Monday, May 23, 2011

Loyola College, 1917-1928

1917

London, ---World war destroyed the European-based international film distribution system and the world-wide motion picture business re-centered in New York City.

Washinton, --- President Wilson appointed Edward Louis Bernays with Walter Lippman to the US Committee on Public Information.

New York, --- the (William) Fox Film Corporation studios moved to “the coast” buying the Dixon Studios on Western Avenue.

Mutual Film Corp. also owner of the former Reliance-Majestic Studio, operated as distributor for four subsidiary studios in California, Signal Film Corporation, Vogue Films, Inc., Lone Star Film Company and American Film Company. Lone Star Film Company had Charlie Chaplin working at their studio at 1025 Lillian Way.  Shortly J. D. Williams and Thomas Tally form 1st National Pictures signing Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford. Edendale resident and vaudeville star Julian Eltinge signed movie deals in Hollywood now the center of a $30 million industry.  Fatty Arbuckle earned $5000 per week.  Louis B. Mayer joined Lewis J. Selznick at Select Picture Corp.

At SVC, --- the copper magnate story, Higgins and the Little Flower. Instead of Hollywood, suddenly St. Vincent’s moved to Sixteenth Steet in Mid-town.  Name changed to Loyola College.


March

25th

St. Vincent’s College on Venice Blvd. cornerstone laid at Sixteenth Street (Venice Blvd.)

1918

Louis B. Mayer moved to Los Angeles and started a new production company, Louis B. Mayer Pictures Company.  Louis B. Mayer bought the Selig Zoo on Mission in E. L.A and set up a partnership with B. P. Schulberg to form the Mayer-Schulberg Studio.

Otis Art Institute was founded at the former home of Harrison Gray Otis.

March

St. Vincent’s College reincorporated as Loyola College of Arts and Sciences and received charter to confer degrees from the State of California.  The Loyola College Campus Library included the Bishop Thomas J. Conaty Collection of Irish History, a Bollandists set and the Theology, Canon Law and Church Fathers Collections and would open for the next twelve years. Other notable early acquisitions were the St. Joseph’s Library at San Jose’s History of the German People set and the Father Joseph Sasia Collection.  The Loyola Club was formed.

July

Henry Welch, S.J was named 4th President of Loyola College.

November

11th

11am GMT
Peace in Europe, war had ended. 

1919

New York, --- Samuel “Roxy” Rothalfel bought the Capitol Theatre and over the next five years drew over twenty-six million patrons.  Western Electric introduced the loudspeaker opening the sound reinforcement market.  Marcus Loew bought Metro Pictures and shortly after Goldwyn Studios to meet heavy demand from growing theater holdings.

Charlie Chaplin moved on to found United Artists with Mary Pickford, D. W. Griffith, and Douglas Fairbanks.

Mutual Film Corporation ceased production.  Like many other companies established at this time, Mutual was eventually absorbed by larger corporations, in this case Film Booking Offices of America and later RKO Radio Pictures.  After a 53 year absence, MFC distributed the film Tears of Happiness in 1972.

Blessed Sacrament Church on Hollywood Blvd. was bursting at the seams every Sunday and enrollment at the parish school jumped from 17 students in 1915 to 140 in 1919.

At Loyola College, Major Marion P. Vetsal, Inf., US Army formed up a Junior ROTC.  Student membership was mandatory.

The Belmont Shores Radio Club began sending “radio mail” to Catalina Island. The amateur experimenters soon dropped the idea when they discovered they couldn’t lock out eavesdroppers.

Summer

Reverend Cornelius F. Deeney, SJ was named Loyola College Prefect of Studies.

November

General Electric formed Radio Corporation of America in partnership with the United Fruit Company and Edward Bernays to begin broadcasting in Central America.

December

Western Electric’s Jewett and Craft initial sound lab projects were renamed Bell Labs.  Western Electric divided with a Crandall group to work on a sound on film standard system and a Maxfield group for a standard sound-on-disc system.

1920

Paris, --- Zeigfeld showgirl Olive Thomas overdosed.
Washington, --- the US Federal Trade Commission sued Paramount Pictures as unfair.
Chicago, --- Cardinal Mundelein warned of the dangers of Hollywood.

Los Angeles population now in last ten years had doubled to over a half million and passed San Francisco as the largest city in the West.   

