Charles Koerner

{{Infobox person | name = Charles W. Koerner | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1896|09|10}} | birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1946|02|02|1896|09|10}} | death_place = Hollywood, California, US | other_names = | occupation = Film executive | known_for = }}

'''Charles W. Koerner''' (September 10, 1896 – February 2, 1946) was an American film executive, best known for being executive vice president of production at RKO Radio Pictures from 1942 until his death in 1946.<ref name="Obit">{{cite news|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety161-1946–02#page/n2/mode/1up|title=Picture Industry in Koerner Tribute; RKO Veepee Dies in Hollywood At 49|work=Variety|date=February 6, 1946|page=4}}</ref>

Koerner is best remembered for firing Orson Welles from RKO. However, he was a highly successful executive, helping RKO turn around its financial performance from the George J. Schaefer regime.<ref name="uni">Richard B. Jewell, ''Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures'', Uni of California, 2016</ref><ref name="atom">{{cite news|title=Atomic Medicine|newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner|date=16 June 1946|page=4|first=Robert D.|last=Potter|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/458944245/?terms=%22Name%20Age%20and%20Occupation%22%20%22pare%20lorentz%22%20rko}} (subscription required)</ref>

==Biography== Born to a Jewish family<ref name=Shtetl>{{cite book|url=http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=purduepress_previews|first=Vincent|last=Brook|title=From Shtetl to Stardom: Jews and Hollywood: Chapter 1: Still an Empire of Their Own: How Jews Remain Atop a Reinvented Hollywood|pages=17 |publisher=Purdue University Press|date=December 15, 2016|isbn=9781557537638}}</ref> in New Orleans, he worked in theaters after school and went on to attend Shattuck Military Academy.<ref name="Obit"/>

After the academy, he owned and managed a theater in Havre Montana but sold it when he enlisted for World War I.

After returning from the war, he managed several theater chains. He was manager for First National in Portland Oregon but left that organisation in 1926 to join George Mann, who owned picture houses in north California. He worked for a theatre that was sold to Hughes-Franklin in 1931 and Koerner became the personal representative of Harold B. Franklin. Franklin later became the president of RKO's theater division and put Koerner in charge of the theaters in the Southwestern United States.<ref name="Obit"/>

In 1933 Koerner was in charge of RKO's theatres in New England. ''Variety''' said "He gained a reputation for showmanly treatment of vaudeville."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=13 October 1941|title=Fear sky high salaries|url=https://archive.org/details/variety144-1941-10/page/n155/mode/1up?|page=3}}</ref>

In March 1936 he produced a French themed vaudeville show for RKO theatres.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Follies comiques|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety121-1936-03/page/n265/mode/1up?|date=25 March 1936|page=50}}</ref> In 1939 he was appointed in charge of O houses in Los Angeles, Frisco, Denver and Salt Lake.

By 1941 he was head of RKO theatres. ''Variety'' reported "Koerner is known in the vaude trade as an astute Judge of stage talent and a showman in selling It to the best boxoffice advantage."<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|date=13 August 1941|title=More vaud in 1941|page=55|url=https://archive.org/details/variety143-1941-08/page/n109/mode/1up?}}</ref> ===Head of RKO=== Koerner was appointed vice president in charge of production in 1942. It was originally a temporary assignment during executive Joseph Breen's illness, but the job became permanent in May and Koerner was given a free hand over production.<ref>{Richard B. Jewell, ''RKO Radio Pictures: A Titan Is Born'', University of California Press, 2012, p. 238.</ref>

Among Koerner's early actions was terminating the contract between RKO and Welles.<ref>{{cite news|title=WELLES UNIT OUT AT RKO PICTURES: Mercury Productions Asked to Vacate Offices by Charles Koerner, Head of Studio EXECUTIVE SHIFT A FACTOR Dispute Arose After Change in Management -- Official and Attorney Give Views |date=July 2, 1942|work=New York Times|page=25}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=WELLES VERSUS HOLLYWOOD AGAIN: RKO and the Actor Part Ways -- Warners Ready 'Mission to Moscow' |author=THOMAS F. BRADY|date=July 12, 1942|work=New York Times|page=X3}}</ref> (When told the news, Welles famously quipped "Don't worry, boys. We're just passing a bad Koerner."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128358726 |title=Morie Merry-Go-Round Hollywood Presents Soviet Russia. |newspaper=The News |location=Adelaide |date=3 September 1942 |access-date=19 December 2015 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>)

He also ended the contract between RKO and Pare Lorentz<ref>{{cite news|title=ANOTHER COLLISION IN HOLLYWOOD: KO and Mr. Lorentz at Odds on Film Budget -- Other Items|author=THOMAS F BRADY|work= New York Times|date=19 July 1942|page=X3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=PRECEDENTIAL ACTION IN HOLLYWOOD: Pare Lorentz Takes Legal Steps Against a Studio -- Other Random News|author=THOMAS F BRADY|work=New York Times|date=1 Nov 1942|page=X3}}</ref> and wrote off more than $500,000 in story properties including ''Sister Carrie''. According to one obituary, "If he was strong willed in economies, he was daring in constructive effort. His formula was horse sense and harmony. He brought in top-ranking directors. He got qualified stars and able producers. Yet since he'd come up from the ranks, he staged in the ranks."<ref name="atom"/>

