4 Warner Brothers Left Mark in Movies

In 1923, four Polish immigrant brothers--Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack Warner--founded a motion-picture company and forever left their mark on the movie industry.

Warner Bros. blossomed into a movie and television giant, and its studio home since 1929 is a prominent Burbank landmark and tourist attraction.

It was Harry Warner, however, who had set his sights in the 1930s on more idyllic pursuits and locales in the western San Fernando Valley, acquiring 1,200 acres in the area that would eventually become Woodland Hills. He raised thoroughbred racehorses at his Warner Ranch.

Warner built a home on this property at the top of a knoll so he could look out on his developing land. The ranch house still stands on a hill next to Pierce College. Much of the rest of Warner Ranch, however, was purchased by developers and became Warner Center, a 630-acre park-like area of office buildings, retail stores and apartments bounded by Topanga Canyon Boulevard, De Soto Avenue, the Ventura Freeway and Vanowen Avenue.

Born Harry Morris Eichelbaum in 1881 in Krasnosielce, Poland, Harry was the oldest of the four brothers who immigrated to the U.S. in 1887. They eventually changed their name to Warner. One of their earliest ventures was a nickelodeon in New Castle, Pa., which became the first of a chain.

After moving to Hollywood, Warner Bros. secured its place in movie-making history with the 1927 film “The Jazz Singer,” the first “talkie” with synchronized music and dialogue. The studio was beset by troubles in the 1950s, and the family dynasty ended when three brothers sold their interest in the movie-production company, though Jack stayed on. Harry Warner died two years later, in 1958.

The family still retains control over some property adjacent to Warner Center and, in 1989, became embroiled in a battle with area homeowners over plans to build three high-rise office buildings at the corner of Ventura and Topanga Canyon boulevards.

Though the project was approved, it was ultimately dropped and a shopping center put in its place.