Loyola College enrollment had reached 405 and a modern new library designed and furnished by prominent Catholic church architect Thomas Franklin Power was erected.  The school also began The Cinder in the Public’s Eye student newspaper. Prefect of Studies Deeney and attorney Joe Ford met in the Bishops Room to plan a new law school and in the evening convene with Father Welch. Previously Isidore Dockweiler (’87) convinced Deeney of the name of St. Vincent’s for the new school of law in an evening division of the college.

SVC alum Ferde Grofe became pianist and arranger for the Paul Whiteman Band.

 

July

New York, --- AT&T, GE, Westinghouse and RCA cross-license all reproductive electronic sound patents. For these emerging world giants whether sound on disc or sound on film would eventually become standard was immaterial, they now owned any and all patents regardless.

September

Classes begin at the St. Vincent’s School of Law.

1921

New York, --- Western Electric developed the broadcast microphone.

Pittsburg, --- KDKA first commercial radio broadcast.

The Hollywood parish paid $75,000 for land on Sunset Boulevard that is the current home of Blessed Sacrament Church.  Benefiting from a Hollywood real estate boom, the church later sold its existing property on Hollywood Boulevard for $300,000.  The new church and school on Sunset Boulevard were designed by the same Thomas Franklin Power who had designed the last Los Angeles construction in true Gothic style of the new Loyola College.

St. Vincent’s College alum Christy Walsh (’11) befriended the famous yet hapless Babe Ruth and invented a public relations empire as a pioneer sports agent.


January

18th

Ambassador Hotel opened.

June

New York, --- Lee de Forest moved to Germany to develop sound on film system.

September

Fatty Arbuckle scandal

November

Washington, --- AT&T delivered Harding’s speech at Tomb of Unknown Soldier to live audience of 150,000.

New York, --- Roxy installed loudspeakers in his Capital Theater.

1922

New York, --- Wente at Western Electric improved Crandall’s sound on film unit.
Boston, --- Technicolor introduced two-strip color.
Pittsburg, --- KDKA first scheduled radio broadcast.

The Maxfield group improves the disc system.

Future LA Police Chief William Parker began security work at Loew’s State.

Nine year old future crime boss Meyer “Mickey” Cohen held up the box office of the Columbia.

Norman Chandler picked George Cryer to run for mayor.

When the parish needed funds to build a new church in the 1920s, the movie industry, which often used the church as a shooting location, again offered help.  The studios, led by Universal and Keystone, helped by providing actors and equipment for the church's fund raising events.

Loyola College produced the first yearbook, Annual.
Egyptian Theater opened in Hollywood.  

February

RCA began selling ads on WEAF
Warner Bros moved to Los Angeles

1st

Paramount’s Famous Players-Lasky director William Desmond Taylor murdered. Mabel Normand and Mary Miles Minter implicated.

5th

“Hollywood” scandals plague the new industry and movie moguls respond by appointing a “czar” to self-regulate the now largest media companies in the world. Will Hays retires from Harding administration and hired as Movie czar. The nascent motion picture industry is legitimized with the creation of their first trade association, the MPPDA headed by Will Hays. Hays job was to continue to promote world-wide marketing for the Big Eight studios and to do whatever was necessary to prevent any sort of government censorship or regulation, even to go as far as self-censorship. In Los Angeles, the Roaring Twenties studios are in the first throes of mega-earnings.

March

Wallace Reid hospitalized

August

Lee De Forest ready with his variable-density sound on film system.

October

New Haven, ---Edward B. Craft at Western Electric presented a sound on disc film, Audion at Yale.

November

New York, --- Lee De Forest formed the De Forest Phonofilm Corporation and met with Theodore Case.

 

1923

New York, --- Theodore Case Labs continued development of improved microphones, recorders and amplifiers.

Los Angeles produced 25% of the world’s oil.

Thomas Franklin Power designed the Hollywood Parish Blessed Sacrament School in an Italian Renaissance style.

Hollywoodland Tract Realty Co. opened for business.
Good Shepard Church built.
Vista Theater vaudeville hall opened on the site of the Intolerance set.

At Loyola, Peter J. Halpin, SJ was named AAVP., Nicholas P. Bell, SJ, Prefect of Studies and David Daze, SJ (’16) named Dean of Men. The Cinder in the Public’s Eye student newspaper changed name to the Los Angeles Loyolan.


 

March

Lee de Forest demonstrates variable density sound on film system to the press.

Zukor bought the Los Angeles Theater for $2 million.

 

April

De Forest demonstrates at Rivoli Theater
Warner Bros incorporates.

 

May

MacKenzie and Wente sound on film group solves light valve and printing problems.

