Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Charles W. Koerner RKO Studios Scrapbook

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.1432
Creators:
Koerner, Charles W., 1896-1946
Dates:
1923-1953
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.25 Cubic feet
1 box
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
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

Arrangement
The collection is arranged into one series.

Biographical / Historical

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

Administration

Author
NMAH Staff
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Rebecca Renish, 2017

Using the Collection

Preferred Citation
Charles W. Koerner RKO Studios Scrapbook, 1923-1953, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
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.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Correspondence -- 1940-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Menus -- 1940-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motion picture industry Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motion pictures Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Motion picture studios -- California -- Hollywood Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs -- Black-and-white photoprints -- 1940-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Programs -- 1940-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Scrapbooks -- 1940-1950 Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Telegrams Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
RKO Pictures. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brunoy, Blanchette, 1915-2005 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu