Jacob Cohn (October 27, 1889 – December 8, 1956) was a co-founder of

Columbia Pictures Corporation Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Major film studios, Big Five stud ...

Early life

Cohn was born in New York, the son of Joseph, a tailor from Germany, and Bella, from Russia. He had three brothers, Maxwell (1888–1948),

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

(born 1891), and Nathan (born 1900), and a sister Anna (born 1897). He left school at 13 and joined the Hampton Advertising Agency as an errand boy, where he worked for six years.

Career

In 1908, he became a laboratory assistant at

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

Independent Moving Pictures The Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP) was a motion picture studio and production company founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle. The company was based in New York City, with production facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1912, IMP merged with ...

. He also became involved in editing and printing. He focused on newsreels and became editor and producer of ''Universal Weekly'' and established bureaus in key cities to provide the news. In 1913, he was placed in charge of production at IMP's studio at Tenth Avenue and 59th Street. His younger brother Harry was now also working for IMP and together they made their first film, ''

Traffic in Souls ''Traffic in Souls'' (also released as ''While New York Sleeps'') is a 1913 American silent crime drama film focusing on forced prostitution (white slavery) in the United States. Directed by George Loane Tucker and starring Jane Gail, Ethel G ...

'' (1913). In 1919, the Cohn brothers joined forces with fellow IMP employee

Joe Brandt Joe Brandt (born Joseph Brandenburg July 20, 1882 – February 22, 1939) was an American publicist, screenwriter, editor, film producer, and general manager. He co-founded Columbia Pictures with Harry and Jack Cohn. Biography Joe Brandt was born ...

and went on to found

CBC Film Sales Corporation Cohn-Brandt-Cohn (CBC) Film Sales Corporation (also known as CBC Film Sales or simply CBC) was an American film studio that was founded on June 19, 1918 by brothers Harry and Jack Cohn and their friend and co-worker at Independent Moving Pictures ...

. They started making short films with the '' Screen Snapshots'' series starting in 1920 and made the company's first feature film, ''

More to Be Pitied Than Scorned ''More to Be Pitied Than Scorned'' is a lost 1922 silent film melodrama starring Alice Lake and Rosemary Theby. It was directed by Edward LeSaint and produced by Harry Cohn.film exchange A film exchange was a business in film distribution that rented out movies to theaters. They opened up all over the U.S. to handle film reels during the silent film era. Film exchanges were often a separate business from production. Buildings were ...

s. In 1924, they renamed the company Columbia Pictures. Jack became supervisor of the New York office in charge of sales, while Harry moved to California to oversee the studio operations. Brandt stayed in New York with Jack. He became executive vice-president, heading the distribution organization including

Nathan B. Spingold Nathan Spingold (1886–June 14, 1958) was a motion picture executive and a leading administrator in the game of contract bridge. Biography Born in Chicago, Spingold studied law at the Kent College of Law before becoming a newspaper reporter. He ...

and Abe Schneider (father of

Bert Schneider Berton "Bert" Jerome Schneider (May 5, 1933December 12, 2011) was an American film and television producer. He was responsible for several topical films of the late 1960s and early 1970s, including the road film ''Easy Rider'' (1969), directed ...

). Over the years, there were power struggles between Jack and Harry with the two not speaking to each other for months. In 1932, Jack attempted to oust Harry but failed, with Brandt resigning and selling his third of the company to Harry, who took over as president, consolidating his power.

Personal life

Cohn married Jeanette Lesser and they had three sons: Ralph, Robert and Joseph Curtis. Ralph (1914–1959) who founded

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

, a Columbia subsidiary. Robert worked for Columbia's Paris office and became a production executive in Hollywood. Joseph Curtis died in 1954 at the age of 32. In 1939, Cohn founded the Motion Picture Pioneers, an organization for men who had served in the industry for more than 25 years. The Foundation of the Motion Picture Pioneers provided aid to the members.

Death

Cohn was admitted to the Midtown Hospital in early December 1956 for minor surgery and died of a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an pulmonary artery, artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream (embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include dyspnea, shortness of breath, chest pain p ...

on December 8, 1956. He is interred at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohn, Jack 1889 births 1956 deaths Film producers from New York (state) American film studio executives American film production company founders Columbia Pictures American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of German-Jewish descent Businesspeople from New York City 20th-century American businesspeople Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery