CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN MARCOS

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THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE

MASTER OF ARTS

IN

HISTORY

THESIS TITLE: "Doc Will Lend Money"

AUTHOR: Walter B. "Wally" Taibleson

DATE OF SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE: December 3, 2009

THE THESIS HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE THESIS COMMITTEE IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN HISTORY.

Dr. Jeffrey Charles I 2 /.,. JD 9 THESIS COMMITTEE CHAIR ~

12-/3) tJCf DATE •

''Doc Will Lend Money''

The Life and Career of Dr. Attilio Henry Giannini

Walter B. "Wally" Taibleson Thesis Abstract

The principal purpose of this contextual biography of Dr. Attilio Henry

Giannini, known as Doc, is to recognize his importance to the City of San Francisco.

He was a major contributor to the community as a medical practitioner and as a member of the Board of Supervisors on two occasions. The major part of this thesis also documents Doc's innovative presence as a banker, on both the country's East and the West Coasts. He was a key factor in the early financing of both Broadway and

Hollywood.

The biography will improve and correct the historiography of the Southern

California Motion Picture Industry. It is important to be correct in recognizing the individual who initiated the financing of the Southern California Motion Picture

Industry. The industry leaders recognized Doc as the initial principal lender of what became Hollywood, and that is an impelling reason to research and write Doc's biography. He was the first banker to recognize motion picture making as a legitimate industry and was the major financial contributor to the initiation, development and growth of the motion picture industry and its capital city, Hollywood.

Doc was a medical practitioner and part time branch bank manager of the

Bank of Italy as he initiated and developed the bank's loaning policies and practices toward the movie industry. As Hollywood became the showcase of the country, Dr.

Giannini loaned $130,000,000 to the Southern California Motion Picture Industry without suffering a single loss. However, the history of Hollywood's main initial financial backer was lost to obscurity, this thesis will restore Dr. Attilio Henry

Giannini, the man nobody knows, to his rightfully deserved prominence.

Keywords: Dr. Attilio Henry Giannini, A.P. Giannini, Bank of America, Bank of

Italy, Broadway, Hollywood, Southern California Motion Picture Industry Table of Contents

Dedication, Some Background, & Acknowledgements ...... i

Introduction ...... 1

Chapter I, Making of a Doctor and a Civic Leader ...... 11

Chapter II, Banking in San Francisco and New York ...... 38

Chapter III, A Financier in Hollywood ...... 76

Conclusion ...... 108

Bibliography ...... 112 Taibleson i

Dedication

I dedicate this thesis and my degrees to my wife and best friend, Clare. Clare and I were married in 1944 and we were still together, fifty-six years later. In

November 2000, my world was shattered-the most important person in my life passed away. Clare was my inspiration, and upon reflection, I realize I was still trying to impress her until the day she left me. We were soul mates before that expression existed.

Some Background

For many reasons I did not attend college when I graduated from high school in 1939. A child of the Great Depression, I couldn't see spending four years going to college to acquire a degree. I felt I could acquire an education on my own without the formality of a college or university to guide me, and avoid the cost of a college education that my family could not afford. Instead, I enrolled in accounting courses at a business school while I worked at menial jobs. At the age of eighteen, in 1941, I commenced my full-time business career that ended with my retirement at the age of sixty-two in 1984.

After retirement, I had plenty to do; my wife and I had all our friends as well as associates with whom I continued my relationships. I began every day with a five mile walk, did some business and financial consulting, played a lot of golf, did a lot of gardening, continued to visit and explore far away places and was generally very active physically as well as socially. Clare and I moved to California two years later continuing our retirement in a more desirable climate. We had nobody here but each Taibleson ii other. We made new friends, our children visited us regularly, and we visited them regularly. All in all life was good; we had no unfulfilled needs.

A few years later, I was reminded of my mortality when I was diagnosed with life-threatening medical problems. During the long period of recovery and rehabilitation, it became apparent that with the reduced activity, something was missing. I needed more mental stimulation. Where do I find what was missing? My wife and my son, Jim, suggested that perhaps it was time for me to become a college student. It was so obvious that I had to laugh. My academic journey commenced in the Fall 1993 semester. I enrolled in a single three-hour class without any thought of pursuing a college degree. With Clare and Jim's prodding and Clare's participation in my quest, and the support of my other children and grandchildren, today I have earned a Master's Degree in History as a companion to my Master's Degree in

Literature and Writing Studies that I earned in 2006 and my Bachelor of Arts Degree in History that I earned in 2002. Clare would have been very happy.

Acknowledgements

The people of California State University-San Marcos were very important in accompanying me on my journey. This thesis could never have been achieved without the caring contribution and challenging of my thesis chair, Dr. Jeffrey

Charles. His comments, suggestions and support and those of the other members of my committee guided and tightened my focus. I am deeply indebted to Jeff, Dr. Jill

Watts and Dr. Anne Lombard. They each challenged and supported my efforts, inducing me to respond to the best of my ability. Taibleson iii

I could never have reached this plateau without the benefit bestowed by all the professors that contributed to my journey. The librarians were always helpful and available in supporting my research. They supplied needed assistance, and librarian

Gabriela Sonntag continuously extended her aid and support of my research efforts.

An additional bonanza was the relationships I developed with the faculty members and my fellow students as well as with the administrative personnel during my college career.

Thank you California State University-San Marcos Taibleson 1

Introduction

This contextual biography has a greater purpose than just relating the story of the notable life and career of Dr. Attilio Henry Giannini, known as Doc. The aim is to improve and correct the historiography of both Bank of America, earlier named the

Bank of Italy, and the Southern California Motion Picture Industry. Today's historians have insisted that Amadeo Peter Giannini, known as A.P., the founder of

Bank of America, was Bank of America. Not so. Without minimizing A.P.'s accomplishments, his genius and his drive, Bank of America was more than A.P .,

Doc, A.P.'s brother, also played a significant and major role in the growth of a storefront bank founded in 1904 that became the world's largest commercial bank in the 1940s. This thesis recognizes Doc's contribution to the bank's success and the important role he played as the first lender and early financier to what became the

Southern California Motion Picture Industry. At the outset of the fledgling industry,

Doc was one of the main financial backers, yet he was lost to obscurity and became the man nobody knows.

A multitude of books and articles have been written about all the celebrated contributors to the success of the motion picture industry. During my research for this thesis, I have discovered multiple biographies on many of Doc's Hollywood associates including: Harry Cohn, Sol Lesser, Jesse L. Lasky, Joseph and Nicholas

Schenck, Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Capra, Marcus Loew, Louis B. Mayer, William

Fox, Samuel Goldwyn, Jack Warner, Adolph Zucor and Darryl F. Zanuck. However, the history of motion picture financing has been neglected. Historian Janet Wasko Taibleson 2 adds a probable reason: " individual investors ... and assorted entrepreneurs have always been active in film financing ... However, their contributions have been irregular and unreliable." 1 Wasko also reports that during the first 20 years of the industry the source of funds was provided by unusual bankers who shared similar backgrounds with the borrowers. At that time the traditional bankers considered films a transitory business not worthy of their interest. 2 The financing of a motion picture is a crucial factor in the production and exhibition of the artistic result and deserves more attention than it has received. However, it is a subject that does not match the appeal that is inherent in the film itself, and in the exposition of the personalities involved in the aesthetics of the film's production- including the actors, moguls, producers, directors, and many other expert specialists- contributors.

Doc's name being lost to obscurity is not fully explained by the fact that financing Hollywood was a neglected topic. The institutional histories of movie finance that have been written focus on two periods. The late 1920s, when the financing became more corporate, and the 1930s when Hollywood's financial needs substantially increased. Since Doc's contribution was personal in these periods, his participation has been neglected by these institutional histories. 3

1 Janet Wasko, Movies and Money, (Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1982), xx. 2 Ibid, 13. 3 General overviews that considered movie financing have been written by the following historians, . Gerald D. Nash, A.P. Giannini and Bank of America, (London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992). Janet Wasko, Movies and Money, (Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1982). Felice A. Bonadio, A.P. Giannini Banker of America, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994). Taibleson 3

Another factor was simply historians' error. Historians have often confused his brother, A.P. with A.H. [Doc] and also reported flawed research as fact. To understand how mistakes and myths become built-in facts is illuminated by Sara

Lippincott, a magazine editor, who provided a reasonable generic explanation as she advised her journalism students of the consequences of faulty reporting, whether deliberate or due to flawed historical research:

An error is everlasting ... once an error gets into print it will live on and on in libraries carefully catalogued, scrupulously indexed ... silicon­ chipped, deceiving researcher after researcher down through the ages, all of whom will make new errors on the strength of the original errors, and so on and on into an exponential explosion of errata.4

Even serious credible historians like Philip French, Sir Peter Hall, Janet

Wasko and Gerald D. Nash fall into the trap of historiography blurred by myth and popular accounts as well as flawed or intended misidentification. A few of the examples follow.

Edward Buscombe in his essay "Notes on Columbia Pictures Corporation" discloses an example of a probable misidentification. Buscombe comments on legendary director Frank Capra's film American Madness. The movie concerns

Dickson,5 the manager of a small-town bank-played by Walter Huston-who believed, contrary to his Board of Directors, that loans should be made to create jobs and to benefit the economy. Dickson's liberal philosophy was consistent with the views of both A.P. and Doc. The film's program note "suggested that Dickson was

4 John McPhee, "Checkpoints," The New Yorker, February 9 & 16, 2009, 59. 5 An example of flaws that find their way into historical research: The Archives of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences spells the name Dixon, which is probably the correct spelling. Taibleson 4 probably based on A.H. Giannini, a California banker who was influential in

Columbia's affairs in the 1930's." 6 Buscombe decided to research A. H. Giannini.

He examined Philip French's The Movie Moguls and was confused since French referred to A.P. and to A. H. as though they were the same individual suggesting a probable typo. Troubled, Buscombe engaged in further research that indicated that there were two brothers. Because of A.P.' s acknowledged status and fame, a reader would find it reasonable to accord A.P. the credit that was due A. H. Buscombe discovered that A.P. was the titan who founded the Bank ofltaly and A.H., known as

Doc, was the Bank of Italy's influential banker who had a special relationship with

Hollywood. This information is significant as French's faulty 1969 representation is an example of how Doc did not receive his just public prominence if the reader accepted the implications reported in French's book. A similar oversight appears in

"The Dream Factory Los Angeles 1910-1945," Sir Peter Hall's otherwise excellent chapter on the initiation and development of Hollywood. It is disappointing that Hall is careless in his treatment of the financial birth of Hollywood.

Hall indicates that Amadeo Peter Giannini's Bank of Italy, through his son,

Attilio, became the early financial supporter of Hollywood. Hall's research and reporting is significantly flawed which negatively impacts the credibility of his essay.

Hall gives A.P. the credit for the bank's Hollywood relationship through his misidentification of Doc as the son rather than as the ground breaking brother. Dr.

6 Edward Buscombe, "Notes on Columbia Pictures Corporation," Hollywood Critical Concepts Vol. I Edited by Thomas Schatz, (New York: Routledge, 2004), 135-139. Taibleson 5

Attilio Henry Giannini was the younger brother of Amadeo Peter and was always referred to as Doc or Dr. Giannini. Hall does not indicate that Attilio, on his own volition, made the first loan to Sol Lesser who became a film mogul, and spread the word to his industry fellows that "Doc will lend money." Hall states that the Bank of

Italy handled 70 percent of the film industry's loans without indicating that Attilio

Giannini was the sole initial lender and developer of the Bank of Italy/Bank of

America's relationship with the film industry. Hall also never refers to Attilio as Doc, as A.H. was known throughout the industry. The manner of Hall's presentation suggests that Amadeo Peter-the banking industry giant-was the individual responsible for the bank's position with the motion picture industry. Hall's flawed research on the identity of Attilio was not repeated in any other source that I read. All the historical literature agreed that A.P.' s son and designated heir apparent was

Lawrence Mario Giannini whom Hall never mentions. Mario, as he was known, did not join the Bank of Italy until 1918 and became president of Bank of America in

1936. However, Doc received the appropriate respect and credit from the Hollywood people who mattered. Many others, fearful of the wrath of Amadeo Peter Giannini who insisted that the bank deserved the praise, did not recognize the true early financial initiator of the Southern California Motion Picture Industry. 7 This portion of

Hall's research relating to the Southern California Motion Picture Industry obscures

7 Sir Peter Hall, "The Dream Factory" Cities in Civilization (New York: Pantheon Books, 1998), 520- 528. Taibleson 6

Doc's Hollywood accomplishments and relationships. Hall's rendition advocates the contention that A.P. was the primary player in the bank's support of Hollywood.

