{{short description|American philanthropist and real estate inventor (1879–1967)}} {{Infobox person | name = Karl Hoblitzelle | image = Karl Hoblitzelle (1952).jpg | caption = Hoblitzelle in 1952 | birth_name = | birth_date = October 22, 1879 | birth_place = [[St. Louis, Missouri]], U.S. | death_date = March 8, 1967 (aged 87) | death_place = [[Dallas, Texas]], U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = [[Bellefontaine Cemetery]], St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | education = | employer = | occupation = Theater owner, philanthropist | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = [[Esther Walker]] | children = | relatives = [[Samuel Ogle]] <small>(paternal great-grandfather)</small> }} '''Karl Hoblitzelle''' (October 22, 1879 – March 8, 1967) was an American theater owner, real estate investor, and philanthropist. He was the co-founder of the Interstate Theaters Company, a chain of vaudeville theaters (later movie theaters), now a subsidiary of [[The Walt Disney Company]]. He was the first theater owner to add air conditioning to movie theaters in the United States, and the first to add sound in the Southwest. He also helped support the construction of the [[University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center]].
==Early life== Karl Hoblitzelle was born on October 22, 1879, in [[St. Louis, Missouri]].<ref name="lubbockobit">{{cite news|title=Theater Magnate Karl Koblitzelle Dies At Age 87|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/14474240/?terms=%22Karl%2BHoblitzelle%22|accessdate=August 26, 2017|work=Lubbock Avalanche-Journal|date=March 10, 1967|page=76|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=registration }}</ref><ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate">{{cite news|title=Interstate Theaters Celebrate Birthday and Honor Hoblitzelle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=14809485|accessdate=October 24, 2017|work=Amarillo Daily News|date=August 6, 1941|page=11|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{open access}}</ref><ref name="handbookbio">{{cite web|last1=Crain|first1=William H.|title=HOBLITZELLE, KARL ST. JOHN|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fho05|website=[[Handbook of Texas Online]]|publisher=[[Texas State Historical Association]]|accessdate=August 23, 2017}}</ref> His father, Clarence Linden Hoblitzelle, was a veteran of the [[Confederate States Army]] during the [[American Civil War]].<ref name="lubbockobit"/><ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> His mother was Ida Adelaide Knapp.<ref name="handbookbio"/><ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> His maternal grandfather, Colonel George Knapp, was the founder of the ''Missouri Gazette'', later known as the ''Missouri Republican'' and finally the ''[[St. Louis Globe-Democrat]]''.<ref name="lubbockobit"/><ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> He eventually had nine brothers and three sisters.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/>
Hoblitzelle was of Swiss, Austrian and English descent on his paternal side and of Irish, English and French descent on his maternal side.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> His ancestors were settlers who fought in the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> His paternal great-grandfather, [[Samuel Ogle]] was the Governor of Maryland.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/>
Hoblitzelle graduated from high school in St. Louis, but his parents could not afford to send him to college.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/>
==Career== Hoblitzelle began his career working in real estate for his uncle; he worked in a soap factory, and later sold vegetables grown on his family farm as a market trader.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> He subsequently worked at the [[Louisiana Purchase Exposition]] of 1904.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> [[File:Majestic Dallas Exterior.jpg|thumb|right|The Majestic Theater in Dallas, Texas]] Hoblitzelle met Edward McMechin, a businessman who suggested he invest in [[vaudeville]] theaters, in 1904.<ref name="houstonpostheadofvaudeville">{{cite news|title=Hoblitzelle, Head of Vaudeville. He Started in Life as a Truck Farmer But Is Now the Big Figure in One Great Section of the Amusement World|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/94994032/?terms=%22Karl%2BHoblitzelle%22|access-date=October 24, 2017|work=The Houston Post|date=October 3, 1915|page=30|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=registration }}</ref> By 1905, Hoblitzelle and his brother George K. co-founded the Interstate Theaters Company.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> The company operated vaudeville theaters in Texas, although it was headquartered in Missouri.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> It later became a chain of movie theaters.<ref name="lubbockobit"/> One of them was the [[Majestic Theatre (Dallas)|Majestic Theatre]] in Dallas; another was the [[Majestic Theatre (San Antonio)|Majestic Theatre]] in [[San Antonio, Texas|San Antonio]].<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> More theaters were opened in [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]], [[Waco, Texas|Waco]] and [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] as well as [[Shreveport, Louisiana]], [[Birmingham, Alabama]], [[Little Rock, Arkansas]], and [[Wichita, Kansas]].<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/>
Hoblitzelle sold the company to [[RKO Pictures]] in 1930; however, he purchased it again in 1933.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> During World War II, Hoblitzelle worked with the [[United States Army]] to show patriotic films in his theaters.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/> In 1951, Hoblitzelle sold the company to [[American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres|United Paramount]] (later known as [[American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres]], followed by [[Capital Cities/ABC Inc.]], now a subsidiary of [[The Walt Disney Company]]).<ref name="lubbockobit"/> However, he "retained management rights in 165 theaters".<ref name="lubbockobit"/> Hoblitzelle was the first to add sound to movie theaters in the Southwest (1930), and the first in the United States to add [[air conditioning]] (1922).<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/>
Hoblitzelle was also the chairman of Hoblitzelle Properties, a real estate conglomerate, and the Republic National Bank.<ref name="lubbockobit"/>
==Philanthropy and civic activities== Hoblitzelle founded the [[Hoblitzelle Foundation]] in 1942.<ref name="lubbockobit"/> He was the founder of the Texas Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization for the promotion of Texan culture.<ref name="handbookbio"/> He also served on the boards of the Dallas Art Association, the Dallas Symphony Society, and the Dallas Grand Opera Association.<ref name="handbookbio"/> Additionally, he co-founded the Southwestern Medical Foundation, which supported the construction of the [[University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center]] in Dallas.<ref name="handbookbio"/>
Hoblitzelle was the chairman of the [[Hockaday School]], a private academy in Dallas. He also served on the executive committee of [[Southern Methodist University]] in Dallas, on the board of directors of [[Texas Tech University]] in [[Lubbock, Texas|Lubbock]], and on the board of trustees of [[Texas A&M University]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]].<ref name="handbookbio"/> He also made charitable contributions to the [[University of Texas]].<ref name="handbookbio"/>
==Personal life and death== Hoblitzelle married Esther Thomas, later known as [[Esther Walker]], a singer who predeceased him in 1943.<ref name="lubbockobit"/> They resided in Dallas, Texas.<ref name="amarillodailynewsinterstate"/>
Hoblitzelle died on March 8, 1967, in Dallas.<ref name="lubbockobit"/> His funeral was held at the Park Cities Baptist Church, and he was buried in the [[Bellefontaine Cemetery]] in St. Louis.<ref name="lubbockobit"/> By the time of his death, he was worth an estimated $17 million.<ref name="estatetotals">{{cite news|title=Hoblitzelle estate totals $17 million|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/52431000/?terms=%22Karl%2BHoblitzelle%22|accessdate=October 24, 2017|work=The Courier-Gazette|location=McKinney, Texas|date=December 4, 1967|page=6|via=[[Newspapers.com]]|url-access=registration }}</ref> His estate went to the Hoblitzelle Foundation.<ref name="estatetotals"/>
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoblitzelle, Karl}} [[Category:1879 births]] [[Category:1967 deaths]] [[Category:American people of Austrian descent]] [[Category:American people of French descent]] [[Category:American people of Irish descent]] [[Category:American people of Swiss descent]] [[Category:Philanthropists from St. Louis]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Dallas]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Texas]] [[Category:Philanthropists from Texas]]