive royalties from all the independents like me. In 1909 I started producing multi-reel films in Fort Lee, N.J. In 1913 I was executive producer of a film, shot in Fort Lee, dealing with the issue of white slavery. It was promoted as a “powerful photo-drama of today” wherein two Swedish female immigrants were enticed by an offer of a legitimate work opportunity and then lured into the world of prostitution. Strangely enough, this film is still relevant in 2019! I am afraid that all that remains of my studio in Fort Lee is a building at Fifth Avenue and Washington Avenue; however, there is a street named for me there should you happen to visit the town to trace the roots of the moving picture industry. To escape having my assets seized by “the Trust” I moved operations out to the San Fernando Valley in CA where I established my studio on 230 acres with 600 sets, 90 stages, a bank and a post office. My studio became well-known for producing monster movies, melodramas and very low-budget westerns.
I was an innovator in promoting my stars by their names and encouraging them to send out autographs and build rapport with the public. Those actions helped sell my films. Likewise, I maintained a large presence at the studio and was an early advocate of “branding” and was the first to offer tours of a movie studio to the public.
I made annual visits to my hometown in Germany and helped rebuild the town after WWI. I returned there as “the rich uncle who had made it in America” and spread money and jobs around. I developed quite a reputation for employing family members from the old country at my studio.
The rise of Nazism in Germany caused me great concern. In the 1930’s I literally signed hundreds of the coveted “affidavits”, paid emigration and immigration fees for prospective refugee candidates and sponsored as many Jews as the government would permit me to do. I appealed to Congressmen, friends, relatives and former employees to help me sponsor even more refugees to escape the hell that was becoming my beloved homeland.
Hollywood has honored me by giving me my own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood Boulevard. That’s me in the photo below.
(1a)Who Am I? (1b)What was my nickname? (1c)Who was my talented movie director nephew? (2a)What was my dad’s name? (2b) What was his source of income? (3a)On what ship and with whom did I sail to the U.S.? (3b)Where did we depart from and we did we land in the U.S.? (4a)What was the title of that 1913 film I produced in Fort Lee that dealt with white slavery? (4b)Name any 2 big stars I employed at my studio. (4c)What ranch did I buy in CA to build my studio on? (5) What film from my studio earned the Academy Award for best motion picture and who won best director for that same film?
