Post by Terry Harbin on Jun 13, 2005 14:38:51 GMT -5
Howard Cody
At The History Center in Tompkins County are a great number of still photos from the Whartons films. The majority of the images are in the Howard Cody collection.
I also videotaped them in 1988. Howard Cody was the Whartons property man starting in 1914 until he entered the war in 1918. When he returned his job was still waiting for him.
He would leave Ithaca with Leopold Wharton and several other locals to work in Texas for the newly formed San Antonio Picture Company. This company was formed with Macklyn Arbuckle, Theodore Wharton was listed as president of the studio.
Theo never followed his brother to Texas. He built a new studio on West State Street and stayed in Ithaca.
Cody would return to Ithaca in 1923 after San Antonio Picture went under having produced five or six feature films.
Robert Townley was directing and producing films in Texas and Howard Cody and Jack Holbrook both returned to Ithaca with him.
The other Howard
Howard Cobb
Cobb was the Whartons attorney and he was in charge of the foreclosure of Wharton Inc. In 1919 the finances of Wharton Inc. were in the red and bankruptcy was filed.
The Wharton studio belongings were sold at an auction for $12,000, which would barely satisfy the huge debt that the Whartons had incurred.
Cobb apparently had either bought or just happened to have many of the Wharton films which were not sold at the auction. He hoped to still sell them to satisfy other outstanding bills and possibly this included his own salary.
In 1923, Theodore Wharton now living in Hollywood California was corresponding with Cobb. Wharton wondered what became of the films.He said that it had been five years since the bankruptcy was finalized and that all debts were now void.
Wharton wanted the films returned to him. Cobb reminded Wharton of $50 dollars that was still owed him when they had met in NYC in 1923.
No further letters are in Howard Cobb paperwork from Wharton Inc that are still housed in the Olin Library Department of manuscripts and Archives at Cornell University. They are part of the Walter Stainton collection.
In 1988, I videotaped Howard Cobb’s two children Virginia and Jack Cobb for my documentary project. Jack tells a story about when he was rescued from a burning house for a film down at Renwick Park in 1920. This was told to him as he grew up in the Cobb home that would later become the Greystone Inn that was located on East Shore Drive.
Virginia recalls a fire in 1929 and so did Jack, Both of them said their father had a film magazine unit located in the backyard of the house and that’s where the Wharton studios old films had been kept.
Virginia Cobb exclaimed one day in the summer of 1929 “There goes all those Ithaca films.” as she and Jack witnessed the film storage unit burning.
None of the films survived the blaze.
In Virginia’s home now located on North Tioga Street in downtown Ithaca are several desks and chairs that came from the Whartons Studio. Virginia said they had been purchased at the auction of Wharton Inc.
She also mentions a Courtney Riley Cooper who had written the script for the serial and book “The Eagles Eye” He would later in the 1940’s commit suicide by hanging himself in a closet. His wife however stayed in touch with Virginia for many years.
Virginia also mentioned that her fathers business changed hands after he died and the office evolved into Mazza and Mazza lawyers that are still serving Ithaca. I went to the office and met Bruno Mazza the senior lawyer from the firm.
In his possession are two corporate stamps one is The Wharton Inc 1914 incorporation stamp. The other one was from The Cayuga Pictures Company it was their 1920 incorporation stamp.
Bruno gave me impressions from both stamps and he also said he once had several 35mm films containers that had reels from the Eagles Eye serial filmed in 1918. He said he lent them to someone in the early 1960’s and they were never returned.
Walter Stainton around this same period donated several reels from The Eagles Eye to the Library of Congress. The films were still on nitrate film. The film turned to dust while waiting to be preserved. No footage exists from the Eagle Eye.
Mr. Mazza also said that he remembers a big photograph in a picture frame that always hung in the law offices. It was a scene from one of the most talked about stunts done by the Whartons. It showed the throwing of a complete trolley car off of the Stewart Avenue bridge.
At The History Center in Tompkins County are a great number of still photos from the Whartons films. The majority of the images are in the Howard Cody collection.
I also videotaped them in 1988. Howard Cody was the Whartons property man starting in 1914 until he entered the war in 1918. When he returned his job was still waiting for him.
He would leave Ithaca with Leopold Wharton and several other locals to work in Texas for the newly formed San Antonio Picture Company. This company was formed with Macklyn Arbuckle, Theodore Wharton was listed as president of the studio.
Theo never followed his brother to Texas. He built a new studio on West State Street and stayed in Ithaca.
Cody would return to Ithaca in 1923 after San Antonio Picture went under having produced five or six feature films.
Robert Townley was directing and producing films in Texas and Howard Cody and Jack Holbrook both returned to Ithaca with him.
The other Howard
Howard Cobb
Cobb was the Whartons attorney and he was in charge of the foreclosure of Wharton Inc. In 1919 the finances of Wharton Inc. were in the red and bankruptcy was filed.
The Wharton studio belongings were sold at an auction for $12,000, which would barely satisfy the huge debt that the Whartons had incurred.
Cobb apparently had either bought or just happened to have many of the Wharton films which were not sold at the auction. He hoped to still sell them to satisfy other outstanding bills and possibly this included his own salary.
In 1923, Theodore Wharton now living in Hollywood California was corresponding with Cobb. Wharton wondered what became of the films.He said that it had been five years since the bankruptcy was finalized and that all debts were now void.
Wharton wanted the films returned to him. Cobb reminded Wharton of $50 dollars that was still owed him when they had met in NYC in 1923.
No further letters are in Howard Cobb paperwork from Wharton Inc that are still housed in the Olin Library Department of manuscripts and Archives at Cornell University. They are part of the Walter Stainton collection.
In 1988, I videotaped Howard Cobb’s two children Virginia and Jack Cobb for my documentary project. Jack tells a story about when he was rescued from a burning house for a film down at Renwick Park in 1920. This was told to him as he grew up in the Cobb home that would later become the Greystone Inn that was located on East Shore Drive.
Virginia recalls a fire in 1929 and so did Jack, Both of them said their father had a film magazine unit located in the backyard of the house and that’s where the Wharton studios old films had been kept.
Virginia Cobb exclaimed one day in the summer of 1929 “There goes all those Ithaca films.” as she and Jack witnessed the film storage unit burning.
None of the films survived the blaze.
In Virginia’s home now located on North Tioga Street in downtown Ithaca are several desks and chairs that came from the Whartons Studio. Virginia said they had been purchased at the auction of Wharton Inc.
She also mentions a Courtney Riley Cooper who had written the script for the serial and book “The Eagles Eye” He would later in the 1940’s commit suicide by hanging himself in a closet. His wife however stayed in touch with Virginia for many years.
Virginia also mentioned that her fathers business changed hands after he died and the office evolved into Mazza and Mazza lawyers that are still serving Ithaca. I went to the office and met Bruno Mazza the senior lawyer from the firm.
In his possession are two corporate stamps one is The Wharton Inc 1914 incorporation stamp. The other one was from The Cayuga Pictures Company it was their 1920 incorporation stamp.
Bruno gave me impressions from both stamps and he also said he once had several 35mm films containers that had reels from the Eagles Eye serial filmed in 1918. He said he lent them to someone in the early 1960’s and they were never returned.
Walter Stainton around this same period donated several reels from The Eagles Eye to the Library of Congress. The films were still on nitrate film. The film turned to dust while waiting to be preserved. No footage exists from the Eagle Eye.
Mr. Mazza also said that he remembers a big photograph in a picture frame that always hung in the law offices. It was a scene from one of the most talked about stunts done by the Whartons. It showed the throwing of a complete trolley car off of the Stewart Avenue bridge.