Charles Koerner (September 10, 1896 – February 2, 1946) was an American film executive, best known for being executive vice president over production at

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

from 1942 to 1946. Koerner is best remembered for firing

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

from RKO. However he was a highly successful executive, helping RKO turn around its financial performance from the George Schaefer regime.Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016

Biography

Born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in New Orleans, he worked in theatres after school and went on to attend Shattuck Military Academy. After the academy, he owned and managed a theatre but sold this when he enlisted for World War I. After returning from war, he managed several theatre chains until one was sold to Hughes-Franklin in 1931 and he became the personal representative of Harold B. Franklin. Franklin later became the president of RKO's theatre division and put Koerner in charge of the theatres in the Southwestern United States. Koerner was appointed vice president in charge of RKO's theatres in 1941. He took over from Joseph Breen as general manager of the studio in 1942. Among Koerner's first actions was terminating the contract between RKO and Welles. (When told the news, Welles famously quipped "Don't worry, boys. We're just passing a bad Koerner.") He also ended the contract between RKO and

Pare Lorentz Pare Lorentz (December 11, 1905 – March 4, 1992) was an American filmmaker known for his film work about the New Deal. Born Leonard MacTaggart Lorentz in Clarksburg, West Virginia he was educated at Buckhannon High School, West Virginia Wesl ...

. Koerner's motto was "showmanship instead of genius." By the end of 1942 RKO was in the black for the first time in five years. Among his most notable achievements were hiring

Val Lewton Val Lewton (May 7, 1904 – March 14, 1951) was a Russian-American novelist, film producer and screenwriter best known for a string of low-budget horror films he produced for RKO Pictures in the 1940s. His son, also named Val Lewton, was a pain ...

. Koerner supported

Thomas Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: althou ...

in the

1944 United States presidential election The 1944 United States presidential election was the 40th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 7, 1944. The election took place during World War II. Incumbent Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated ...

. Koerner died on February 2, 1946, from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. He was temporarily replaced by Peter Rathvon before being permanently replaced by

Dore Schary Isadore "Dore" Schary (August 31, 1905 – July 7, 1980) was an American playwright, director, and producer for the stage and a prolific screenwriter and producer of motion pictures. He directed just one feature film, '' Act One'', the film bi ...

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s. His films '' ...

called him "an extraordinary man... I deeply regretted his unfortunate death. Had he not died, I believe I should have made twenty films for RKO. I would have worked all my life at RKO. He was a man who knew the business and the exploitation of the cinema, but at the same time conceded that one must experiment." He is portrayed by Brian Howe in the film

Being the Ricardos ''Being the Ricardos'' is a 2021 American biographical drama film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, about the relationship between ''I Love Lucy'' stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as Ball and Arnaz, wh ...

Notable films under Koerner's regime

*'' Cat People'' (1942) *''

I Walked with a Zombie ''I Walked with a Zombie'' is a 1943 American horror film directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Val Lewton for RKO Pictures. It stars James Ellison, Frances Dee, and Tom Conway, and follows a Canadian nurse who travels to care for th ...

'' (1943) *''

Murder, My Sweet ''Murder, My Sweet'' (released as ''Farewell, My Lovely'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1944 American film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley (in her final film before retirement). The film ...

'' (1944) *'' Bells of St Mary's'' (1945) *'' The Enchanted Cottage'' (1945)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koerner, Charles American film producers American Jews 1946 deaths 1896 births Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in California