W. W. Hodkinson
Encyclopedia
William Wadsworth Hodkinson (August 16, 1881—June 2, 1971), known more commonly as W. W. Hodkinson, was born in Independence, Kansas
. Known as The Man Who Invented Hollywood, he opened one of the first movie theaters in Ogden, Utah
in 1907 and within just a few years changed the way movies were produced, distributed, and exhibited. He became a leading West Coast film distributor in the early days of motion pictures and in 1914 he founded and became president of the first nation-wide film distributor, Paramount Pictures
Corporation. Hodkinson was also responsible for doodling the mountain that became the Paramount logo
in 1914. He left motion picture business in 1929 to form Hodkinson Aviation Corporation, and later formed the Central American Aviation Corporation and Companía Nacional de Aviación in Guatemala
.
Hodkinson opened one of the first movie theaters in Ogden, Utah
in 1907 and charged five-cents a show. Two-years later, he was charging ten-cents admission and changing films twice weekly. With this successful strategy he was able to buy out his only two competitors as he expanded into Salt Lake City, Utah
. Hodkinson then joined General Film Company
and became one of the leading West Coast film distributors, expanding into Los Angeles
and San Francisco.
On May 8, 1914, Hodkinson merged 11 film rental bureaus to create the first U.S.-wide distributor of feature films, Paramount Pictures
. In addition to gaining a huge efficiency advantage over the previous regional States' Rights and Road Show systems of film distribution, Paramount introduced the concept of block-booking. This meant that exhibitors who wanted a particular movie had to buy a bundled package containing movies from all of the companies that signed exclusive rights agreements with Paramount, including Adolph Zukor
's Famous Players, the Jesse L. Lasky
's Feature Play Company, and others. Hodkinson's plan guaranteed exhibitors a steady supply of features because Paramount would help producers finance and advertise their pictures with advance rentals collected by the exchanges. In return, Paramount charged producers a distribution fee of 35 percent of gross to cover operating costs and profit. The 'Hodkinson System' of film distribution
existed with few changes for almost a century.
Hodkinson first designed the Paramount logo in 1914. Legend has it that he doodled an image of a star-crested mountain on a napkin during a meeting with Adolph Zukor. It was an image he remembered of a mountain peak from his childhood in Ogden, Utah
, almost certainly the 9,712-foot-high Ben Lomond Mountain
.
In 1916, Famous Players-Lasky
formed from the merger of Famous Players Film Company and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. The newly merged film studios acquired Paramount and became the parent company. Zukor soon fired Hodkinson and took over as president of Paramount and added motion-picture production to the company's film distribution business. Following his ouster, Hodkinson sold his Paramount interest to S.A. Lynch, one of Paramount's distribution franchise holders.
Hodkinson soon joined Raymond Pawley to start Superpictures Incorporated in November 1916, and was the producer for the Leon F. Douglass
color feature film Cupid Angling
(1918).
Hodkinson also served as president of the Triangle Distributing Company, the distribution arm of the Triangle Film Corporation. Hodkinson owned Triangle Distributing together with Pawley and his Paramount partner Lynch. After leaving Triangle, Hodkinson formed the W. W. Hodkinson Company, later reorganized as Producers Distributing Company. PDC lasted until 1929 and played an important role during Cecil B. DeMille
's short-lived but ambitious plans as a full-fledged independent filmmaker in the late 1920s.
, to form the Central American Aviation Corporation and Companía Nacional de Aviación in Guatemala. Ultimately, a series of accidents forced Hodkinson and his company out of Guatemala in 1936. Grupo TACA
later acquired Compañia Nacional de Aviación, S.A. of Guatemala.
Independence, Kansas
Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,483.-Geography:...
. Known as The Man Who Invented Hollywood, he opened one of the first movie theaters in Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
in 1907 and within just a few years changed the way movies were produced, distributed, and exhibited. He became a leading West Coast film distributor in the early days of motion pictures and in 1914 he founded and became president of the first nation-wide film distributor, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
Corporation. Hodkinson was also responsible for doodling the mountain that became the Paramount logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
in 1914. He left motion picture business in 1929 to form Hodkinson Aviation Corporation, and later formed the Central American Aviation Corporation and Companía Nacional de Aviación in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
.