Wasko's Movies and Money discloses A.P.'s determination to mm1m1ze

Doc's importance to the bank. A.P. always vehemently insisted that the bank deserved all the credit for his brother's accomplishments. He would not permit Doc's place in the history of the film industry to go unchallenged. Wasko seems to have a mixed attitude in attributing the credit for Bank of America's involvement in

Hollywood to Doc. She posits, without attribution, that: "More than any other banker associated with the industry, Doc Giannini became identified as the "movie banker."

Wasko then mentions Louis B. Mayer's support of Doc and that another columnist wrote that without Doc, Hollywood would never have existed. However Wasko has no problem adding the notion that these positive comments concerning Doc were somewhat misleading as she supports the credence of A.P.'s 1936 memo to James

Cavagnaro, a Bank of America vice-president, as Wasko discussed Doc's role in financing motion pictures. A.P. wrote, consistent with his avowed desire to minimize

Doc's importance: "it was the bank's money and policies and not those of any individual that pioneered in the industry and took care of them in the days when no other bank would do so." 8

A.P., as the autocratic head of the bank set the policies of the bank.

Consequently this memo suggests that he, A.P., was therefore personally responsible for the bank's position as the major lender to Hollywood. Wasko is generally

8 Wasko, 120. Taibleson 7 sympathetic to the positions expressed by A.P ., however the memo does not directly connect A.P. to the development of the film industry relationships, and she never indicates that the bank did not follow and accept Doc's lead in its relationship with

Hollywood. Despite A.P.'s desire to denigrate his brother's contribution, when A. P, needed help, he depended on Doc when major projects required special attention.

Several incidents of A.P.' s dependence on Doc were critical to the bank's rise to fame. These incidents will be described in detail in Chapter II of this thesis.

The published data that I have discussed contain a common thread. Each of the texts reflect the importance of A.P. Giannini and diminishes Doc's true stature as the initiator and developer of the funding of what became Hollywood. There is no question that A.P. was a banking giant. However, he was not a giant in his relationship with Hollywood though he certainly curried favor with select Hollywood giants. Historian Gerald D. Nash credits A.P. with enhancing the bank's identification with the motion picture industry by developing personal friendships with important

Hollywood figures. Among others, all friends of Doc, A.P. appointed Cecil B.

DeMille, Will Rogers, Joseph Schenck and Sol Lesser to the advisory board of some of its Los Angeles Branches.9

Though Nash is respectful as he discusses A.P., Nash does not hide widely known facts as he moderates Doc's authority and posits: "A.P. usually left much of the movie business to Attilio without his personal involvement. Since he so warmly

9 Gerald D. Nash, A.P. Giannini and Bank of America, (London: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992), 94. Taibleson 8 disliked his brother, however he never let a chance slip by to humiliate him or to upstage him." 10 Nash also explains that, at times, A.P. could be enraged and his fury revealed undesirable traits that offended, insulted and intimidated those present, and never offering a later apology. 11

My thesis shows clearly that Doc Giannini was the initial early banker of the

Southern California Motion Picture Industry. My research further revealed that the giants who built the motion picture industry were well aware of Doc. Jesse L. Lasky,

Sol Lesser, Adolph Zukor, Marcus Loew, Louis B. Mayer, Sam Goldwyn, Jack

Warner, Darryl Zanuck, Harry Cohen, Joseph Schenck, William Fox, and many other legendary Hollywood moguls were lavish in their outspoken public recognition that

Doc Giannini made Hollywood possible.

Doc was central to the financing of early Hollywood and was known within the industry as Hollywood's main initial financial backer. He was, however, neglected and lost to obscurity. I believe the evidence reveals that the titanic power of his intimidating, autocratic and egocentric brother was a major cause. As mentioned previously, A.P. was the giant of the banking industry and he was also blessed with an imposing physical presence. His business colleagues and associates, except for

Doc, were always deferential to his opinions and judgments. A.P. cast a giant shadow over the whole banking industry. As mentioned previously, he insisted that his brother's accomplishments were incidental to the bank's development of the Southern

10 Nash, 120. II Ibid, 124. Taibleson 9

California Motion Picture Industry. Inconsistent with A.P.'s expressed resentment and his unbridled refusal to acknowledge Doc's contribution to the bank's success he chose Doc to be in charge of new bank expansions that had to be successful.

However, A.P.'s unrelenting exposition was apparently accepted by those outside of

Hollywood, as evidenced by the material that I have presented.

The evidence supporting this conclusion was found in existing histories of

A.P. and Bank of America, journalists' articles in magazines and newspapers as well as stories in newspapers reporting the news. There was other similar responsible information from like sources that were revealed in internet based websites and articles. The methodology applied in preparing this thesis necessitated an in-depth scrutiny of much data that other interested researchers apparently did not bother to as closely examine. Doc was the industry's recognized early principal lender and that is an impelling reason to research and write the history of Dr. Giannini and his contribution to the initiation, development and growth of the motion picture industry that gave substance to the Hollywood myth, the industry's world renowned capital city. The Bank of Italy's loaning policies and practices toward the movie industry were initiated and developed by Doc. As Hollywood became the showcase of the country, Doc loaned $130,000,000 to the entities that made up the Southern

California Motion Picture Industry without suffering a single loss. 12 Despite this remarkable record and significant contribution, the history of Hollywood's main

12 Taylor, 23. Taibleson 10 initial financial backer was lost to obscurity-this thesis will restore Dr. Attilio Henry

Giannini, the man who nobody knows, to his rightfully deserved prominence. Taibleson 11

Chapter I

Making of a Doctor and a Civic Leader

Attilio Henry Giannini was born in San Jose, California on March 2, 1874, the second son ofNorthern Italian immigrants Luigi and Virginia Giannini, then living in an isolated farming hamlet eight miles north of San Jose. Attilio would develop into an erudite idealist, by nature, yet possessed of a tough pragmatic streak. His early life experiences together with his education, environment and heredity shaped Attilio's character that did not fade when he became a banker. He had the attitudes and reactions needed to recognize the opportunities and the ability to benefit from them.

Attilio's parents' personal story reflects the strength of their character and ethics.

Luigi and Virginia achieved a successful economic and social life in America after leaving the poverty of their native land. They were diligent in their efforts and labored to reach their goals as they recognized and capitalized on opportunities.

Attilio inherited these traits which helps explain his development as a mature adult.

Luigi Giannini initially came to the United States in 1864 to seek his fortune in the gold fields north of San Francisco. He left the poverty of Favale di Malvaro, his native Northern Italian, small mountain village on the Ligurian seacoast 30 miles northeast of Genoa. He was seeking a new life of work and comfort in the United

States. Luigi was part of a steady stream of Northern Italian and other European immigrants in search of riches. Like most of his fellow seekers he found the labor arduous and dangerous with no riches and little comfort. He was, by nature frugal and Taibleson 12 converted the money he was able to save from his gold mining into gold coins that he kept in a double money belt strapped to his body. Luigi endured a lonely life in the

gold fields and never found enough gold to justify his effort. While Luigi was

disappointed with his gold seeking endeavor, California itself began to entice him.

Though he had not previously had an interest in farming, he realized that the

California agricultural landscape reminded him of his native land. On infrequent trips

away from the mines with other Italian immigrant miners he explored the surrounding

area. The sunny climate, the mountains, the blue waters of the Pacific and the vast

area of fertile land seemed to him to be the perfect place to settle down and raise a

family. Several years later he fulfilled that desire. The climate and topography was

like Italy, however the area presented opportunities for a far better life. Luigi may not

have been aware that his enchantment with the region was shared with his native

fellow Genoese. As the civil governor of Genoa wrote, "Although geographically

distant, San Francisco is the destination of many immigrants from this province.

Emigration agents have been presenting San Francisco and the surrounding territory

as a duplicate of our province, and returnees seem to agree." 13 In the Spring of 1869

Luigi was sitting around a campfire with two fellow miners who came from Chivaki,

a mountain village near Favale di Malvaro on the Ligurian coast. They were reading

letters from home written by their young sister, Virginia DeMartini.

More than seventy years later, Virginia's older sister, Teresa who was then the

mother superior of a convent outside of Genoa, remembered what happened next:

13Dino Cinel, From Italy to San Francisco, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1982) ,15. Taibleson 13

Luigi was a friend of my brothers. Being friendly they often discussed the news that came from Italy. Virginia's style of letter writing revealed her good qualities and energetic strength, so much so, that one fine day, without letting anyone know, Luigi left America and came to Italy with the intention of marrying Virginia. He left America with a double money belt, which he wore next to his skin, and which contained a large number of $20 gold pieces. During the trip through the Panamanian peninsula, he came down with the small pox but was able to keep the vest so well hidden that he succeeded in bringing it to Italy. The belt was later ripped [open] by us. 14

As described by Teresa, Luigi without any subsequent regret, acted impulsively and made the most important decision of his entire life. Although

Attilio's father was a man she never knew, all his life Attilio acted on impulse, almost suggesting that he also inherited his rashness from his father.

Luigi impressed Virginia's parents with his apparent fine character, and his

$20 gold coins suggested that he was a man with a promising future. Luigi and

Virginia began a six-week courtship when Luigi asked Virginia to marry him and she accepted his proposal. On August 10, 1869 a parish priest married Luigi and Virginia

1 a few months after Virginia's 15 h birthday. A gala reception attended by scores of friends and relatives celebrated the marriage and the ceremony. Teresa remembered:

"it was the most exciting celebration we had ever seen." Shortly thereafter Luigi and

Virginia booked a third-class cabin on a sailing ship to New York, in order to avoid the overland route through the Isthmus of Panama with its jungle diseases. They traveled from New York to California by the recently completed transcontinental railroad and arrived in the frontier farm town of San Jose in October.

14Felice Bonadio, A.P. Giannini Banker of America, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994), 2. Taibleson 14

San Jose, the county seat of Santa Clara County, was on the southern end of the San Francisco peninsula, and had previously been the capital of California. The town had suffered a severe economic downturn when the gold rush ended and the

state capital was moved to Sacramento. When Luigi and Virginia arrived, San Jose was in the midst of an economic upturn. As a result of a railroad connection to San

Francisco, San Jose became the core marketing area for numerous smaller farm towns throughout the agriculturally bountiful Santa Clara Valley. The town had become a

busy place as the population was expanding with 10,000 new residents in the last 10

years. Though gold was no longer the lure the Italian immigrants were still enticed by

the climate and the land and envisioned California as the place for their future. San

Jose's economy was developing and producing opportunities for the growing

metropolis and the surrounding Santa Clara County region. 15

Now that they were in San Jose, Luigi's first concern was to earn a living for

his family. Searching for an opportunity he used the last of his savings to lease the

Swiss Hotel located on Market Street, the town's main street. The two-story wood

building soon became a boarding house for the Italian immigrants who were

employed in and around San Jose. Most of the boarders were young single men

unable to speak English and without any knowledge of the culture of their new

country. They gravitated to the comfort of a sanctuary operated by an imposing

countryman and his pregnant wife. Historian Felice A. Bonadio presents a brief

picture of Luigi as she reports:

15 Bonadio, 3. Taibleson 15

According to several accounts, Luigi was something of a conspicuous figure among the thousands of transplanted, largely Midwestern farmers who swarmed into San Jose in the decades after the gold rush. Tall, handsome, broad-shouldered, with pale blue eyes and a dark handlebar mustache, he was remembered by neighbors many years later as a quiet man of few opinions and even fewer words. 16

Attilio's features, like the features of Luigi, were more characteristically

Italian, than those of his brothers, as described by Dwight L. Clarke, an officer of

Bank of America, who writes: "He [Attilio] had sharper more Italian features than the other two [brothers] ... In profile he resembled some of the heads one sees on Roman coins. More than one portrait on the walls of the Medici Gallery bears a close resemblance to Doctor A.H. Giannini." 17 Much like Luigi had been during his first experience in America, the boarders were hard working and ambitious Italian immigrants. They believed that the Santa Clara Valley was the place to find success even though the gold was gone.

