Charles Edward Toberman (February 23, 1880 – November 10, 1981) was a real estate developer and stenographer who developed landmarks in

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 Picture ...

, including the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre (branded as TCL Chinese Theatre for naming rights reasons) is a movie palace on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States. The original Chinese ...

El Capitan Theatre El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre) is owned by The Walt Disney Company and serves as the ...

, the Roosevelt Hotel, the

Grauman's Egyptian Theatre Grauman's Egyptian Theatre is a historic movie theater located at 6706 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California. Opened in 1922, it is an early example of a lavish movie palace and is noted as having been the site of the first-ever Hollywood ...

and the

Hollywood Masonic Temple Hollywood Masonic Temple, now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre and also formerly known as Masonic Convention Hall, is a building on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, that was listed on the National Register ...

. Toberman, along with H. J. Whitley has been called 'the Father of Hollywood'.

Biography

Toberman was born on February 23, 1880, in

Seymour, Texas Seymour is a city in and the county seat of Baylor County, Texas, United States. Its population was 2,575 as of the 2020 Census. Geography Seymour is located on the Brazos River. It is southwest of Wichita Falls and north-northeast of Abilene ...

, to Philip and Lucy Ann Toberman; his uncle was Los Angeles mayor James R. Toberman. He attended the

Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, Te ...

for three years and Metropolitan Business College at Dallas for one year. Toberman began his career as a stenographer, working in

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

and

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. Accord ...

, before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

in 1902. He returned to Wichita Falls and ran a hardware store before returning to Los Angeles, where he held a variety of positions including

City Treasurer The municipal treasurer is a position of responsibility for a municipality according to the locally prevailing laws. The treasurer of a public agency is elected Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

. He worked in real estate from 1907 on, incorporating the C.E. Toberman Company in 1912. Mr. Toberman placed fifty-three Hollywood subdivisions on the market, formed more than thirty companies and organizations, built twenty-nine commercial buildings in Hollywood, including the world-famous Chinese Theater and was affiliated with forty-nine clubs, civic, and fraternal organizations up until retirement Toberman managed all of his real estate holdings from his office in the heart of Hollywood. Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Toberman developed many notable buildings and neighborhoods in Hollywood, including notable theatres with showman

Sid Grauman Sidney Patrick Grauman (March 17, 1879 – March 5, 1950) was an American showman who created two of Hollywood's most recognizable and visited landmarks, the Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre. Biography Early years Grauman was the s ...

. In 1924, he built a Spanish-style mansion known as the C.E. Toberman Estate. He co-founded the Black-Foxe Military Institute in 1928. According to a 1990 article in the ''Los Angeles Times,'' Toberman was known as "Mr. Hollywood" and the "Father of Hollywood" because of his development of the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Un ...

Personal life

Toberman married Josephine Washburn Bullock on June 25, 1902. The couple had three children: Jeanette, Homer (died 1992), and Catherine. Charles Toberman died in November 1981.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Toberman, Charles E. 1880 births 1981 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians Businesspeople from Texas Businesspeople from California Real estate and property developers Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Stenographers 20th-century American businesspeople

Biography

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links