Jacob Cohn (October 27, 1889 – December 8, 1956) was an American film producer and executive, who was the co-founder of Columbia Pictures Corporation.

Early life

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

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. 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'' (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 Brandt was born ...

and went on to found

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. 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'' (1922). Following its success, they opened their own

film exchange A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

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. Jack became executive vice-president, heading the distribution organization that included Nathan B. Spingold and Abe Schneider (father of

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). 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) founded

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. ''Screen Gems'' has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the de ...

, 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 ...

on December 8, 1956.

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 people 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