Historian Dino Cinel discusses at length the Italian immigration to the San

Francisco area. Northern Italian immigrants like Luigi and Virginia, from the province of Genoa, were the first settlers in most Italian communities in the United

States. As early as 1867 the San Francisco Italians were describing themselves as the

"model colony" of the United States. By 1880 the phrase was used invidiously to denigrate the Southern Italian immigrants. Italy was a country of significantly different cultures as it was not unified until the later part of the 19th century. The common discriminatory opinion asserted that the Southern Italians were inferior and

16 Ibid 17 Dwight L. Clarke, "The Gianninis Men of the Renaissance," California Historical Quarterly, Vol. 49, Number. 4, 1970,337. Taibleson 16 of an inferior culture than the Northern Italians. Used to support the assertion were statistics that indicated that the Northern Italians had maintained a higher literacy rate and were more successful in their endeavors than their Southern Italian brothers. 18

The Southern Italian immigrants that followed the Northern Italian arrivals were soon in the majority. This was not unique as the Southerners comprised a larger part of the Italian immigrants in most American communities. However, most of these Southern Italian immigrants did not find a better life here. Between 1908 and

1923 60 percent of all the Italian immigrants to America returned to Italy within a few years. The California and San Francisco statistics disclosed an exception.

Northern Italians made up more than 60 percent of all Italians in San Francisco. The

San Francisco Italians intended to retain their prominence over their deemed inferior

Southern Italian compatriots, as San Francisco was the "model colony." The majority of these Northern Italians were in America to stay. 19 There is no later evidence of

Attilio's denigration of other ethnic groups, as he was comfortable in all ethnic settings. However he was also happy and comfortable being raised by Northern

Italian immigrant parents in an immigrant community of their choice. His self- confidence in all societies indicated that he was also proud of his native immigrant ancestry that he never attempted to hide.

At the Swiss Hotel on May 6, 1870 Virginia gave birth to their first child, a son, christened Amadeo Peter. Sometime in 1872 Luigi sold the Swiss Hotel lease

18 Cinel, 1-27. 19 Cinel, 1-21. Taibleson 17 and decided to become a farmer. He purchased 40 acres of orchard land in Alviso, an isolated small town eight miles north of San Jose. The community was sometimes not hospitable to the immigrants. Luigi impressed the people in the community and his demeanor and distinguished presence limited significant negative consequences as he was accepted as a member of the community. Two years later on March 2, 1874

Virginia gave birth to their second son, Attilio Henry. By 1876 life was fulfilling in all respects, Luigi had a 22 year-old pregnant wife and two young sons. He was a prosperous independent farmer growing fruits and vegetables and selling them to commission firms in San Francisco. Luigi was in the process of preparing to clear more land to expand his operations, increasing the size of the orchard by planting more fruit bearing trees.

On August 14, 1876 the happy and comfortable life of the Giannini family was tragically derailed. As a usual practice Luigi hired transient farm workers to work in his orchard and fields. Luigi had hired Jose Ferrari to pick fruit in the orchard.

When Luigi paid Ferrrari the worker complained that he was underpaid by two dollars. Ferrari returned a week later and shot and killed Luigi. Ferrari, who had a reputation of violence and as one eager to take offense was convicted of murder and sent to prison. The 22 year old Virginia was faced with the dire task of managing the farm and raising her family in an area that was not as hospitable as when Luigi was there. Compounding the stress she also gave birth to her third son, George, six months after Luigi's death. Virginia's subsequent and continuing behavior and conduct confirmed that Luigi had chosen a wife with character, determination and Taibleson 18 inner strength who managed to survive the ordeal she faced. During those years of challenge Virginia made periodic trips to the San Francisco waterfront to sell the farm's produce. On one of her trips she met Lorenzo Scatena, who worked as a produce hauler for a commission firm on the San Francisco waterfront. Scatena was an eager, conscientious worker and made a modest living. Scatena was close to 30 years old and still had not decided on a career goal. Stocky, barrel-chested with luminous large eyes and a ready smile, Scatena was described as a gentle, soft-spoken man. 20

The Giannini family's grim existence seemed to be over with the expectation of happiness in the Summer of 1880 when Virginia married Lorenzo Scatena.

Virginia's three sons were soon calling Lorenzo Pop or Boss. Attilio was two years old when Luigi was killed and was not deeply affected by the death of the father that he did not remember. However Luigi's three sons, despite the strength of their mother, missed a male presence in their lives. Their relationship with their step-father through adulthood confirmed that obviously Lorenzo was the right man to fill that need. The children's relationship with Scatena was a contributing factor in sustaining a comfortable family life. For better or worse, Scatena was not able to successfully make the transition from produce hauler to farmer. The time of California's five-year­ long drought may have been a factor. Additionally the family's financial needs were further stretched by the birth of two Scatena children by 1882. Scatena decided to

20 Bonadio, 5. Taibleson 19 abandon the Alviso farm and moved the family back to San Jose and found a job as a produce hauler.

Virginia, remembering her expenence m selling farm produce to the commission men after Luigi died, asserted herself. She attempted to convince her reluctant husband to find a job as a commission clerk in order to improve their financial prospects. Toward the end of 1882, Virginia's persistent and uncompromising insistence that Scatena change jobs finally bore fruit. He came home one night and said that he had found a job as a commission clerk with A. Galli and

Company, one of the largest and most influential wholesale commission firms on the

San Francisco waterfront.21

The commission business, to be successful, required hard work, talent and importantly, willingness to gamble. The wholesale commission merchants who populated the waters of San Francisco Bay were mostly immigrants: Italians, Greeks,

Russians, and other Europeans. Their wholesale firms were crowded together, side by side, along the piers of the bay. As middlemen, they purchased the agricultural produce shipped by barge or train from the small farms of California's growing ascendancy as an agricultural commodities producer. The commission men then sold the produce to San Francisco's increasing number of restaurants, neighborhood groceries, street markets and pushcart peddlers. The successful commission men had to be tough bargainers, in both the buying and selling transactions, in a brutally competitive business that began before daylight in the early morning hours of each

21 Bonadio, 6. Taibleson 20

day. The work was backbreaking and they worked from midnight until the next

afternoon. If they did not start early they would not be able to sell the produce that they bought earlier in the day. On the plus side, the profits from the trade were

substantially greater than what could be earned from farming?2

Scatena proved to be a natural in the business and his contribution to the Galli

firm was rewarded by a salary increase from $100 to $250 a month. Virginia was not

impressed-she insisted that he was worth more and should ask for $300. When his

boss refused the request Scatena was deeply disappointed, Virginia was rather

pleased. She told her husband to quit his job and open his own wholesale house and

he would earn more money working for himself. As a result of Virginia's

understanding of how to improve the family's income potential and her persistence in

imposing her desires, the firm of L. Scatena and Company was born. In the first

month of operation the firm cleared a $1,500 profit. Amadeo, though a 12 year old,

was excitedly drawn to the give and take of the commission business and spent his

after school hours at the site of L. Scatena and Company assisting Lorenzo. There is

no evidence that Attilio ever physically assisted Lorenzo or Amadeo in the

commission produce business. This was confirmed by A.P.' s constant reference, later

in life, as to his contribution to the family that benefited Attillio. However, Attilio

was positively influenced by their achievements that he did not resent. The family

moved to a two-story house with a large bay window-then a symbol of prosperity­

in the large Italian community of North Beach where Amadeo and Attilio shared a

22 Bonadio, 6-7, 10. Taibleson 21 bed.Z3 Virginia's energetic strength and entrepreneurial drive, that proved successful in forcing Lorenzo to change his occupation, was certainly inherited by Amadeo and

Attilio, as reflected by the celebrated actions and accomplishments of their lives.

A home in North Beach then one of the nation's largest communities of

Italians, the neighborhood where the boys grew up, was an important sign of success to the immigrant Italians. North Beach was located in the northeastern section of San

Francisco on the bay side, easily accessible to the fishing harbor and the ports. The first Italians known to have settled in the city apparently chose the picturesque heights of Telegraph Hill on the northern tip of the San Francisco peninsula. These first residents were three Genoese: a sea captain, his brother and his son who sailed around Cape Hom in 1840. According to several accounts, the area was initially called "The Latin Quarter" before it was finally named North Beach. With the coming of the Gold Rush, economic prosperity drew migrants to the area and the center of the

Italian business district settled in at the intersection of what became Columbus

A venue and Montgomery Street. The site of the wholesale commission produce market, the Washington Street home of L. Scatena and Company, developed on adjoining streets. Along the bay-shore an Italian fishing industry was also burgeoning. That site is now known as "Fisherman's Wharf." North Beach was the center of their Italian community and the Italian immigrants were staying.Z4

23 Bonadio, 1-7. 24 Rose Doris Scherini, The Italian American Community of San Francisco, (New York: Amo Press, A New York Times Company, 1980), 18-19. Taibleson 22

The Italian community was a complete Italian village. Italian restaurants,

serving Italian food, and Italian specialty shops and boarding houses to accommodate the many early single male Italian immigrants all provided a vital need. The majority

of the more than 7500 foreign-born Italian immigrants that populated San Francisco

in 1900 lived in North Beach. Many families lived above the shops near the fishing boats or produce markets. Italians owned and operated hundreds of businesses

including four banks. This thriving area was almost totally destroyed by the 1906

earthquake and fires that consumed one-third of the entire city of San Francisco.

During the earthquake and fire the vast majority of the North Beach Italian residents

did not seek safety by going to outlying areas like Oakland and Golden Gate Park that

charitably solicited and provided for the homeless.

The Italian immigrants were not going to give up their district. They instead

remained along the bay so that they could start rebuilding as soon as it was possible.

According to both contemporary and historical accounts of the era, North Beach was

built more quickly than other parts of the city. Within four months, several hundred

buildings were constructed, and within a year, six hundred Italian businesses were in

operation.Z5 The effort by the community in rebuilding their area had a telling impact

in reducing the prejudice against the Italian immigrants at that time. The Italians also

benefited from the Bank of Italy's policy of lending matching reconstruction funds,

equivalent to the individual's savings, within days after the fires were extinguished.

25 Scherini, 21. Taibleson 23

These Italian immigrants insisted that they had a stake in this country and they stayed and rebuilt their homes and businesses as Italian Americans. 26

Despite her youth, Virginia Giannini Scatena was very perceptive m recognizing the character of the man she married after she was tragically widowed.

Lorenzo proved to be a very successful businessman and father. In 1884, within two years from starting in business, L. Scatena and Company moved three times to larger quarters. Washington Street was the main artery of San Francisco's noisy, smelly, fruit and vegetable produce commission district. Lorenzo's expanded venture continued to occupy larger quarters on Washington Street to house his wholesale operations. His success went beyond his business accomplishments, he also proved his merit as the head of the family. Lorenzo's very happy Giannini-Scatena family was composed of his wife, Virginia, three step-sons, who revered and cherished him, and the children that Virginia bore him.27

In the 1880s San Francisco was the center of the American social and intellectual presence in California. It was the cradle of California's live theater.

Commercially the city was also the California leader. San Francisco's harbor, until the 1906 earthquake and fire, created almost a monopoly on California's rapidly expanding and changing economy. Mining and later manufacturing and agriculture were the stimuli. Also San Francisco was the first city on the West Coast to be linked by transcontinental railroad to the East. California products arrived in San Francisco

26 Scherini, 17-25. 27 James, 6. Taibleson 24 by barge and railroad and together with the city's production were sent by railroad to the Eastern markets. The economic growth attracted new arrivals and San Francisco's

population growth was one of the highest in the United States. In 1860 the federal

census counted 57,000 people in San Francisco, and by 1880 the population grew to

234,000. The numbers for 1890 and 1900 were 300,000 and 343,000?8 Attilio

frequently reflected on his dreams that entranced him when he was growing up in this

vibrant bustling city. He insisted that his earliest ambitions as a child were to roll

rocks off Telegraph Hill- and then to grow up and be a doctor. 29 There is no

evidence to support or deny his satisfying the first ambition, but he did grow up and

became a doctor.

As in all matters, Virginia was the driving force in insuring that her children

would receive a good education. Each of her children attended the Washington Street

Grammar School. Amadeo, according to many sources, was a surprisingly good

student who preferred to work in Lorenzo's business rather than go to school.

