Jack M. Warner
American film producer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jack Milton Warner (March 27, 1916 – April 1, 1995) was an American film producer and son of Hollywood movie mogul Jack L. Warner.
Jack M. Warner | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 27, 1916 |
| Died | April 1, 1995 (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Spouse |
Barbara Richman
(m. 1948; div. 1972) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Joy Page (step sister) |
Early life
Jack M. Warner was born on March 27, 1916, the only child of Irma C. (née Salomon) and Jack L. Warner.[1][2][3] His father co-founded the film studio Warner Bros. Pictures with his brothers Harry Warner, Albert Warner, and Sam Warner.[2][4] According to the federal census of 1930, Jack—then 14 years old—lived with his mother and father in "Beverly Hills City", California, along with five live-in servants, who performed the daily duties of butler, housekeeper, cook, "Ladies Maid", and chauffeur.[1] His family was Jewish.
Career
After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1938, Warner worked at Warner Bros.'s Burbank studio in the company's short-subject department.[5] His experience in that position was later applied during his military service in World War II, when he helped to produce training films for the United States Army.[5] Following the war he returned to Warner Bros., joined its distribution company, and later became a producer.[2] Among the early films he produced were The Hasty Heart (1949), starring Richard Todd and Ronald Reagan, The Admiral Was a Lady, and The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950) starring Lee J. Cobb and Jane Wyatt.[2] Warner had also been in charge of Sunset Productions, a television production and licensing subsidiary of Warner Bros.[6] that later became "Warner Bros. TV Commercial and Industrial Films"[7] and even later was merged into Warner Bros. Cartoons.[8]
In 1958 Warner was dismissed from his position at Warner Bros. by his father.[2] The two had become estranged after the elder Warner divorced his first wife Irma, Jack's mother, in 1935.[2] Jack was never reconciled to his father's new wife Ann Page.[9] The son learned only through announcements in the film industry's trade press that he had lost his job.[2] He later wrote a novel Bijou Dream based loosely on his relationship with his father, who died in 1978.[2]
Jack M. Warner in 1957 appeared as a contestant on You Bet Your Life, a televised quiz show hosted by Groucho Marx.[10] Warner at the time served as president of the Mental Health Foundation of Los Angeles County, California; and he competed on the quiz show to win money, which he intended to contribute to the foundation.[10] Although Warner did not win the "big money" on the show, he did win $250.[10]
Personal life and death
Warner married Connecticut native Barbara Richman in 1948. Together, they had three children.[2] Warner died of cancer of the lymph nodes on April 1, 1995, at age 79 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.[2] His body was interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, California.