Koerner declared "I believe that probably the greatest attribute we can bring to the Organisation is one of good common sense, and frankly that seems to be at something of a premium in Hollywood. It is going to take us a solid six to eight months to get rid of the choking commitments we have at this time... Our production forces will be levelling off at only one major target, the exhibitor, and through the exhibitor, the public."<ref name="callow">{{cite book|first=Simon|last=Callow|title=Hello Americans|page=148|year=2006}}</ref>

Koerner's motto was "showmanship instead of genius" and among the other contracts he terminated were ones with OGabriel Pascal and Jed Harris.<ref name="callow"/>

By the end of 1942 RKO showed a profit for the first time in five years.<ref>{{cite news|title=HOLLYWOOD IN REVIEW: A Summary of Outstanding Developments In the Film Industry During the Year |author=THOMAS F BRADY|work= New York Times|date=27 Dec 1942|page=X3}}</ref>

Among his most notable achievements were hiring Val Lewton.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://brightlightsfilm.com/darkness-darkness-films-val-lewton-looking-back-b-movie-master/|title = Darkness, Darkness: The Films of Val Lewton: Looking Back at a B-Movie Master|date = 14 March 2021}}</ref> He had successes with films from director Edward Dmytryk such as ''Hitler's Children'', ''Murder, My Sweet'', and ''Back to Bataan''. He also encouraged a steady supply of lower-budget "B" features, series, and westerns, arranging for the "B" product to support the major features, and thus guaranteeing that theaters would be presenting ready-made, all-RKO programming. Koerner made larger budgeted pictures such as ''The Spanish Main'' and more prestigious films like ''None but the Lonely Heart''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=RKO on the Upbeat, First Quarter Earnings May Exceed $2,000,000|magazine=Variety|date=10 March 1943|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1943-03-10_149_13/page/5/mode/1up?|page=5}}</ref>

Koerner let Lucille Ball leave the studio. Ball later said "“Charlie Koerner wished me luck else¬ where, but I didn’t want to leave. They almost had to carry me out. They could have put me in D pictures and I wouldn’t have cared, so long as I kept on working."<ref>{{cite book|page=195|title= Lucy & Desi : the legendary love story of television's most famous couple|last=Harris|first= Warren G |year=1992}}</ref> He signed Frank Sinatra to RKO and the singer made his first two films there. Koerner suggested Dick Powell for the lead in ''Murder My Sweet'' which revitalised Powell's career. He signed Harriet Parsons to a producing contract.

Koerner supported Thomas Dewey in the 1944 United States presidential election.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QfHXAAAAQBAJ&q=koerner | title=When Hollywood Was Right: How Movie Stars, Studio Moguls, and Big Business Remade American Politics| isbn=9781107650282| last1=Critchlow| first1=Donald T.| date=2013-10-21}}</ref>

Koerner brought the story of ''It's a Wonderful Life'' for Frank Capra, who made it through Liberty Films. Among the projects Koerner initiated that were released after his death were ''Sister Kenny'' and ''I Remember Mama''. ===Illness and death=== Koerner thought he was in good health until he felt a twinge in a foot. Then glands in his neck started to swell. His doctors did tests and discovered leukemia. His wife and doctors decided not to tell him.<ref name="atom"/> He died on February 2, 1946.<ref name="Obit"/>

Koerner was temporarily replaced by Peter Rathvon before being permanently replaced by Dore Schary.<ref>{{cite news|title=DORE SCHARY HEAD OF RKO PRODUCTION: Film Industry Veteran of 14 Years Replaces Late Charles Koerner as Studio Chief|work=New York Times|date=2 Jan 1947|page=23}}</ref>

===Tributes=== Jean Renoir 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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wellesnet.com/jean-renoir-and-orson-welles-bad-previews-at-rko/|title = JEAN RENOIR and ORSON WELLES: Bad previews at RKO|date = 19 September 2008}}</ref>

Edward Dmytryk called him "the best executive I have ever known. He made decisions quickly and firmly, he could be convinced, and he had the one truly great executive talent — once he delegated authority, he never interfered. Also, like all truly competent executives I have known, he always seemed to have plenty of time. Whenever I called his secretary with a request to see Koerner, the answer was either 'Come right up' or 'He’s got someone with him — can you come up in fifteen minutes?' How rare that is."<ref>{{cite book|page=58|url=https://archive.org/details/itshelloflifebu00dmyt/page/58/mode/1up?q=koerner|first=Edward|last=Dmytryk|year=1978|title=It's a hell of a life, but not a bad living}}</ref>

==Personal life== In December 1926 his wife Dorothy died. His widow, Vivian C. Koerner, married Rodney Pantages in 1953.

==Notable films under Koerner's regime== *''Cat People'' (1942) *''I Walked with a Zombie'' (1943) *''Murder, My Sweet'' (1944) *''Bells of St. Mary's'' (1945) *''The Enchanted Cottage'' (1945)

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koerner, Charles}} Category:Film producers from Louisiana Category:American Jews Category:1946 deaths Category:1896 births Category:Deaths from leukemia in California