Virginia was very upset when Amadeo quit school in 1885 at the age of 15, and

Virginia, as persistent and insistent as she was, could not convince him to continue

his education. He worked full time for Lorenzo, and was probably a better

businessman and had more innovative ideas for improving the operation than

Lorenzo. When Amadeo was 12 years old Lorenzo wondered why he was getting

orders from growers he had not solicited. In pursuing the matter, Lorenzo discovered

28 Cinel, 17. 29 Taylor, 45. Taibleson 25 that Amadeo was coming to the docks after school and was writing and mailing letters to growers advising them, in glowing and detailed terms, the benefit to them if they did all their business with L. Scatena and Company. The growers had not previously been solicited by mail and responded positively to the letters that promised them honest prices on the barrelhead, and quick service. 30

From early childhood, Amadeo had the talent and the desire to be a successful businessman. However he never ceased to remind Attilio that he was doing a man's work for the benefit of the family while Attilio was enjoying the comfort of

Amadeo's labor. Naturally, during his bitter comments to Attilio, Amadeo never admitted that his actions were a result of his choice, not a consequence of family imposition or need.

Of the three Giannini boys, Attilio was the only one who desired and pursued an education. His first alma mater was the old St. Ignatius College, now the

University of San Francisco. Fr. Anthony Maraschi of the Society of Jesus founded

St. Ignatius College in 185 5. In the 1900s, after Attilio graduated, the school was divided into two separate institutions: The University of San Francisco and St.

Ignatius High School. The following is a portion of the school's mission statement today that captures the type and intensity of the ethical education that Attilio experienced and absorbed: "St. Ignatius seeks to develop students who strive toward the Jesuit ideal of the magis [true Catholic doctrine]: a thirst for the more, for the greater good, for the most courageous response to the challenges of our time in the

30 Bonadio, 8-9. Taibleson 26 fullest development of students' talents, and for a life-long disposition to serve."31

Attilio' s demonstrated personal attributes, set the path he took in life. He never forgot the ethics that were taught at St. Ignatius College. "I'm a Jesuit boy," Attilio explained. "The fathers taught me ethics that stuck."32 Being imbued with those ethics helped him achieve fruitful results in all of this endeavors. Doc's comment reported

above and St. Ignatius College's mission statement are consistent and indicate the

extent to which his life was impacted by his academic experience at St. Ignatius. As

Attilio stated: "it stuck."

He continued his education and in 1897 obtained the degree of Doctor of

Medicine from the University of California's Medical School, completing the course

in two years. The medical school was founded in 1858 as a result of the effort of six

San Francisco medical practitioners. They had a shared interest in medical education,

and strove to establish a medical school in San Francisco. In order to achieve their

goal it was necessary to develop an affiliation with an existing chartered medical

school. Dr. R. Beverly Cole, one of the six doctors, conducted the successful petition

effort with the University of the Pacific, located in Santa Clara, California, that

established the desired affiliation. The University of the Pacific was the first medical

school chartered by the State of California empowered to grant medical degrees. In

recognition of his public health efforts and contributions, in 1867 Dr. Cole was

appointed Surgeon General ofthe State of California. Dr. Cole, at a later date, became

31 http;//www.siprep.org/about/, "Introduction," I. 32 Frank J. Taylor, "He's No Angel" The Saturday Evening Post, January 14, 1939, 45. Taibleson 27 the dean of the resultant University of California Medical School. He was a brilliant dean with a flair for dramatics. Cole hired the old Baldwin Theater for the graduation ceremonies of Attilio's class. He burned the Hippocratic oath into the young man's soul so earnestly that it colored his dealings in trade and finance. "An abortion in business is as bad as an abortion in medicine" is one of his [Attilio] favorite themes.

"Any banker who charges usury is a quack."33

On several occasions Dr. Giannini made a spur of the moment decision betting his life on the outcome. He was a young medical intern in the county hospital when word came in that a crewmember on an English ship in port was stricken with the deadly infectious typhus. The victim, Edgar Miller, the son of a prominent

English family was immediately moved to the city pest house which was home to at least 20 lepers, as the authorities knew almost nothing about the disease.

Remembering his oaths, the young Dr. Giannini-according to journalist Frank

Taylor-declared: "The man needs a doctor, I am going out." William Hawkins, a male nurse overheard Doc's assertion and immediately volunteered to accompany him into the isolation of the pest house. Two days later Edgar Miller was dead and

Dr. Giannini and Hawkins were infected with typhus, with nobody to care for them.

A cable-car motorman by the name of McLean was studying medicine and had been tutored by Doc in odd hours. McLean became aware of the situation and went into the pest house to care for the two typhus infected men. Only Dr. Giannini left the pest house alive. Hawkins and McLean courageously gave their lives supporting the

33 Taylor, 45. Taibleson 28 young intern's courage and compassion.34 There is no evidence that Dr. Giannini solicited the assistance of Hawkins and McLean nor that he attempted to dissuade them from risking their lives.

Another side of Doc, exhibited in those early days of his adult life, played a major role in his later life. He had been enchanted with the entertainment industry from the time he was a young doctor. As part of his duties one of Doc's medical tasks was to perform autopsies at the San Francisco County Morgue off the old Barbary

Coast, to determine the cause of death of those whose demise created little or no interest to the city's population. He then found pleasure when he adjourned to the night court pressroom where he joined in story telling with the police reporters who were on duty. The police reporters, at that time, were also the city newspaper's drama critics and San Francisco, as mentioned earlier, was the West Coast's cradle of drama.

The burgeoning new stars of the live theater-David Belasco, Marjorie Rambeau,

David Warfield, Holbrook Blinn, Blanche Bates, Maxine Elliot and Alice Nielson-

were achieving popularity at the old Tivoli Theater or the Vienna Gardens. Doc

became a companion of the drama critics on opening night for all the new plays,

sitting in the theaters front row with his friends and judging the plays and the

performers. 35

Doc's attachment to the entertainment industry remained with him throughout

his entire life and led him to his focus on the motion picture industry and the

34 Taylor, 45. 35 Ibid, 46. Taibleson 29

Broadway live theater during his banking career. In an interview with a San Francisco newspaper in 1908 Doc was characterized as a crusader. He had voiced his displeasure at the rude conduct and the boorish and vulgar behavior of some of the people in theater audiences. Doc criticized their disruptive actions that disturbed the actors on the stage and was unpleasant to the other playgoers. He advocated that a municipal statute should be enacted and enforced that would ensure proper decorum in a theater?6

By 1898 Dr. Attilio Henry Giannini had started his private medical practice in

San Francisco. Reflective of his drive and commitment to the common good, in time he became president of the County Medical Society. With the onset of the Spanish-

American War on April 21,1898 Dr. Giannini immediately suspended his practice

and enlisted in the United States Army Medical Corps.37

The Spanish-American War was significant in the history of the United States

as this event was the first military action that the United States fought outside the

North American Continent. The conflict involved land and sea campaigns in Cuba

and the Philippine Islands. This war laid the groundwork and signaled the entry of the

United States into foreign affairs. Those facts are generally well known, however,

what is not so well known is the Spanish-American War's positive impact on the

development of the public health movement in the United States.

36 San Francisco Call, April3, 1908, Front Page. 37 New York Times, February 9, 1943, 19. Taibleson 30

The most significant public health movement advance was the recognition of the value of sanitary and public health measures that led to curtailing the spread of and the curing of infectious diseases. The Spanish-American War provided the pressure that was the catalyst that resulted in the stamping out of the epidemics caused by the tragically infectious yellow fever. The United States Army Medical

Department was not prepared for the Spanish-American War. The war caused a reorganization of the Army Medical Corp and the army became aware of the value of sanitation and public health measures. The experience in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the

Philippine Islands provided the medical corps with ideas that made major advancements in improving public health in the United States.

Throughout history yellow fever epidemics had been a curse. Early in the war

American soldiers stationed in Havana and Cuban peasants were stricken by an intense yellow fever epidemic. The disease posed a major threat to military operations. Yellow fever is a horrendously visible disease that causes the deterioration of the liver, kidneys and heart. Yellow bile pigments, from the damaged liver, color the skin, giving the disease its name. Those infected, except for the few that survive, usually die within four to eight days from the time they first show symptoms, as there is no accepted cure for the disease. In an attempt to stop the deadly epidemic the U.S. Surgeon General appointed a team of researchers led by army medical scientist Dr. Walter Reed to go to Cuba.38

38 Yellow Fever and Dr. Walter Reed, http://www.mcatmaster.com/medicine&war/yellowfever.htm, l- 2. Taibleson 31

Their charge was to, once and for all, solve the yellow fever problem by determining how the destructive condition was transmitted from person to person.

Reed's inventive experiments proved that yellow fever was spread by the bite of the mosquito Aedes aegyptl, and was not contagious from one person to another. Through the use of better sanitation, mosquito screens and the destruction of the insect's breeding grounds Havana, for the first time in 150 years was free of yellow fever.

Several years later the same approach was used in Panama, which was a habitual target of a yellow fever epidemic. Panama has not had a single case since. As a consequence it was then possible to build the Panama Canal. We know to this day that beneficial medical innovation can be a product of even the tragedy of war, as was the case here. An American led team set the pattern that eliminated yellow fever epidemics.39

Dr. Giannini was not deployed to Cuba by the United States Medical Corps and consequently was not involved in Dr. Walter Reed's success in stamping out the yellow fever peril. A field hospital in the Philippine Islands was the site of his overseas experience where he was recognized for his extraordinary contribution. The principal casualties were a result of disease rather than combat. The war lasted until mid-August of 1898. During this very short war there were 379 American combat deaths, however more than 5,000 servicemen died of disease. Doc served with distinction in the typhoid and other infectious disease wards and in the care of

39 Yellow Fever, 1-2 Taibleson 32 smallpox victims.40 He was decorated for bravery when he returned to the States where he continued to serve the medical needs of San Francisco's population in times of crisis while resuming his medical practice.

On his return to San Francisco, in order to provide proper medical care, he volunteered and quarantined himself, at the Presidio, with 6,000 veteran Spanish-

American War Negro troops, all infected with smallpox. Years later at the time of the threatened typhus fever epidemic, as a result of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, he again served his fellow man by exposing himself to a life threatening environment. Dr. Giannani took charge of the pest house when all the other doctors shunned the task of caring for the typhus fever victims. He worked day and night through the devastation until order was restored in the city.41 Again as a volunteer he subsequently helped stem an outbreak of bubonic plague. These heroic acts of compassion and service to his fellow San Franciscans catapulted him to the deserved recognition as a local hero when he was still in his 20s and launched him on a political career. 42

Doc's political life began in 1900 as a result of his celebrity that occurred after

James Phelan began his political career and was elected mayor of San Francisco.

Phelan, a lawyer and a banker was also a graduate of Old St. Ignatius College, Doc's alma mater. Phelan was running on a reform platform with the purpose of ridding San

Francisco of the notorious and corrupt Schmidt-Reuf political machine. The success

40 Yellow Fever and Dr. Walter Reed, 41 "Prima Donna's President," Time, July 20, 1936,60-61. 42 Taylor, 45. Taibleson 33 of Phelan's administration and his subsequent celebrity led to his election to the

United States Senate in 1915. Phelan recognized the young Dr. Giannini's earned admiration and popularity by the overall population of the city and particularly in the influential Italian section of the community. He asked Doc to run for the Board of

Supervisors as a member of his reform movement. Doc immediately accepted the request as he knew that he would then have an opportunity to influence decisions beneficial to all the people of the city. He was overwhelmingly elected.43

Through the early 1900s San Francisco never attempted to recover from the corruption introduced by the 1849 gold rush. The discovery of gold attracted adventurers and gold seekers, from all over the world. Until August 1891 no serious legal attempt was made to determine the cause of municipal corruption and to identify the responsible individuals. At that time a comprehensive investigation led to the conviction and incarceration of the guilty parties. Gladys Hansen, the curator of the

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco, commented in her history of San

Francisco that shortly after the earthquake and fire of 1906, political boss Abraham

Ruef, Mayor Schmitz, all the members of the Board of Supervisors, the police chief, as well as corporate officers of PG&E, United Railroads and what would become

Pacific Telephone were indicted for graft and bribery.44 This note on the New City

Hall reflects the public's reaction and exemplifies the corruption problem:

The thrifty plumbers ... did not connect the New City Hall with the sewers, but let the drainage pipes come to an end in the cellar, where

43 Taylor, 23,45. 44 Causes of Municipal Corruption in San Francisco-1909, http://www .sfmuseum.comihist5/graft l.html Taibleson 34

all the sewage has been accumulating for eleven years. No doubt the fraud would have been detected earlier if the odor that permeated the building had not been attributed to the morals of the officials. 45

The reform group was led by former mayor James Phelan and financier

Rudolph Spreckles. Phelan and Spreckles were determined to break the cycle of bribery and graft that was rampant in San Francisco politics and Doc was an important member of the reform group.46

Doc served on the Board of Supervisors with many politically rising public figures whose names are still well known today. Among them was future California

Governor and United States Senator, Hiram Johnson; San Francisco Mayor and

California Governor to be James Rolfe; famous graft prosecutor Frances J. Heney; and Jim Johnson who became warden of the federal prison on Alcatraz Island. Doc was influential in many local matters that benefited the ordinary citizens and was successful in initiating a program to provide free medical examinations for San

Francisco's school children. After the 1906 earthquake and fire Doc played a significant role in planning to rebuild the city. He was sent to Washington to convince the U. S. Congress to pass legislation to construct a water reservoir in the Hetch

Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park by damming the Tuolumne River. At a hearing held before the committee on the Public Lands of the House of

Representatives on December 16, 1908 Doc read his prepared statement and was questioned by the committee. He asserted and gave evidence that San Francisco

45 New City Hall, San Francisco News Letter and California Advertiser, October 24,1891, http://www. sfmuseum.com/hist 1/newcityhall. html 46 A Great Civic Drama, SF Museum, Gladys Hensen, July 18, 1996. Taibleson 35 needed the additional water supply in order to survive.47 Congress did start the process and the Hetch Hetchy reservoir was eventually built.