 

Summer

MacKenzie Wente produce SOF shorts

 

Fall

Western Electric produces experimental sound-on-film shorts.

 

October

1st

Biltmore Hotel opens.

23rd

Loyola College formally adopted the African lion as school mascot. There are those that believe the LMU Lion was adopted because of our association with MGM Studios. The problem is MGM started AFTER this editorial: “A few years ago, some fan or rooter, inspired by the fighting spirit of our lusty Loyolans, gave to our team the name of the Lions”—Loyolan, October 23, 1923

December

Former Loyola president Reverend Ruppert, SJ dies in the Territory of Alaska delivering Christmas gifts for native peoples.

1924

The Beverly Hills Speedway is razed to build the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

W. Joseph Ford named first Dean of St. Vincent’s School of Law.  The law school first class included Dorothy O’Keefe a pioneering woman judge in Los Angeles.

At Loyola future Professor of Political Science George Dunne was elected President of Associated Students.

Lane Gutherie (’28) helped found Alpha Lambda.
Loyola Alumni Ball.

February

In New York, Edward B. Craft at Western Electric presents sound-on-disc movie, Hawthorne at the Hotel Astor.

April

In Washington, DC, Joseph Breen begins columns in prominent Catholic magazines.

Marcus Loew visits Metro-Golydwyn Studios in Culver City and Irving Thalberg leaves Universal Pictures to work for Louis B. Mayer.  Loew’s buys out Goldwyn and MGM Studios starts up on Ince’s old Triangle site on Washington Blvd.

Spring

Western Electric begins licensing and marketing electronic sound.

July

De Forest contracts to film 1924 Presidential campaigners.

August

Fox bought the 450 acre Tom Mix ranch near Beverly Hills for a new California studio.

Case completed studio in upstate New York


11th

With new camera, Case-Sponable filmed President Calvin Coolidge

Fall

Victor and Columbia bought W.E. licenses for e-sound.

September

Bob LaFolette progressive presidential candidate opens at Rivoli

November

W. Hearst begins negotiations with Ince for studio lot in Culver City.
Ince death
Western Electric produces Hawthorne film disc sound system

December

AT & T forms Bell Labs as a separate research division to work on sound development

Warners Bros meets with Waddell Catchings of Goldman, Sachs.

1925

78 rpm phonograph records manufactured.
The Loyola Players stage The Private Secretary.
John Costello (’22) named President of Alumni Association.

President Father Welch plans to sell the old Garvanza campus near Pasadena to finance construction of a new faculty building on the Venice Blvd. campus.

Santa Monica’s Bill Lear invents a car radio and founds Mototola.

AT & T is now the largest corporation in the world. The entertainment dollar is split between motion picture, vaudeville and radio with the movies leading the pack going away. Silent films with live music is a billion dollar industry. industry divided three sectors -ed by dist. Prod. And exhibiton. In Hollywood the production was 3-tired with Famous-Players and Loew’s MGM the Big Two. The Big Two were strong in all three sectors. After that a group of 5, ---Fox, Universal, WB, Film Booking Office and UA. 1st National.

Roxy announces he will build finest in the world, the Roxy in NY.

Catholic writer Joe Breen appointed publicity director for following year’s 28th International Eurcharist Congress in Chicago

Theodore Case and Earl I. Sponable at Case Research Labs in Auburn, New York, with their creation of what would become the Movietone camera, built for the lab by the Wall machine shop in Syracuse, New York from a Bell & Howell camera. Movietone perfected

Fox increases budgets for films, enlarges newsreels division and begins acquiring theaters.

Los Angeles annexed Venice.

February

Warner Bros. acquired pioneer film company Vitagraph.

Spring

Warner Bros get financing from Goldman Sachs

Nathan Levinson, a salesman for Western Electric sells Sam Warner on the new Western Electric system. The brothers start pioneer radio station KFWB with sound equipment by Western Electric.

Jake Zeitlan arrives in Los Angeles from Texas.

May

Loyola’s graduation on the set of MGM’s Ben-Hur in 1925.
Walter Rich signs with Western Electric to sell the system.
Harry Warner impressed with Western Electric system to make musical films.

June

25th

Warner Bros signs agreement with Western Electric experimenting with sound films.

July

Fox gains 1/3 interest in West Coast Theaters

August

 

Fall

Warner Bros greatly expands exhibitor and distribution divisions.