Career
As a young man, Hodkinson was a messenger with the Western Union Telegraph Company, and he worked for other companies as a messenger, callboy, telegrapher, and signal operator. In 1902, he was a trick bicycle rider and later became a salesman with I.C.S.Film business
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
in 1907 and charged five-cents a show. Two-years later, he was charging ten-cents admission and changing films twice weekly. With this successful strategy he was able to buy out his only two competitors as he expanded into Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. Hodkinson then joined General Film Company
General Film Company
The General Film Company was a motion picture distribution company in the United States. Between 1909 and 1920, the company distributed almost 12,000 silent era motion pictures....
and became one of the leading West Coast film distributors, expanding into Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and San Francisco.
On May 8, 1914, Hodkinson merged 11 film rental bureaus to create the first U.S.-wide distributor of feature films, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. In addition to gaining a huge efficiency advantage over the previous regional States' Rights and Road Show systems of film distribution, Paramount introduced the concept of block-booking. This meant that exhibitors who wanted a particular movie had to buy a bundled package containing movies from all of the companies that signed exclusive rights agreements with Paramount, including Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor , born Adolph Cukor, was a film mogul and founder of Paramount Pictures.-Early life:...
's Famous Players, the Jesse L. Lasky
Jesse L. Lasky
Jesse Louis Lasky, Sr. was a pioneer Hollywood film producer. He was a key founder of Paramount Pictures with Adolph Zukor, and father of screenwriter Jesse L...
's Feature Play Company, and others. Hodkinson's plan guaranteed exhibitors a steady supply of features because Paramount would help producers finance and advertise their pictures with advance rentals collected by the exchanges. In return, Paramount charged producers a distribution fee of 35 percent of gross to cover operating costs and profit. The 'Hodkinson System' of film distribution
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
existed with few changes for almost a century.
Hodkinson first designed the Paramount logo in 1914. Legend has it that he doodled an image of a star-crested mountain on a napkin during a meeting with Adolph Zukor. It was an image he remembered of a mountain peak from his childhood in Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
, almost certainly the 9,712-foot-high Ben Lomond Mountain
Ben Lomond Mountain (Utah)
Ben Lomond Peak, just north of Ogden, Utah, is probably the most famous of the peaks in the northern portion of the Wasatch Mountains. A popular trail passes over its summit , accessible from four different trailheads to the north, south, and east....
.
In 1916, Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
formed from the merger of Famous Players Film Company and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. The newly merged film studios acquired Paramount and became the parent company. Zukor soon fired Hodkinson and took over as president of Paramount and added motion-picture production to the company's film distribution business. Following his ouster, Hodkinson sold his Paramount interest to S.A. Lynch, one of Paramount's distribution franchise holders.
Hodkinson soon joined Raymond Pawley to start Superpictures Incorporated in November 1916, and was the producer for the Leon F. Douglass
Leon Douglass
Leon Forrest Douglass was an American inventor and co-founder of the Victor Talking Machine Company who registered approximately fifty patents, mostly for film and sound recording techniques.-Life and professional career:...
color feature film Cupid Angling
Cupid Angling
Cupid Angling is a silent film, the fifth feature film photographed in color.The film was produced by Leon F. Douglass's National Color Film Company in the Lake Lagunitas area of Marin County, California, and was made in the Douglass Natural Color process, the only feature film made in this process...
(1918).
Hodkinson also served as president of the Triangle Distributing Company, the distribution arm of the Triangle Film Corporation. Hodkinson owned Triangle Distributing together with Pawley and his Paramount partner Lynch. After leaving Triangle, Hodkinson formed the W. W. Hodkinson Company, later reorganized as Producers Distributing Company. PDC lasted until 1929 and played an important role during Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
's short-lived but ambitious plans as a full-fledged independent filmmaker in the late 1920s.
Commercial aviation
Hodkinson left the motion picture business in 1929 to form an airplane manugacturing concern, Hodkinson Aviation Corporation. Soon thereafter Hodkinson joined with Roderick Burnham, the son of Frederick Russell BurnhamFrederick Russell Burnham
Frederick Russell Burnham, DSO was an American scout and world traveling adventurer known for his service to the British Army in colonial Africa and for teaching woodcraft to Robert Baden-Powell, thus becoming one of the inspirations for the founding of the international Scouting Movement.Burnham...
, to form the Central American Aviation Corporation and Companía Nacional de Aviación in Guatemala. Ultimately, a series of accidents forced Hodkinson and his company out of Guatemala in 1936. Grupo TACA
Grupo TACA
TACA is the trade name "brand" comprising a group of five independently IATA-coded and -owned Central American airlines, whose operations are combined to function as one and a number of other independently owned and IATA-coded regional airlines which code-share and feed the TACA brand system...
later acquired Compañia Nacional de Aviación, S.A. of Guatemala.