Despite the U.S. Congress' agreement to build the Hetch Hetchy reservoir,

Doc took continued action to achieve his goal. He did not relax in his pursuit to improve San Francisco's access to additional water supplies. The San Francisco

Chronicle reported on three occasions, during 1909, Doc's continuing presence in the attempt to significantly improve the city's water supply. The Chronicle reported that upon the advice of Supervisor A.H. Giannini, the reception committee of the

California Promotion Committee dropped its attempt to secure funding for a municipal auditorium. Doc indicated that he favored a municipal auditorium, however he insisted that it was a question of priorities. He convinced the committee that all available funds should be spent to improve the city's needed water supply.48 He became the Chairman of the Public Utilities Committee that the paper characterized as the most important committee of the Board of Supervisors. The Chronicle credited him with being the single individual most familiar with all phases of the water question as well as the other questions connected with the city's public utilities.

In May the Chronicle lamented the resignation of Supervisor Giannini. The paper recognized that Dr. Giannini was no longer willing to tolerate and be a party to the Board of Supervisor's commitment to burden the city in unreasonable public indebtedness. The Chronicle begged him to stay because San Francisco needed him.

47 A. H. Giannini, "Statement," Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. http://www. stlnuseum. org/hetch/hetchy7 .html 48 San Francisco Chronicle, Mar.l3, 1909, 5. Taibleson 36

Dr. Giannini had made his decision and as always, it stuck. As reported in the

Chronicle, Doc resigned because, he believed that: "if the Board is irrevocably committed to unreasonable public indebtedness those who favor such policies should take the entire responsibility of carrying them out." 49 In December, former supervisor

Giannini, in a speech before the Commonwealth Club, strongly advised the group that an expenditure for improving San Francisco's water supply was not only worth the cost, it was also a good real estate investment. 50

Even as he became a courageous medical practitioner and a successful local political force he also found success in his personal life. In 1905 Doc had married

Miss Leontine Denker, a member of a pioneer San Francisco family. Leontine and

Doc had one son, Bernard, who became a Bank of America officer.

Doc had developed into a many faceted man: compassionate, loving, profane and one whom it was not always easy to find a common ground. An example of his sometime insistent positions, with which he would not brook a challenge was the use of his name. After he became a medical practitioner he made it clear that he preferred to be addressed as Dr. Giannini or as just plain Doc. The name, Attilio or Til, was reserved for his very close relatives, probably only his mother and his wife.

Learning not only enhanced Doc's knowledge but was also significantly important in developing his character and in setting standards in the conduct of his life, as well as in the establishing of relationships. In appraising this man it is

49 San Francisco Chronicle, May15, 1909,6. 50 Ibid, December 19, 1909, 49. Taibleson 37 important to recognize that education, to him, was not a means to an end. Doc was a man of highly intellectual and practical capacity. Though he possessed significant compassionate traits, as a practical man he recognized that he was no angel. He was blessed with a mind that contained a reservoir of considered information that enabled him to make snap judgments based on impulse. The decisions were made quickly without a great deal of hesitation. When challenged he was able to support and justify his actions to himself, however, not always to others. This faculty caused him to immediately react to situations that could put his own life in jeopardy. The examples mentioned above indicates the extent of his desire to protect the well being of others-a reflection of his ethical standards-he took actions in life threatening situations that others chose to observe from the sidelines. The factors that shaped

Doc's life continued to guide his actions when he became a banker. Taibleson 38

Chapter II

Banking in San Francisco and New York

Dr. Attilio Giannini's first banking related experience occurred as a result of the April 18,1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. This tragic event was one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. Eighty percent of the City of San Francisco was destroyed, and as many as 3,000 people lost their lives. Doc's brother, A.P.

Giannini had founded the Bank of Italy in 1904. The bank was located at the foot of

Telegraph Hill in North Beach, and was in total ruins as a result of the fire that followed the earthquake. Doc resided in the city, at 2745 Van Ness Avenue. His home was in one of the few areas of San Francisco that escaped the ravages caused by the earthquake and fire. Doc offered A.P. his home as a temporary location for the bank until a satisfactory new permanent site could become available. 51

Doc's banking career began when A.P. opened the Bank of Italy's initial branch bank on San Francisco's Market Street.52 A.P. persuaded Doc-even though he was a successful medical practitioner and a San Francisco supervisor-to become a part time banker in 1908, as the manager of the Market Street branch. The next chapter of this thesis will explain and discuss how the lending practices of the Market

Street branch of the Bank of Italy, under Doc's personal direction, became the

51 Taylor, 46 52 This branch in San Francisco was considered as another window in the bank's main location, and was not considered a statewide branch bank. Taibleson 39 birthplace of Hollywood. Years later, persuaded by A.P.'s insistence, Doc gave up his successful medical practice in 1919 to devote all of his efforts to the Bank of Italy's recently acquired East River National Bank in New York City.

It is important to recognize Doc's traits and characteristics that guided his life irrespective of his field of endeavor. Doc brought the same attributes that influenced his behavior during his medical career to his banking career. Innovative and willing to take acceptable risks Doc made gutsy decisions and frequently broke new ground. He made many unconventional decisions that other bankers would not risk and saw them through to their conclusions. Doc's new and sometimes unconventional ideas and approaches in his banking practices were advanced with the same determination that he evidenced in saving lives as a doctor. He always insisted that his approach to banking was focused on a single goal. How best to expand the bank's business. Doc insisted that compassion for any group was not a significant factor in making his business decisions. He did, however, recognize other competing banks' reluctance to relate to a particular group and used that knowledge to exploit a fertile undeveloped field serving immigrants and show people. Doc's uncompromising credo, without respect to the potential customer's background or ethnicity, was simplicity itself, he insisted: "I don't think I'm tough, but I won't stand for four-flushers and double- crossers. I can spot a phony as far as I can see him. Shoot straight with me and we will get along fine. "53

53 Dwight L. Clarke, "The Gianninis Men of the Renaissance," California Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. 49, Number 4, 1970, 339. Taibleson 40

When the history and foundation of the Bank of Italy, which became Bank of

America in 1930,54 has been treated, the overarching story is the biography of the bank's founder. Doc's older brother, Amadeo Peter Giannini, known as A.P. was the

American West's unchallenged leading commercial banker in the first half of the twentieth century. He was a man of ruthless and restless ambition who turned the banking world upside down in fulfilling his dream. A.P. was opportunistic, energetic and blunt, but still thoughtful. His use of these impulses propelled Bank of America forward to become one of the world's largest commercial banks by the 1940's. 55 The day after the San Francisco earthquake demonstrated how A.P. turned this tragic event into an opportunity for his bank. The morning after the earthquake, before the fires consumed everything, the bank's cash resources of $80,000 were removed from the vaults and the Bank of Italy was open for business within a few days. Because the other San Francisco bankers did not empty their vaults after the earthquake but before fires they were mired in gloom. Their funds were in vaults that were inaccessible because they were in the midst of the inferno and were incapable of being accessed until the intense heat, caused by the fire, cooled down. 56

As soon as the fires were contained the Bank of Italy had two operating banking locations, Doc's home and, illegal in normal times, on a plank counter across the top of saw horses with a bag containing $80,000 of gold and silver, at the

Washington Street wharf. The bank accepted deposits and made loans to individuals

54 The name of an established prestigious New York City bank acquired after Doc became a New York City banker. 55Nash, ix. 56 Bonadio, 33. Taibleson 41 who wanted to rebuild their homes and business quarters. Of equal or more importance, the bank's action moderated the despondency of its customers by demonstrating hope when the big conventional banks, for all kinds of reasons, were not going to be operational for weeks.

A.P. dominated the bank as his personal fiefdom. However, he did not do everything himself. Doc joined the Bank of Italy as a part time banker in 1908, while still practicing medicine. A.P. pressed him to accept management responsibilities in the bank's operation that A.P. considered crucial to the success of his goals. Doc would become a major contributor to the bank's growth and achievements.

Unfortunately the Giannini brothers never really got along and their relationship continued to grow more strained and distant as time passed. They were not close, however, the affairs of the bank bound them together to the benefit of the bank.

Surprisingly, the more celebrated brother, A.P., was jealous of the praise heaped on his less famous sibling. In his biography of A.P., historian Gerald D. Nash describes how A.P. considered Attilio overly sensitive and unappreciative. A.P. was so consumed with his own work ethic that he openly expected Attilio to recognize

A.P. 's contribution to the family's financial well-being. A.P. believed that Attilio should thank him for his academic accomplishments. A.P., in substance, was insisting that he was responsible for providing the resources that enabled Attilio to acquire a college education and a medical degree. There is no evidence of Attilio's reaction to Taibleson 42 his brother's belief. A.P.'s infuriating nickname for Doc was "The Prima Donna." 57

Attilio found A.P. overbearing, authoritative, insensitive and crude. It was acknowledged, by those who associated with the brothers, that A.P. and Attilio could not be together for five minutes without engaging in a bitter argument. 58 Doc, on the

other hand, had a more balanced view of A.P. While admiring his brother's usually well-founded self-assurance, Doc did not hesitate to openly criticize A.P.'s often

garbled, barely intelligible manner of speaking and writing. In A.P.' s mind his

inadequacy confirmed his view of his family sacrifice. Attilio was not hesitant, however, in also recognizing his brother's significant forcefulness and achievements.

An incident exposing a combination of Doc's admiration and disdain for his

brother's behavior occurred sometime in the latter part of the 1930s. A.P. was on the

telephone with Henry Morganthau, then Secretary of the Treasury in President

Franklin D. Roosevelt's cabinet from 1934 to 1945. A.P. exploded with outrage at

Morgenthau's negatively expressed reaction to his usual demeanor and toward some

of Bank of America's banking practices. When A.P. decided that the time was ripe

for advancing his goals he was scornful of any reluctance by the regulators to delay or

deny his desire. In the process he was unmindful of his use of tactless language. A.P.

was certain that his goals to change established banking practices benefited the

banking system as well as his Bank of America. Morganthau's position was more

attuned to the Wall Street East Coast banking practices and did not favor A.P.' s West

57 "Prima Donna's President," Time, July 20, 1936, 60-61. 58 Nash, 92-93. Taibleson 43

Coast plans. He was especially opposed to the large-scale expansion of branch banking. Negatively compounding the personal relationship, "the comptroller of the currency, who supervised national banks, and also the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation questioned many of the new types of loans A.P. inaugurated during the

1930s." Morgenthau was also not comfortable with A.P.'s method of applying pressure to gain his goal. The Secretary was particularly offended by A.P.'s habit of constantly reminding everyone that he believed he was entitled to special consideration because he was one of the very few bankers, who very early in the political campaign had supported Roosevelt's successful 1932 race for the presidency of the United States. 59

When the telephone call between A.P. and Morganthau was completed, Doc dramatically lifted his hands to the heavens and remarked with admiration:

I don't know where A.P. gets his courage. I'm his brother, but I am afraid to beard the lion in his den like that. Think of calling the Secretary of the Treasury a fraud and a liar! I never knew anyone like A.P. I don't believe he was ever afraid of anyone in his life: man or devil or God Almighty! They must have put something in him that they left out of me. 60

However, what was put in Doc and left out of A.P. was the ability to acknowledge, rather than deny, the accomplishments of others that he resented.