September

Case approaches Western Electric with variable density sound on film system
Warners begins works at Vitagraph studio in Brooklyn

December

Rich proposes to Warners a new sound film company. Otterson stalls plan.
Western Electric’s Craft visits the Case Labs

 

1926

The Shrine Auditorium reopens on Jefferson Blvd.
Mayan Theater opens on Hill.

January:

Future Loyola benefactor, Winfield Sheehan comes to Hollywood to supervise $3 million Fox Film Company’s studio expansion program.
Fox supports experiments of engineer Theodore Case
Fox buys rights to Tri-Ergon sound process for $50,000. 1927?
Courtland Smith approaches G.E. (variable area SOF) to coop in amplification, Sarnoff queers the deal wants RCA to start a sound division for SOF
Smith goes to Western Electric. He is refered to Warners
Unsuccessfully negotiated with Western Electric for it’s Vitaphone

Edward Doheny chairs a fund-raising committee in the Higgins Building’s Los Angeles Archdiocese Office to build a Junior College for the education of young men for priesthood.

Louis P. Egan, SJ named Prefect of Studies.


February

John Otterson became new rep for W.E. and wants to nego. w/ Para and Loews/MGM.
Fox announces Movietone sound reels started at West 54th Street studios. Sound on film not disc. Fox goes into sound newsreels instead with Courtland Smith to adopt this strategy for tech innovation.

March

Joseph Kennedy moves to Hollywood taking over FBO. Later buys KAO (Keith), Pathe and merges to form RKO.
Edward Doheny chairs a fund-raising committee in the Higgins Building’s Los Angeles Archdiocese Office to build a Junior College for the education of young men for priesthood.
Joseph A. Sullivan, S. J. moves from Tacoma, Washington to become 5th President of Loyola College.
De Forest new management
Father Welch goes to Blessed Sacrament Church in Hollywood.


25th

Sullivan plans to sell Pasadena property (Avenue 52?) to finance new construction at the Venice Blvd. campus. Sullivan and J. V. McNeil planned to open the new Ruppert Hall on Venice Blvd Sept. 1.
Suddenly Fr. Sullivan moved to also build out a university of separate colleges at a new campus in the developing district of Westchester on a bluff overlooking the southern California Riveria and pursues the booming motion picture industry.


April

Adolf Zukor’s Paramount Pictures opens Melrose studio.
Joseph Schenck’s MGM –
Rich, W.E. signs agreement with Warner Bros forming Vitaphone Corp.
William Fox’s Fox Film Company

13th

Fr. Sullivan and J. V. McNeil plan to open the new faculty building on Venice Blvd on Sept. 1.

24th

Fr. Sullivan asks Provincial for permission to move forward with a new “Los Angeles University” and leave the high school behind. He wants to move quickly because UC Southern Branch was thinking about taking the name.


28th

Provincial advises that the Father General’s official appointment letter names the institution as Collegium Angelopolitanum, thereby opening the door to naming the school the University of Los Angeles.

May

Senior George H. Dunne graduates and enters the Society of Jesus.

3rd

El Capitan opens.

June

Warners Vitaphone begins gathering musical talent.
Warners begin filming pop vaudeville stars
Warners moves sound studio to Manhattan Opera House.
William Fox views and approves the Case sound on film system for the newsreels division

28th

International Eucharist Congress held in Chicago and American Catholics enter mainstream.
Fox Film Corp and Int’l Newsreel make doc films. Produces a feature doc of the congress and assigned copyrights to Fox-Catholic church. Deal brokered by Martin Quigley

July

23rd

Fox buys the patents for the Case system and forms Fox-Case Corp.to exploit Movietone sound on film system

August

Roxy opens
Warners begin vaudeville shorts
Warner’s Catchings begin nego. with Zukor and Kent

6th

Warners premiere’s Vitaphone. (8) Vitaophone Preludes including Will Hays congratulations. Zukor, Schenk and Fox in audience
Warners releases Don Juan sound on disc film at Warners Theater in New York

September

23rd

De Forest sues Fox-Case Corp. Smith $2 million option on Phonofilm and loses.

October

Los Angeles Times reported that Blessed Sacrament was holding the "biggest bazaar ever held in cinema town, with the co-operation of practically the entire motion-picture industry" to raise funds for the new church. The Times noted that the bazaar was housed under a canvas top, "with gaily decorated booths, gorgeous articles donated by the motion-picture stars, and by wealth persons engaged in other industries." The parish's history reports that the church was so central to the early movie business that the first professional organization for Hollywood's screen writers and actors (precursor to the Writers and Screen Actors Guilds) was formed at the church.
Fox-Case films sound short of Sir Harry Lauder.
Warners Catchings notifies W. E. of deal with Zukor
Warners Vitaphone presents a second set of vaudeville shorts
Roy Pomeroy at Paramount experiments with 6-disc system with auto changer for film Wings
Father Sullivan offered 100 acres of raw land by Harry Culver. Culver makes the same offer to a Lutheran synod.

