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Sol Lesser

Personal Profile

Sol Lesser
  • Date of Birth:
    February 17, 1890
  • Zodiac Sign:
    Aquarius
  • Place of Birth:
    Spokane, Washington, USA
  • Place of Death:
    Hollywood, California, USA
  • Date of Death:
    September 19, 1980
  • Sex:
    Male
  • Nationality:
    American

Family

Sol Lesser
  • Spouse:
    Fay Grunauer
  • Daughter:
    Marjorie and Julian Lesser

Career

Sol Lesser

Trivia

Sol Lesser
  • Sol Lesser was the recipient of The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1960. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  • Interviewed in J.A. Aberdeen's "Hollywood Renegades: The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers". Palos Verdes Estates, CA: Cobblestone Entertainment
  • Formed 1930s "B" picture production company Principal Pictures Corp.
  • Sol Lesser signed Jackie Coogan to a movie contract in 1922, establishing both as major Hollywood names.
  • Was an American film producer and presenter.

Biography

Sol Lesser
Last Updated: Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Sol Lesser entered the film industry as an exhibitor and the owner of a chain of movie theaters. His first "production" had an interesting story behind it. In 1915, while he was living in San Francisco, he learned that the authorities were about to clean out and close down the city's notorious Barbary Coast district, a raucous area of gambling houses, saloons and brothels.

He grabbed a camera and a friend (future Hollywood cameraman Hal Mohr) and roamed all over the district, shooting footage of some of the area's best-known establishments before they were shut down. After the film was put together he titled it Last Night of the Barbary Coast (1915), sold it to theaters himself and made a bundle on it.

Using that money, he began buying up theaters and soon had his own chain. Going into film production full-time in the 1930s with his own company, Principal Pictures Corp., he concentrated mainly on low-budget westerns and Tarzan pictures. He joined RKO in 1941 as executive in charge of feature production.

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