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Just when you thought we couldn’t cover a more despicable figure than Louis B. Mayer...we bring you Harry Cohn. Yes, the self-proclaimed lord and master of Columbia Pictures was so low, he makes the other jerks of Old Hollywood look like human beings. Almost. So take a seat, everyone – we’re going to serve some tea!
1891 – 1958
IMDb: Harry Cohn - IMDb
Harry Cohn (that appears to have been his real name) was born in New York City to a working-class Jewish family with 4 sons. Harry was the third. Fun Fact: one of his brothers was named Jack, who was also involved in the early film industry. Harry and Jack, brothers who didn't get along. Where have we heard those names before?? Harry left school early and had a variety of odd jobs, including a pool hustler and a “fence” for stolen furs! Not a lot is known about his childhood, as he never spoke of it to even his closest friends. A lot of the moguls preferred to embellish or hide their past, as they were quite ashamed of being from poor Jewish communities.
Young Harry
As a young adult, Harry was con man, a professional singer, a trolley conductor and a music salesman! The latter was where he hit a great idea. Music publishers of the time used to “plug” new songs at movie theaters by hosting sing-a-longs before the film, usually accompanied by projected slides that went with the song. Harry’s idea? Use actual movies instead of picture slides to accompany the sing-a-longs! Before you know it, Harry (assisted by his brother Jack) sold the idea to Carl Laemmle’s Universal, and became an administrative assistant there. In 1920, the two brothers somehow managed to become partners in a new film company, along with a friend of Jack’s, called C.B.C Film Sales, the letters standing for Cohn, Brandt and Cohn. Jack set up his office in New York, and Harry set up his in California.
Harry’s new office was, in fact, in an area of Old Hollywood known as “Poverty Row”, where the folks with big movie dreams (and very little money) often set up shop. Dozens of small companies came and went in the thrown-together office buildings – and Harry’s office was in fact shared with another low-budget producer. It didn’t take long for his company to be laughingly referred to as “Corned Beef and Cabbage” (CBC).
Well, in 1923, Harry successfully stole the wife (named Rose) of a prominent New York attorney. The attorney graciously granted a divorce and gave her a large settlement. Soon after, Harry married Rose and the money from her divorce settlement funded his new company, Columbia Pictures. It would be 11 years before Columbia Pictures became recognized as more than a cheap, fly-by-night Poverty Row company, but it was a start.
Harry at his desk (1930's)
Harry, by all accounts, enjoyed throwing his power around. To call him a dictator would not only be appropriate, but accurate. He was an ardent fan of Italian dictator Mussolini, and even visited him in Italy once! Upon his return to the U.S., Harry had his office redone to match Mussolini’s, and kept his photograph on his desk for many years. Not only did Harry admire toughness, he apparently admired dictatorship – and it showed in his studio. In later years, Harry had microphones and loudspeakers installed on all of the Columbia soundstages, and he was known to not only eavesdrop, but also to reply directly if he heard something he didn’t like!
Looks like a thug, right?
Unsurprisingly, Harry had ties to organized crime and more than once used their tactics to threaten, harass and scare the people that were interfering with his wishes. Hiring thugs to go out and “rough people up” was not unknown to Harry. He was also known to take complete advantage of his actresses. They were often expected to comply with his "requests" in exchange for work. If they did not go along willingly, he sometimes used force to get what he wanted. Sadly, the actresses largely did not go to the authorities (or to the media) when they were attacked by him. Harry was allegedly the reason actress Jean Arthur gave up acting. Time to use those chorus-girl skills and give him a well-executed kick...you-know-where.
In 1934, Columbia Pictures made a film that would significantly alter their position in Hollywood – a little movie entitled “It Happened One Night”. This enduring feature would win the Academy Award for Best Picture and several other categories, and Columbia (and thus, Harry) would have status from then on. Many hits would follow for the studio.
Goofing around with The Three Stooges (1940's)
Unfortunately, Harry's bad reputation would endure throughout his lengthy and successful career. Not only crude and dictatorial, he was also known for being a bit of a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (according to Moe Howard of The Three Stooges). It was not uncommon for him to scream and curse at his employees during working hours, only to greet them most cordially at a dinner party that evening! YIKES.
According to several close friends and business associates, Harry had been more mellow and forgiving at work in his last years – which showed them that he was on the decline! He had also believed for a long time that he, like the other men in his family, would pass away at the age of 67. In late 1957, “King Cohn”, as he was often referred to by his employees, suffered a heart attack. He'd had an enlarged heart for some time, and his doctor told him to slow down. Something tells us he didn’t...
In early 1958, Harry had another heart attack after taking 6 nitroglycerin pills (his prescription indicated only 1 at a time) and passed away in the ambulance en route to the hospital. He was survived by his second wife, actress Joan Perry, and their 2 sons. He is interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, CA.
While it's easy to oversimplify a "rat" like Harry, it's still important to point out that his climb from a young hoodlum from the street to the head of a successful movie studio is quite impressive. And he apparently knew his business where money was concerned - Columbia always turned a profit when he was in charge. The importance of being a decent human being during one's lifetime, however, cannot be understated! Upon seeing the crowd that turned out for Harry's funeral, comedian Red Skelton is said to have remarked:
"It proves what Harry always said: Give the public what they want and they'll come out for it."
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