November

NBC first coast to coast broadcast

8th

Father Provincial approves Culver’s 100 acre gift to Loyola.
Fox’s Eucharist Congress premieres in NY at Al Jolson’s Theater in New York. Samuel (“Roxy”) Rothafel, Will Hay, Winnie Sheehan, Joseph Breen, Martin Quigley in attendance.

23rd

Sullivan wrote Sol Wurtzell, executive at Fox thanking him for furniture donation for the dining hall in the new faculty building on 16th Street.

Warners began wiring theaters for sound.

24th

Zukor agrees to work directly with Western Electric.

Zukor and Schenk (Loew’s) form committee – Paramount, Loews, UA, Universal, Producers Dist. And First Natl

December

Warners re-releases Don Juan as a silent.
Western Electric’s Otterson breaks relations with Warners.
Otterson forms ERPI and Fox signs on.

Warner Bros grants a sublicense to Fox-Case, Fox-Case pays 8% gross to Vitaphone and cross-licenses all patents

Warners has installed nearly hundred theater systems
Hays forms Studio Relations Committee.

Warner Bros begins renegotiating with W. E. - AT & T, GE, Westinghouse and RCA cross-license all electronic sound patents.

the motion picture business had only a quarter of a century come of age. A disparate band of inventors, producers, distributors and exhibitors had grown into monopoly and finally to an oligolopoly of four major companies.

these four major film companies each owned their own distribution networks and theater chains and in the past few years had just upgraded their “Hollywood” studios. Paramount Pictures,

Loew’s/MGM,
Warner Brothers and the
Fox Film Company.
Carl Laemmle moves his studio from New York to Universal City
Western Electric’s Otterson breaks relations with Warners –
Otterson forms ERPI and Fox signs on
Warner Bros grants a sublicense to Fox-Case, Fox-Case pays 8% gross to Vitaphone and cross-licenses all patents
Warners has installed nearly hundred theater systems

1927

S. Charles Lee builds the Tower Theater on Broadway, first LA sound.
Graumanns opens the Chinese.

Roosevelt Hotel opens.

Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford open United Artists Theater on Broadway.
CBS

Japanese Victor Corp. subsidiary of Victor Talking Machines Co.
Isabelle R. Schneiders named University Registrar.
John P. Madden SJ named AAVP.
Lions football meet Gonzaga and Regis colleges at Loyola Field.

Dr. Joseph J. Donovan, SJ named Regent, Prefect of Studies and Professor of Philosophy at the Law School.

Father Sullivan may be credited with establishing the first professional schools on campus although Welch should be noted with the pioneer St. Vincent’s School of Law from 1920. Sullivan’s vision was significant as the new School of Commerce and Finance and School of Engineering would provide the bona fides for the college’s traditional immigrant classes (Basques, Italians, Irish, Philipino, Sonoran Mexicans) entry into the professional worlds of authority.

January

RCA Sarnoff enters with the GE Photophone wide stripe SOF system (includes all w.e. patents)
Fox chain of theaters now include Phila, DC, Brook, NYC, St.l., det, new., milwakee

February

Warners Vitaphone 3rd release and now has music roster and had recorded more than 50 acts

17th

The Big Five Agreement, --- Loew’s (MGM), Universal, 1st Natl, Paramount and UA. will act together in re: sound and postpone action for one year. New committee first considers fox but spooked by 8% rate

24th

Fox-Case demonstrates Movietone system at Fox studio near Times Square.

March

Big 5 begin study of a motion picture sound system standard
Economy sours
Fox orders sound systems installed in top 25 theaters plus the Roxy
Warners installs system at the New York Roxy
But Zukor and Loews think sound is on the way out again.

April

Warners had filmed most of all the top stars
ERPI pays Vitaphone $1.3 million to terminate agreement

30th

At the Roxy, Fox-Case presents 4 min sound of West Point cadets, widely acclaimed

May

New License Agreement and ERPI acquires Vitaphone equip., contracts and Fox-Case sublicense.
Warners moves NY Vitaphone studio operations to new sound stages in Hollywood.
WB begins turning out 5 shorts/week – canned vaudeville.

