#WARNERBROS...  Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Looney Toons, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, and Road Runner..are just a few birthed by Warner.  This may be pushing buttons, but I am fairly sure if any of the brothers were still running things...the brakes would have been pulled on this one long before it had started.  

 

Warner Bros. were comprised of four Jewish brothers out of a 12 sibling clan: Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner  

 

In terms of their birth names, Harry was born “Hirsz,” Albert was “Aaron,” Sam was “Szmul,” and Jack was “Itzhak"...all children of Benjamin and Pearl Leah Eichelbaum.

The family Warner, (Originally of the Eichelbaum name), immigrated in the late 1800's from Poland with dreams of making a better life for themself, and their three children at the time, Harry & Albert (who were 2 of the 4), and Anna.  

 

Upon the father, Benjamin's, arriving in New York, he introduced himself as "Benjamin Warner", and the surname "Warner" stuck with him, and the family from then on. So in essence - it coulda been the Eichelbaum Brothers.. 

 

In all, the family grew to include 12 siblings comprised of brothers, and 'yes', there were some Warner Sisters in the bunch.  Benjamin and the family relocated to America in 1896, on the SS Hermann, and settled in Youngstown, Ohio.  The family was hard working...VERY hard working.  Harry would later speak of "learning the value of a dollar early in life."  He would go out & shine shoes each day..  He knew he had to shine so many to earn enough to eat.. Being the 'eldest' brother - he said he knew the younger brothers would eat before he - if he didn't bring enough money home.. This was common in Jewish culture..

 

It was while in Ohio, Sam had come across an Edison Kinetoscope Projector in an old garage.  He was mystified by it and learned how to operate the primitive projector.

 

After introducing the new found addiction to brother Harry, who was just as mystified, both brothers traveled to Chicago where they conducted a screening to fascinated audiences at Chicago's White City Park, and charged to see it to a packed crowd.  It was at this point the brothers were convinced that there was a real future in movies, and people would pay to see them.  The brothers convinced his father to pawn a watch, and his horse, for a new projector and a copy of Edwin S. Porter's The Great Train Robbery. KNOWING it was ALL on the line - for the horse their father pawned, was the horse that carried the meat, (their father was a farmer & butcher), into town to sell.. They then rented out an empty storefront in nearby Niles, Ohio - and enlisted the other brothers, in the new business venture.

To say people went nuts for this new phenomenon would be an understatement.  They played a short film to sold out crowds - and used brother Jack to sing after the show - while one crowd transitioned to the next. According to Harry.. 'It worked very well.. Jack was a HORRIBLE singer & the crowds cleared out rather quickly!!'

 

After seeing the proven demand for this new phenomenon, Harry suggested the brothers start making their own films.  The brothers moved to the west coast, and Warner Bros. Pictures was born!!  Their first successful film being 'My Four Years in Germany' in 1918.  

 

Now meet thy brothers behind the brand... ALSO check out the interview I did with Harry's granddaughter, Cass Warner.. For a more IN DEPTH COMPREHENSIVE history of & on the Brothers Warner..

​

The Warner principle: "to educate, entertain, and enlighten."

​

​

It is with GREAT pride, preciseness, and prejudice I write on Harry Warner. He is among my favorite of all the Hollywood moguls! With that said, here is his story. Not only did he have imaginative, creativeness, and a 'no limit on production' to Warner Bros. success ... he managed to stay down to earth, a great family man, and good hearted!! Here is his story click here to see his full story..

​

​

Albert "Abe" Warner was born July 23, 1884, in Poland.  He immigrated here with his mother, sister Ana, and brother Harry.  From the start, it was clear Albert had a mind for business.  He could crunch very large numbers from an early age.  Albert could well be called the shy, or silent one of the brothers.  Always as gentle natured as Harry, In 1905, gentle but a giant when need be.  Albert hit the ground running with his brothers to form Warner Brothers Pictures. He was the trustee of Warner.  He would also attend functions in the name of/or representing Warner.  Such a function happened in November of 1947.  Read his story in full.

​​
Sam Warner, the father of talking pictures, was born August 10, 1885, in Baltimore, Maryland.  From a very young age Sam could be seen as a visionary entertainer.  As a kid he work sketch comedy and perform it for his family.  As a teenager he took a job as a carnival barker and discovered in an old abandoned building, a Kinetoscope projector.  Sam learned how to operate it, and anxiously introduced it to brothers Abe and Harry.  They, like Sam, were facinated by it and the legend began.. Read Sam's full story.
 

 

Jack Warner was born in Ontario, Canada, August 2, 1892.  As a youth in Youngstown, Ohio, he would try to emulate his brothers.  He joined a gang, and tried unsuccessfully singing at local theaters and forming a brief business partnership with another aspiring "song-and-dance man".  He was...according to some, a man without a lick of talent.  Of course...according to Jack - the critics wouldn't know talent if it bit them on the ass!!  (**ON A SIDE NOTE..I do have to agree with him there!)  To his credit, he did have a rather mild success in the local circuit of Yongstown as a lounge singer.. however when his brothers jumped into the film industry... Jack quit singing and joined them.Read Jack's full story.