Harry Warner

Harry Warner, born Hirsz Mojzesz Wonsal in 1881 in the Polish village of Krasnosielc, was an American film studio executive and one of the four Warner brothers who founded Warner Bros. His family emigrated to Baltimore in 1889, and he worked in shoe repair, a bicycle shop and meat sales in Ohio before joining his brothers in their film exhibition business in 1905. The brothers moved from theaters to film exchanges and then to production, selling their first business in 1910 and starting Warner Features. After opening a Hollywood studio in 1918, they incorporated Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. on April 4, 1923. Harry became its president, with Albert as treasurer and Sam and Jack heading production, and he held the presidency until 1956, when Jack organized a syndicate that bought most of the company stock. He died in 1958.