Harry Cohn (cont'd)

Because of Harry’s characteristic bluster and dominance over his studio and his staff, much of Columbia’s lore is about him. He was both disliked and loved, and ran the studio with an iron hand. His offices were equipped with listening devices that were hidden predominantly in the writers building so he could hear what his writers were discussing; since he hand-picked the writers himself, he wanted to make sure they were working on projects that he initiated. He partnered with his brother Jack for most of their lives but would argue with him about the studio and the films they made. A typical story involving Harry and Jack arguing about a studio policy issue was relayed by a secretary seated outside of Harry Cohn’s office: “Harry and Jack were arguing and their voices were getting louder and louder until they sounded like they were physically fighting each other. Every day at that time an ice cream truck would stop in front of the studio on Gower Street to service the employees in the administration building. When the truck stopped, Harry and Jack also stopped their fight. Harry would politely ask Jack what kind of ice cream he wanted and Harry would drop the money out of the second story window to the ice cream man below and someone from the entrance office would bring the ice creams up to Cohn’s office and the two brothers would have a quiet time eating their ice cream and talk about the family or sports. After they were finished, they would begin to fight again as if there were no interruption.” But Harry had a softer side as well, and rewarded those who were loyal to the studio and did their job well.

Harry Cohn passed away just before the Academy Awards® ceremony in February 1958, three years after his brother Jack. Over 2,000 people attended his funeral held on Stages 12 and 14 of the Columbia lot at Sunset and Gower. The Columbia Lady logo was draped near the casket. Although one of the most controversial of the Hollywood studio moguls, even Harry’s detractors couldn’t help but acknowledge his success, prompting the now famous quote by comedian Red Skelton at Harry’s funeral, “It proves what Harry always said, ‘Give the public what they want and they’ll come out for it.’