To a large extent the Morgenthau and A.P. antagonism was the consequence of personal enmity. As Jesse Jones, a Texas politician who served in Roosevelt's cabinet, remarked: "There was no love lost between Mr. Giannini and Secretary

59 Nash, 121. 60 Dwight L. Clarke, "The Gianninis Men of the Renaissance," California Historical Societv Quarterly, Vo149, Number 3M, 1970,257. Taibleson 44

Morganthau."61 A.P.'s anger knew no restraint and resulted in exposing some of his less desirable traits when at a later Bank of America Board of Director's meeting,:

"He screamed and shouted about 'the Jew sonofabitch Morganthau," promising that this was "one goddamn Jew who was in for a fight to the finish." 62 A.P. had a habit of making any disagreement personal. His relationship with his brother Doc was no exception. As historian Felice A. Bonadio comments: "Few figures in American business history generated as much controversy, fought as bitterly with their opposition, and made as many powerful enemies as did Amadeo Peter Giannini." In

A.P.'s mind he was always right, never wrong and he rarely, if ever, apologized for his uncivil behavior or utterances. His critics considered him a financial maverick with a raging temper and unstinting aspirations. Others marveled at his boldness and unorthodox manner that was blessed with the Midas touch. To those admirers he changed banking in the same manner that Henry Ford changed automobile manufacturing. 63 Some of the traits and behaviors of the brothers were similar. They both were imaginative and innovative and they each developed legal banking practices that conventional bankers shunned. However, they had other reactions that differed significantly, reflecting opposite characteristics.

Doc was also dogmatic in many ways and was more often than not certain that his position was correct. He was not reluctant to strongly assert his reaction in any situation, however, there is no evidence that Doc ever flew into an irrational

61 Nash, 122. 62 Ibid 124-125. 63 Bonadio, xviii Taibleson 45 uncontrollable rage, which seemed to be A.P.'s usual modus operandi. Doc always maintained a civil demeanor and his business disagreements did not seem to degenerate into an out of control personality clash. He was able to have an adversarial relationship that did not degenerate into enmity. A.P.'s and Doc's further dissimilar significant trait was exposed in the above incident. Though prominent influential

Jewish bank customers were on the Board of Directors of Bank of America, A.P. did not restrain himself from vocalizing anti-Semitic diatribes in their presence that led to disgust and resignations.

Doc on the other hand built his banking career dealing with Jewish immigrants, from the time that they conceived of and developed a significant part of the entertainment business through their accession to becoming moguls of Broadway and Hollywood. It is unreasonable to assume that Doc's views mirrored the anti­

Semitic beliefs of his brother. Research does not indicate that Doc harbored any anti­

Semitic attitudes and he certainly never voiced any untoward comments. Doc's close and personal relationships with these business associates existed throughout his career as a banker. Their attitudes toward Doc were confirmed by tributes during his life and the expressed eulogies of their feelings when he unexpectedly passed away. More importantly this chapter will report and describe an action by these individuals, during Doc's lifetime. Their response to assist the Bank of America, in time of need, that reflected their recognition of Doc's importance to their operations and to the industry as well as exhibiting their respect for and trust in Doc. Taibleson 46

Several incidents of A.P.'s dependence on Doc were critical to the bank's rise to fame. Though A.P. never openly vocalized his recognition and respect of Doc's capabilities, A.P.' s actions in utilizing Doc certainly confirmed and acknowledged his need for Doc's talent. As mentioned earlier A.P. asked Doc to manage the bank's

Market Street branch in 1908. A further ground breaking success was the imaginative,

farsighted action by the Bank of Italy that occurred in 1909. This success was

basically the first step in A.P.' s plan to materially change the State of California's

banking system. The Bank of Italy fought for and received state approval to open a

branch in San Jose, giving birth to statewide branch banking. 64 Doc while still a

medical practitioner was the manager of the Market Street branch and the San Jose

branch. Statewide branch banking was the Bank of Italy's springboard in achieving

the bank's fame and fortune. As the Bank of Italy's branch banking empire expanded

Doc inherited further related responsibilities. When trouble developed in a branch,

bank historians Marquis and Bessie Rowland James reported: "Doc Giannini went out

and took charge. The Doc was getting a reputation as a trouble-shooter. Working part

time, he had started off the San Jose and the Market Street branches. More and more

the bank took the Doc away from his medical practice. Before long, it claimed all his

time."65

64 Marquis and Bessie Rowland James, Biography of a Bank, (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1954) 72. 65 Ibid, 68. Taibleson 4 7

As Doc began to move into the banking business, a crucial event occurred that would change his life and influence the development of the motion picture industry.

Two fellows, who he did not know, walked into the Market Street branch in 1908.

The 17 year old Sol Lesser and his partner, Herman Webber needed $500 to purchase additional chairs for their nickelodeon located on Filmore Street in San Francisco.

They were bringing motion pictures, a new form of entertainment, to San Francisco.

Conventional San Francisco commercial bankers would not take a chance on this novel unproven venture. As mentioned earlier, Doc had been enchanted with the entertainment industry from the time he was a young doctor as he sat in the front row of the theater attending every San Francisco first night opening performance of live theater. Doc took the gamble and Lesser and Webber walked out of the bank with the needed $500. They paid off their loan on time and made and paid many other loans as well.66 Doc's loan of $500 to Lesser and Webber was the initial loan to what became the Southern California Motion Picture Industry and Doc became the banker to

Hollywood.

After Doc's initial loan and other loans to Lesser and Webber were all paid on time, another small loan was made for distribution rights to an exchange owner for a film. This loan was also paid on time. Soon production companies such as Biograph,

General Film Company and Vitagraph borrowed needed funds from Doc and in the process established banking relationships with the bank. In 1918 Doc's first large loan was made to Famous Players-Lasky Corporation in the amount of $50,000 at an

66 Taylor, 45. Taibleson 48 interest rate of six percent due in six months. Doc's Market Street branch was establishing itself as an important source of funds for many facets of the neophyte film industry: producers, distributors, exhibitors, film laboratories and equipment companies became Doc's regular customers. Historian Janet Wasko reports on the growth of the bank's relationship with the movie industry. She asserts that the Bank of Italy became known as "the movie bank" because of its continuous relationship with the American film industry that began in 1908.67 Doc's contribution to the long term success of the bank is confirmed by his relationship with Hollywood. He also played a major role in exploiting California's statewide branch banking system.

A.P.' s preferred manner in building his branch banking empire was to acquire an existing bank with a positive reputation in the community, rather than creating a new venture. He believed that the newly acquired bank, with the benefit of new management policies and access to the increased capital and credit provided by the

Bank of Italy, would be a success, irrespective of the acquired bank's existing profitability. The decade that began shortly after the time the Bank of Italy established the first statewide branch bank in San Jose included periods of whirlwind activity. "By the early 1920s an expanding web of more than sixty branches served customers from Chico to San Diego."68 The Bank of Italy acquired banks that became branches throughout the Santa Clara Valley. In the three years between 1916 and

1918 eight Bank of Italy bank mergers were accomplished in Gilroy, Hollister and

67 Wasko, 120-122. 68 Nash, ix. Taibleson 49

Santa Clara. Between Santa Rosa in the North and Ventura in the South-a distance of four hundred miles-12 banks were added to the Bank of Italy's branch banking system. During this period there were other branches opened: two were operating in

Los Angeles, four in Oakland, across the San Francisco Bay and a branch in

Redwood City a suburb of San Francisco.69

Other California areas experienced benefits from the Giannini invasion during the next few years. The largest and richest agricultural San Joaquin Valley was next on the menu to satisfy the Bank of Italy's appetite. The region stretched over a north and south span of more than 300 miles with an average width of more than 40 miles, from the eastern arm of San Francisco Bay to the Tehachapi Range. From Fresno to the head of tidewater on the San Joaquin River, branches were established at Madera,

Merced and Stockton. A.P. then set up two branches north of San Francisco at Napa in the Napa Valley and at Santa Rosa in the Sonora Valley. Only three California banks had greater assets than the Bank of Italy by the end of 1918. In all of the branches the local nature and characteristics of the acquired institutions was maintained. This assured the local population that the bank was still a local institution in its relationship with the area's customers. In each of the new localities were well known local citizen stockholders of the Bank of Italy, a local advisory board and, of course, familiar local employees. The first statewide banking system in the United

69 James, 72-73. Taibleson 50

States, together with its benefits, was no longer a Giannini dream. Statewide branch banking in California was an accepted fact. 70

Doc was in the forefront, and a major player, in successfully advancing A.P.'s dream of statewide branch banking in California. In San Jose the Bank of Italy purchased the Commercial and Savings Bank in 1909. The bank was a staid and formerly prestigious institution suffering under the burden of high debt and poor management. 71 A.P. recognized the importance and the necessity of success for this departure from the then conventional banking practices. Consequently, he pressed

Doc to manage the San Jose branch, splitting his time managing both the Market

Street branch and the San Jose branch while still continuing his medical practice. One of Doc's first actions was to provide comfort to the San Jose community in a convincing and personal manner that the Bank of Italy would benefit San Jose. He advised the community, through an advertisement in the San Jose Mercury and

Herald of November 14, 1909, that: "the transformation of the local bank into a branch of the San Francisco institution does not mean that San Jose coin will be taken away to San Francisco, but that San Francisco coin will be brought to San Jose. The officers are in no way intruders in the local field as many of them are very well known in the community, having lived here." 72

Doc managed the bank with an innovative approach. Despite criticism from his peers, he launched the school children's savings plan in the San Jose branch, that

70 James, 72-73. 71 Nash, 42. 72 Ibid, 42. Taibleson 51 over time brought in 16,000 student depositors. Doc agreed, as charged by his peers, that the program would not produce profits, but he insisted, that it would build a huge customer base with compensating profits for the future, and he was correct. 73 The same program was initiated in San Francisco a few years later. Speaking before the

San Francisco Ad Club, Doc announced that San Francisco school children had deposited $115,000 in pennies, nickels and dimes. This was accomplished during the two-year period from the inception of the Bank of Italy's school children's savings plan in San Francisco. 74 With proper planning, determination and advocacy, success in one locale begets success in another.

Doc had an instinctive sense to never miss an opportunity to benefit the bank.

In 1911 a local San Jose newspaper in recognition of the coming new year asked each of the San Jose banks to submit an article reflecting their view on the prosperity of the city and the county during the past year and to comment on the future prospects of the area. Doc's published remarks ignored the restricted subject and instead focused on how individuals could personally benefit themselves. His opening sentence stated: "It is safe to say that the one thought that occupies the minds of people more than any other is how to make the most progress along the road to success."75 Doc's article extolled the value of a bank savings account. He advocated frugality and explained how a regular savings plan, regardless of the size of each deposit, grew over time and was enhanced by bank interest. He also asserted that the dollar amount of regular

73 Clarke, 339-340. 74 San Francisco Chronicle, July 24, 1913, pg. 20. 75 san Jose Mercury News, 01-01-1911, Vol. LXXX; Issue; 1: Page: 2. Taibleson 52 savings should be increased as the individual prospered. He further believed that the habit of planned savings mitigated against wasteful spending. Doc's management style, as well as his expressed ideas, and the policies of the Bank of Italy were well received by the community. The San Jose branch soon exceeded all expectations and gave A.P. the needed confidence to move forward in his plan of expansion. Within a year three more branches were operating in a fifty-mile corridor, from San Francisco in the north to the southern tip of the San Francisco peninsula. 76

Doc's continued successes increased his importance to the bank. Gerald D.

Nash, an A.P. admirer stated: "His [Attilio's] business acumen was considerable, and he was a significant factor in the bank's growth."77 A.P. was obviously aware of

Doc's contributions even though he refused to acknowledge his recognition. A.P. confirmed Doc's importance to the bank when he made his move to bring the Bank of

Italy to New York City. In 1919, the Bank of Italy purchased the East River National

Bank. This was the initial step by A.P. in his goal to transform the Bank of Italy to a nationwide bank and eventually to an international bank. A.P. convinced Doc to give up his medical practice and become a full time banker and take over the management of the East Coast operations. By this time banking was in Doc's blood and he agreed to make the career change.

