Ann Warner; Widow of Hollywood Movie Mogul
Ann Warner, widow of Hollywood founding father Jack L. Warner, has died after a long illness. She reportedly was 82.
Mrs. Warner died at 5:20 a.m. Thursday at Cedars Sinai Hospital, hospital spokesman Ron Wise said Friday. Richard Gully, former special assistant to the late movie mogul, said Ann Warner had been hospitalized intermittently since Christmas for treatment of diabetes and a heart condition.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. March 12, 1990 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Monday March 12, 1990 Home Edition Part A Page 3 Column 1 Metro Desk 1 inches; 30 words Type of Material: Correction
Photo error--Because of an error in caption information, The Times on Saturday inadvertently published the wrong picture with its obituary of Mrs. Ann Warner, the widow of Jack Warner, the film studio founder.
Ann Page Alvarado, who moved from New Orleans to Los Angeles to become an actress, first married actor Don Alvarado. After divorcing him, she became Warner’s second wife on Jan. 10, 1936, in Armonk Village, N.Y.
The co-founder of the Warner Brothers studio and maker of the first talking film, “The Jazz Singer,” had formerly been married to Irma Rogell Warner. She divorced him in 1935 after 20 years of marriage.
Ann Warner separated from her husband briefly in 1941, and the break was widely discussed by Hollywood gossip columnists. The couple issued a terse announcement through lawyers, stating that they had “separated because of incompatibility.”
But they never filed for divorce, and were reunited after a few months. Gully said the couple remained devoted to each other until Jack Warner’s death in 1978 at the age of 86.
Ann Warner, noted for her beauty and taste, was among the 10 best-dressed women named by the Mannequins of Assistance League in 1972. According to Gully, she financed the start of couturier Pierre Balmain’s fashion house and supported him by wearing his designs.
She was always very secretive about her age. Gully said he once tried to sneak a look at her passport out of curiosity during a trip to Europe, but that she hid it from him. He said the family believes she was “in her late 70s” at the time of her death; other sources place her age at 82.
Mrs. Warner leaves a daughter, Barbara.
Gully said services will be private and the body will be cremated, at Mrs. Warner’s request.
He said the family has requested that memorial donations be made to the Diabetes Outpatient Training and Education Center at Cedars Sinai Hospital.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