20th

Fox Movietone at Roxy present Lindberg newsreel in sound

June

Committee decides between RCA Photofilm and W. E. Vitaphone
Otterson begins nego. with Music Publishers Prorttective assn..
Actors Equity moves to organize actors
Producers form Academy.
Fox Movietone presents Lindberg return sound newsreel,

21st

Lasky at Famous Players orders 10% pay cut

28th

Fr. Sullivan writes to Father Provincial that “…Egan will not go to assist Fr. Lord this year…”.

Summer

Fox Movietone sends crews throughout the world recording news shorts and interviews.

Fox expands more theaters

July

29th

Lasky agrees to restore pay if actors join a new actors “union”, ---the Academy.

Fall

The first feature film released using the Fox Movietone system was Sunrise  directed by F. W. Murnau. It was the first professionally produced feature film with an actual sound track. Sound in the film included only music, sound effects, and a very few unsynchronized words.

ERPI installed in only 44 theaters nation-wide.

Roy Pomeroy at Paramount continued to experiment with the 6-disc system with auto changer for the Buddy Rogers hit film Wings and now added RCA loudspeakers. Paramount drops system as too cumbersome.

October

President Father Sullivan offered 100 acres of raw land by Harry Culver.

6th

Warners Jazz Singer opens at Warners in NY

November

Committee meets with Otterson

8th

Father Provincial approval of Culver’s 100 acre gift to Loyola.

23rd

Sullivan writes to Sol Wurtzell, executive at Fox thanking him for furniture donation for the dining hall in the new faculty building on 16th Street.

 

1928

At Loyola, the first Board of Regents forms including Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler, Culver City founder Harry Culver, Isidore Dockweiler (’87), banker Victor Rosetti among others.

Reverend Joseph J. Donovan, SJ begins fifty year career as Regent of the Loyola Law School
The Loyola Players stage The Private Secretary.
Prominent Catholic church architect Thomas Franklin Power bids on new campus.
Robert C. Graham final architect?

January

Otterson signs deal with Victor to make discs.
Warner Brothers Pictures sues ERPI.

1st

Fox signs dozen major vaudeville acts and produces vaudeville sound shorts

February

Otterson ships eq. to Paramount new studio

March

Fox announces 25% of all releases will be Movietoned
Warners release Tenderloin, a part talkie

April

Jazz Singer is a hit and the premier that did NOT employ a stage show and orchestra.

Breen contracted for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair.

May

Warners Catchings begins working on Stanley theaters and Jos. Kennedy’s

Fox announces that ALL releases would now be Movietoned and plans new sound stages in California

Fox plans chain of nation-wide deluxe sound theaters

7th

Fox Film Company Studio Chief Winfield Sheehan turns down Fr. Sullivan’s ask for a promo film.

 

11th


MGM and Paramount sign onto Western Electric system as a standard for movie sound just eight months after debut of first sound movie, the Jazz Singer, the motion picture industry settles on the Western Electric system as a sound on disc standard signing the Recording License Agreement with ERPI.

23rd

Catchings on Stanley board and working on Kennedy, FBO, Keith-Albee. Sarnoff and Kennedy say no and start RKO. RCA acquires Victor?

28th

Groundbreaking for the new Loyola University at Los Angeles in Del Rey.

June

Zukor installs radio station at Hollywood studio
Fox begins construction of first Movietone studio on Pico Blvd.

Summer July

Victor records 24 hours per day for motion picture sound tracks.  In July Victor begins building new studio in Hollywood.

Zukor acquires music publisher.
Warners release the The Lights of NY first complete talker

September

A dinner of Civic-minded men to raise money for Loyola includes
Harry Langdon star from Warner Bros-1st Nat’l, Eastman, Harry Chandler

A broad campaign, the target market for the campaign was everyone living in Los Angeles.

 

13th

Warner-1st deal almost ready. Zukor and Fox try to block the deal.

 

20th

Warners now all-sound features releases the LLoyd Bacon director Singing Fool premiers blockbuster

October

RCA acquires RKO forming Radio Pictures
Fox acquires more theaters

9th

WB acquires 1st Natl for $4.4 million and now became an equal of Paramount, Loew’s and Fox. Warner Bros Pictures announces all further pictures will be talkies.

28th

Five months after Western Electric license agreement, Fox opens a new studio on Pico Blvd. to create Western Electric sound on film movies.

November

Singing Fool became biggest all-time hit show on Broadawy.
December
Sarnoff takes control of RCA-Victor including RKO Radio Pictures to market the Phonofilm sound system.

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