Many people, including family members, thought A.P. made a curious choice.

Bonadio speculates on why A.P. asked Doc to become the lead man in the fulfillment

76 Bonadio, 49. 77 Nash, 92. Taibleson 53 of his dream, considering their antagonistic relationship. She posits that Doc's lifestyle was valued by A.P. "Doc's close personal and business friendships with the socially powerful and his ability to move easily in sophisticated circles-traits he thought would serve Bank ofltaly well in New York."78 Bonadio was speculating that

A.P. was willing to ignore his brother's traits, that he despised, as long as his dream was preserved and advanced. A.P. would also have had to be certain that Doc had all the necessary attributes to insure success. Doc's experience and performance in New

York confirmed his brother's judgment.

When the San Francisco public became aware that Doc was leaving for New

York, the people of San Francisco responded. On April 23, 1919, Doc's friends

hosted a surprise "notable" farewell party and banquet for Doc at the Fairmount Hotel

attended by 400 men from all walks of life. He had expected to have dinner with a

few of his friends that wanted to say good-bye and wish him luck. Doc's fellow

citizens from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and many other California towns were

there to laud him and express their regrets that he was leaving them, while wishing

him success in his New York City venture. There were politicians and clergymen,

lawyers and artists, physicians and actors. Also judges, bankers, merchants, soldiers,

sailors, musicians, teachers and writers attended the gala event. There were tributes

galore by the celebrated guests and also by uncelebrated ordinary folks. " The

assemblage, the heartiness of the greeting, the warmth of the expressions of affection

overcame Dr. Giannini .... Almost in tears he said: I did not know I had so many

78 Bonadio, 72. Taibleson 54 friends, and such friends. How can I ever go." He was presented with a gold watch and a gold pencil. The watch was inscribed: "Just to Remember Your California

Friends." 79 The real glory of the occasion is that most of us rarely hear such accolades from our fellows in all facets of society. Doc in addition to his acceptance by the city's powerful also moved easily in the other segments of the population. The assemblage represented his banking associates as well as the many and varied areas of his civic contributions, including his service on the Board of Supervisors, as well

as his experience as a medical doctor, in the city that he embraced. He was known to most segments of the population and was also recognized as one of the respected

leaders of the San Francisco Italian community.

Doc moved to New York and developed a network of banks as president of

the East River National Bank. The East River National Bank was established in 1852

and was located in the center ofNew York's largest Italian-Jewish community. When

Doc took over the management of the bank in 1919 its assets were $3.5 million; nine

months later the bank's total assets neared $13 million. This was a remarkable

increase for a small Brooklyn bank serving primarily working-class Jews and Italians

and reflected the continued success of the Giannini approach to secure ethnic

customers. This approach mirrored the Bank of Italy's initial focus in California. A.P.

was impressed and strongly advised that efforts should be focused to attract all

foreign elements.80 Also as a consequence of Doc's leadership, adding branch banks

79 San Francisco Chronicle," Notable Party at Banquet to Honor Banker." Apri124, 1919, 8. 80 Bonadio, 72-73. Taibleson 55 in New York City became an ongoing effort. During this period he advanced an increasingly greater volume of credit to Hollywood enterprises while also expanding the range of the bank as an important national banking institution in all areas. 81 At the same time he was enhancing the image of the Bank of Italy as a bank for the benefit of the "little fellows." Solidifying the public perception accorded Doc, New York

City newspapers accounts of the bank's programs and progress referred to the accomplishments of the Giannini brothers. 82

Doc acquired banks in New York with almost the same speed as A.P. accumulated banks in California. The first of these institutions was the Bowery Bank that was merged with the East River National Bank and renamed the Bowery and East

River National Bank. Two other bank acquisitions contributed significantly to the future of the Bank of Italy. The Commercial Trust Company at Broadway and 41st

Street was acquired principally because of its location. A.P.' s directed target bank was the century old Bank of America and he sent wheeler-dealer Leo Belden in 1927 as his emissary to determine and smooth out any obstacles to the purchase. A.P. believed that acquiring Bank of America was the key to achieving his goal as a nationwide banker. In the prestigious location at 44 Wall Street that bank gave its name to what became the world's largest commercial bank. By the time that A.P. acquired Bank of America in 1928, the Giannini's had acquired more than 45 New

81 Nash, 94. 82 Wasko, 122. Taibleson 56

York banks. They were all merged into one bank and became Bank of America

N.A.s3

Doc had an office in many of the acquired banks, however his favorite office was at the Commercial Trust at Broadway and 41st Street. Doc believed the

Commercial Trust's location was the ideal site to launch his relationship with the

Broadway live theater. Doc occupied and utilized that bank to become the banker of

Broadway. 84

Broadway was an identifying place known throughout the cultured world. In

1902 journalist Frederick Stanford wrote a lengthy article discussing live theater,

commenting on its character and its participants. He wrote: "The region [Broadway]

is as distinct in character as Wall Street; and perhaps there is no other district in the

universe, London and Paris not excepted; where business associated with the stage is

so pronounced and its people so numerous." Stanford's article analyzes the

contributions of the participants in the incipient industry. He identifies the Broadway

musical and play producers as speculators, consequently, the name of his article is "

The Speculation in Plays." The metaphor recognizes the improbability of the

profitability of a Broadway production's financial success at that time. The huge

majority of the, then, yearly average of 150 new shows were financial failures.

However, the Broadway plays and musicals existed for more than profit attainment.

The contribution of those shows were a major leap toward exposing art and culture to

83 Wasko, 122. 84 Taylor, 46. Taibleson 57 the City of New York that infused the art and culture of America and eventually the rest of the world.

The six blocks stretching along New York's Broadway Avenue, extending

from Thirty-fifth to Forty-first Streets was where most of the activity occurred.

According to Franklin Stanford in his New York Times article there was in the early

part of the year "before even the first flowers bloomed in the Spring ... the appearance

of an awakening of life. The men are young, good-looking, clean-shaven, animated

and well dressed. The women are all attractive in personal appearance, and very few

are living in the middle ages. "85 These players are allied in creating a pervasive

feeling that hope springs eternal in the human breast. A display of rejuvenescence

existed that was not observable in any other part of the city. 86 The evidence exists that

by the time Doc arrived in New York City in 1919, Broadway's financial prospects

had substantially improved. Productions by then were expected to be profitable.

Otherwise why would the usurer lenders demand a significant share of the profits in

addition to bonuses and interest.

Doc's immediate action to achieve a desired objective, as a medical

practitioner or as a banker, was to quickly survey and respond to a new or existing

situation and without hesitation develop a course of action. He recognized that the

Broadway people and the motion picture people were not accepted as prime

borrowing customers and Doc gambled that their business was his for the taking. 87

85 New York Times, "The Speculation in Plays," March 30, 1902, SMIO. 86 Ibid, SMlO. 87 Time, 60. Taibleson 58

Doc's first act when he took over Commercial Trust in 1920 was to change the bank's

Board of Directors. He appointed, four well-known Jewish Broadway producers, Sam

Harris, Joseph and Nicholas Schenck and John Golden, to the Board of Directors of

Commercial Trust. This action was contrary to the existing established banking conventions. Broadway producers, being rated low on the scale of potential borrowers, were tarnished as low-class, on the same level as the Jewish furriers and suit makers whose business Doc also solicited.88 When his other directors objected to loans to the producers, furriers and suit makers Doc exploded: "What if they do smell of cheese and garlic, they meet their obligations."89

Doc reacted in anger to the obvious anti-Semitism attitude with a response in language that the nay-sayers understood. His outburst could also be considered anti-

Semitic. However, the force of his response and his continuing banking business practices was treating Jewish businessmen with respect.

Doc focused on the new business opportunity as he noted that the conventional bankers agreed that the nickelodeon entrepreneurs and stage people were part of the same crowd. Under Doc's direction the Commercial Trust openly solicited their business with the intention of supplying their financial needs. Doc remembered: "I was in a new pasture; there were many grazing herds and the grass was short, and I was obliged to tum to a business that the other bankers did not particularly wish to finance."90

88 Many of the future movie and stage moguls began their careers in America in the garment trades. 89 Taylor, 46. 90 Bonadio, 111. Taibleson 59

That difference in attitude obviously benefited Doc's ability to become the banker to Broadway. Movie pioneers, moguls to be, Joseph Schenck, Marcus Loew and Lewis Selznick all pioneered nickelodeons on Broadway and were pals of Sol

Lesser-Doc's initial nickelodeon borrower in San Francisco-who became Doc's advance agent in New York City. Sol Lesser, Louis Selznick and Samuel Goldwyn were among the men that became independent producers of motion pictures in

Hollywood. Lesser formed his first independent production company in 1916 and was still making quality pictures under his own banner in 1947.91 Doc's reputation as a lender preceded him when he relocated to New York City as Sol Lesser spread the word that Giannini would lend money. Cash poor Broadway producers needed no further prompting and came to view Doc as their savior. They asked for and received loans burdened only with the usual bank terms and interest rates offered to all legitimate businesses.

Doc astonished his competitors by continuing to make loans at the usual interest rates enabling his Broadway customers to avoid New York City's upstairs moneylenders' practice of imposing usurious loan costs. When Doc arrived in New

York City and a Broadway producer came to a bank in need of additional capital for a play the bank officer would, more often than not, advise him that a bank loan was not available, but the producer might get money upstairs. The upstairs moneylenders, in addition to interest, were charging twenty to thirty percent of the profits, plus a bonus

91 Donald M. Nelson, The Independent Producer, "Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol.254, The Motion Picture Industry," ( Jstor: Sage Publications, Nov. 1947), 49-57. Taibleson 60 for making the loan.92 Another source of stage financing were the theater owners: particularly, Shubert and Shubert competitors, Abe Erlanger and Mark Klaw. The

Shubert Organization, by one Shubert name or another, was founded in 1900. The

Shuberts owned and operated, by 192 7, 104 theaters throughout the country, and were producing dozens of shows featuring the biggest Broadway stars. Sarah Bernhardt,

Lillian Russell, Richard Mansfield and De Wolfe Hopper were a few of the actors in the Shubert produced plays.93 94

Financing Broadway was generally a risky venture in more ways than one. In the very early days, around the tum of the 19th century, "angels" were a source of

Broadway financing. The Belasco-Fairbanks trial reported by the New York Times relates how Chicago millionaire, N.K. Fairbanks, secretly, financed the stage career of Mrs. Leslie Carter. Fairbanks tried to hide his involvement with Carter but the trial exposed his relationship.95 It was not then and is still not uncommon for a wealthy man to attempt to enhance the career of his paramour. Only in later days after Doc returned to California in 1931, conventional bankers and investment bankers started to treat Broadway as a legitimate business. A new investment venture also developed as combinations of investors were formed that financially supported stage plays and musicals with the intention of sharing in the profits of the production from all of their profit sources and potentials, including the sale of the film rights to Hollywood.

92 Taylor, 48. 93 The Great Depression took its toll on the live stage theater as The Shubert Organization filed for bankruptcy in 1931, the year that Doc left New York. 94 http://www. ShubertOrganization.com/theorganization/history 95 New York Times, "Belasco Fairbanks Trial," June 9,1896, pg. 8. Taibleson 61

According to New York Times Journalist, Bosley Crowther, another important source of Broadway financing developed during the early years of the

Great Depression, driven by Hollywood's need for material. An annual report for the

year ended May 31, 1936 indicated that approximately 25 percent-26 productions­

of Broadway's new plays and musicals were partially or fully financed by the

Hollywood studios. The moguls were "pouring money into the theater for the original

production of shows, assuming financial risks for the sake of an inside track on those

ventures which may pan out good." In the past the studios only bid for the open­

market film rights to plays and musicals already produced. The degree of the studio's

gamble was pure speculation as there were 102 new productions in that year, and the

studios had purchased only two ofthe productions by May 17, 1936, the date of the

article.96

Doc could be seen as an early facilitator of the link between Broadway and

Hollywood as he continued his practice of finding a way to supply funds to support

the moving picture industry and the Broadway theater industry. He used his ingenuity

to become a significant lender to the Broadway producers enhanced by the

recognition of Broadway's ability to supply Hollywood to some extent. Accordingly

Doc considered Broadway and Hollywood complementary, companion industries, as

many motion picture productions were initially Broadway plays. He believed that

their individual attributes could be melded. Doc would frequently lend funds based on

a Broadway play or a movie script. "He accepted motion-picture rights to a good play

96 New York Times," In Re Movie Money," Mayl7, 1936, pg. XI. Taibleson 62 plus assignments of box-office receipts for the first six or eight weeks as collateral."97

He said that he could sell a good story more quickly than he could sell property on

New York City's Thirty-fourth and Broadway. Doc would call ticket brokers to determine how far out they were buying tickets to a new play. If the brokers indicated that they were investing their funds far enough in advance he would make the loan believing that the box office of a good show is the quickest paying cash business in

Doc's practical financing approach was demonstrated when Florenz Ziegfeld, one of the biggest names on Broadway came to Doc in 1923 in need of a loan.

