A scrapbook documenting Charles W. Koerner's career as head of RKO Pictures in the 1940s. The scrapbook contains letters, a telegram, photographs, programs, a menu, clippings, and ephemera. Some portions of the scrapbook date from before Koerner's time with RKO, including his high school years, and portions are from after his death, possibly compiled by his wife, Vivian.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into one series.
Biographical / Historical:
Koerner (1896-1946) was born in New Orleans to Louis Novinsky and Doris Juanita Jennie Warren. He attended Shattuck Military Academy in Faribault, Minnesota. He enlisted in the Army in Havre Hill, Montana (1917-1918). In 1920 he married his first wife Doris Clark (1897-1926) in Great Falls, Montana. In 1931 he married his second wife, Vivian L. Calvin (b. 1905).
After the war he was a projectionist in Montana and worked as a branch manager for Jensen and Von Herbery, owners of a Pacific Northwest chain of theatres. In 1925 became part owner and general manager of the George Mann circuit of theatres in Northern California. After the sale of the George Man cicrit, Korner became a personal representative to Harold B. Franklin, president of Radio Keith Orpheum Corporation (RKO).
Koerner eventuall y served in positions fro RKO in the SOuthwest, up state New York, and New England and West Coast divisions. In 1931 be became associated with RKO Theatres and was their New England division manager. In 1939, he became general manager of RKO Theatres with offices in New York.
Koerner died in 1946 in Los Angles of acute leukemia.
Sources
Montana, Military Records, 1904-1918. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: FamilySearch, 2019.
"C.W. Koerner, Head of RKO Theatre Circuit Ex-Manager Dies," New York Times (1923-); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 04 Feb 1946: 22
Provenance:
Collection donated by Rebecca Renish, 2017
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