Florenz Ziegfeld was not the ordinary, run of the mill Broadway producer. Born in

1867 he was the American showman. The mention of his name conveyed glamour and opulence. It was not a drawback that he was not conversant with the rudiments of theatrical art. He did not have the ability to be able to write a play or compose music or even direct others. However, he had the innate talent and knowledge of how to show off the hired hands in a manner that best displayed the performer's talent and the female form. His was able to glamorize showgirls to a degree that was new to

Broadway. He had the knack of showcasing the right talent for the show and he was not concerned about the cost. The Ziegfeld shows sparkled.

Ziegfeld was the show, insisted Alexander Woolcott the New York Times reviewer of a 1920 production of Ziegfield' s Sally. Woolcott was a celebrity himself,

97 Taylor, 48. 98 Ibid, 48. Taibleson 63 a member of the Algonquin Round Table, a reviewer, critic and commentator for the

New Yorker and the New York Times. Woolcott's review of the opening night performance of Sally was unequivocal as he wrote: "as you rush to the subway at ten minutes to midnight," it is "not of [Joseph] Urban nor Jerome Kern, not of Leon Errol nor even of Marilynn Miller that you think first." Instead, he held, you think of Mr.

Ziegfeld. He is that kind of producer."99 The composer Kern and set designer Urban together with the players Errol and Miller were the unquestioned giants of their professions. Woolcott, in his profession, was at the same level of acclaim. His review confirmed the respect and admiration earned by Flo Ziegfeld and his Broadway productions. A further example of the same praise was acknowledged at the opening of Ziegfeld's Broadway production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's

Showboat in 1932. The musical was hailed by most critics' rave reviews as a Ziegfeld show, and not a Kern show or a Hammerstein show. 100 During his career from 1893 through 1932, Ziegfeld brought 62 productions to Broadway.

Ziegfeld came to the bank to see Doc in 1923, not surprisingly, because as usual he needed money for a new show. He wanted to bring big name stars Eddie

Cantor and Marilynn Miller to Broadway in a new production, Kid Boots. However, the show, by custom, had to have a tryout in the sticks in order to evaluate its probability of success and to consider the usual rewrites. But Ziegfeld said he had no money for the six-weeks pre-Broadway test-run. Ziegfeld told Doc that he needed

99 Ethan Mordden, Ziegfeld, (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2008), 196-197. 100 Answer.com, Florence Ziegfeld. Taibleson 64

100 grand now or the show would not open. A further complication was that the ticket broker's ticket pledges had not yet been received. Doc personally called ticket brokers: Joe Leblang, Charlie Levy, Leo Newman and others. The brokers each advised that they were buying six weeks in advance for the show. As long as the brokers were willing to gamble on the show's success, so was Doc. As Doc made the calculation to determine the amount he would be willing to loan Ziegfeld for his show, a mathematical formula was developed. The application of the formula computed the amount of money Doc would loan on a Broadway show. The calculation was simple arithmetic: the number of sold seats times the price of a single seat times 36 days [six-weeks]. The result was that the Kid Boots tryout was financed and the musical was a huge success. Successes never fully satisfied Ziegfeld as he always insisted that he needed more money. The perfect example occurred when

Ziegfeld had four major money making winners on Broadway at the same time. He was insisting that Doc loan him $100,000 for a fifth show. The four shows were

Three Musketeers, Showboat, Whoopee and The Ziegfeld Follies, each a classical masterpiece. 101

Doc developed the same kind of relations on Broadway that he earned in

Hollywood and maintained while in New York. The celebrated philosopher-comedian

101 Taylor, 46. A further illustration that describes Ziegfeld's mental processes, his lack of normal traits of compassion and consideration, as well as his continuous need for money does not require any further comment. Higham, next page after title page. One day Ziegfeld received news that his great friend and backer, wealthy Jim Donahue, had been ruined by the stock market crash and had thrown himself out of a window. Immediately after he heard the news he wrote the following words to Donahue's widow: "Your late husband promised me $20,000 just before he fell." The money arrived two days later. Taibleson 65

Will Rogers, a maJOr star of the Ziegfeld Follies, wandered into Doc's office perplexed over a new contract Ziegfeld had asked him to sign. Rogers had made a motion picture, The Texas Steer, that Doc financed but Rogers was not happy in the movies and returned to the Follies. He told Doc that "he don't like contracts with a lot of "ifs, ands and buts in it." Will said they pay me $6,000 every Saturday. If they don't pay me, I don't come to work Monday. He then asked Doc to collect his salary each week. From that point on Rogers had only an oral agreement with Ziegfeld.

Doc's relationship with Will Rogers illustrates that the Broadway people were aware that Doc gave them other benefits, more than just money, from the doctor-banker. 102

Dr. Giannini, during his stay in New York, was the friend as well as the banker of

Broadway.

In spite of these great successes events would soon occur to end the

Gianninis' successful banking expansion into New York City and also would seriously weakened their California base of operations. There is a philosophy that exists today and was in vogue at its known inception. The philosophy dates back to the time of the Eastern European Jewish immigrant invasion of America around the tum of the 20th century. Conditions were very hard in their homelands and generally the immigrants rejoiced because of their new freedom and the improved living conditions in America. However their attitudes were tempered by the their historical remembrance that "when things are too good, it's bad." That is what happened to the

Giannini nationwide bank dream.

102 Taylor, 46. Taibleson 66

"The game is played very differently here than in California," wrote Leo

Belden, A.P.'s emissary, in a memo to A.P. in November, 1927. 103 Belden was working on the acquisition of Bank of America. He very quickly became aware that in New York City banks played by Morgan's rules. Belden reached a tentative purchase agreement to acquire Ralph Jonas' controlling interest in Bank of America.

Jonas, a very successful talented banker, was a street-smart Brooklyn-born son of

Jewish immigrants. Jonas and Edward C. Delafield, the bank's president, had an angry and contentious relationship in their roles at Bank of America. The gossip was that John P. Morgan Jr. was pressuring Jonas to sell his interest while supporting

Delafield. After an extended resistance Jonas finally conceded as he realized that he could not prevail. Morgan, who detested Jews, was the son of the legendary Pierpont, and the president of J.P. Morgan and Company, Wall Street's most powerful banking investment institution. The firm is located on the comer of Wall and Broad Streets. At that time it was unnecessary to identify the J. P. Morgan and Company site with a name or an address on the exterior of the building.

As reported by Bonadio: "But a critical question remained: would the 'comer' g1ve its informal approval to the transaction? The 'comer' of course, was Wall

Street's shorthand term for J.P. Morgan and Company, which was widely understood to have a decisive say in such matters in New York's banking investment world."104

Morgan was troubled by A.P.' s unconventional banking practices that achieved

103 Bonadio, 117. 104 Ibid, 118-19. Taibleson 67 remarkable successful growth. The "comer" therefore asserted that they would not approve the transaction without an absolute assurance that Giannini would play by the rules of the street.

Belden spent a great deal oftime with Francis Bartow, a junior partner in J.P.

Morgan and Company developing a warm and friendly relationship with him. Bartow was personally representing John P. Morgan Jr. Belden was sure that he had convinced Bartow that Giannini would play by the rules. Belden advised A.P. that the

Giannini entry into Wall Street was going to be smooth and friendly. A.P. then met with J.P. Morgan Jr. and two senior Bank of America executives at Bartow's home.

A.P. was surprised and perplexed that the expected cozy relationship with the Morgan firm was not reflected in the meeting. Politely but firmly Morgan made a threat to be sure that A.P. knew that John P. Morgan Jr. was in charge of A.P.'s East Coast destiny. Morgan threatened: "As a condition to approving Giannini's purchase of

Jonas' controlling interest in Bank of America, he insisted on Edward Delafield's retention as president and on veto power, for himself, over future appointments to the bank's board of directors." 105

Morgan obviously did not like Italians much more than he liked Jews.

However it was more important to him to rid Bank of America of the Jewish Jonas and then offer his approval to the Italian if he was sure that he could dictate to

Giannini and shape the management to his satisfaction. Further compounding the problem, A.P. was stunned during his meeting with the New York Federal Reserve

105 Bonadio, 122. Taibleson 68

Banl<. He casually mentioned that he was considering making Jonas Chairman of the

Board of the to be acquired bank. The NYFRB immediately responded that they would not approve the transaction if Jonas had a position with the bank after the purchase was completed. It was not stated but it was apparent that they were in

sympathy with Morgan's anti-Semitic stance. The anti-Semitism of Morgan had different roots than A.P.'s anti-Semitism. Morgan detested Jews because they were

Jews. A.P.'s anti-Semitism only surfaced when he was outraged by the action of an

individual that happened to be Jewish, not an entirely unusual reaction. A.P., though

bitter, decided not to explode as his goal was a nationwide bank. He felt that he would

get his foot in the Wall Street door and then he would then be able to choose the right

time to go to war against the stacked deck. 106

A.P. completed the purchase and paid Jonas $17,000,00 for the stock that

represented a 45 percent interest in Bank of America. Doc became the Chairman of

the Board of the bank. For several years he was continually subjected to deliberate

humiliations by Morgan's associates. At the same time Morgan continued to make

more demands. A.P. always acquiesced, telling Doc it was not the right time for a

fight, Doc responded and with anger advised A.P.: "Ingratiating methods will never

do with these fellows. For many years they have been impossible and must be told

where to head in ... The gang downtown never cared for our kind, and never will. It is

true we need them now, but [it] is not necessary to have them ride over us." On

January 1, 1929 A.P. formed a holding company, the Transamerica Corporation, for

106 Bonadio, 118-123. Taibleson 69 all of his banks. A.P. had finally realized that he could no longer appease Morgan and that it was time to go to war. 107

In the spring of 1929, despite the problems with Morgan, the bank was still in an expansion mode. Bank of America joined Blair & Company, an old blue ribbon private banking and investment house, to form its own securities affiliate. A.P. admired Elisha Walker, the president of Blair, and Jean Monnet, a vice president of

Blair. Monnet was a French industrial expert in charge of foreign operations. A.P. appointed them president and vice president of the newly formed company:

Bancamerica-Blair. Walker was also appointed chairman of the executive committee of Bank of America. 108 A.P. was certain that he had found, in Walker, the competent ally, in an Eastern banker, that he needed to insure that Bank of America would be a nationwide bank. Doc expressed a contrary view. Familiar with the scene and the people, Doc was certain that Walker was part of the Wall Street banking establishment. He believed that Walker wanted him out of the bank and was also creating problems with Doc's Hollywood clients. "They were calling loans, not making them. Sam Goldwyn was kissed off on the grounds that they did not know the picture loan game."109 Doc continued to voice his concern and wrote to his California bankers: "that their institution [Bank of Italy] was built by Italian blood and was now being diluted with strange elements."110

107 Nash, 105. 108 James 297 109 Taylo;, 48. 110 Wasko, 122-123. Taibleson 70

Doc was always proud of his Italian immigrant heritage but never displayed these traits in a manner intended to impress others. In his angry communications to

San Francisco, regarding the Giannini association with the Eastern bankers, Doc refers to "our kind" and "Italian blood" as expressions of his pride in his ancestry.

This attitude surfaces as a reaction to the deliberate humiliations that he suffered because he was not "their kind." Considering all we know about Doc, it is safe to say that this innate pride contributed to his acceptance of the ways and attitudes of the immigrant population that he befriended in developing his banking career.

After his experience with Morgan, although Doc disagreed, A.P. was certain that Walker was the trusted ally that he needed. He reasoned that the only way he could accomplish his goal of a nationwide bank was with an eastern banker that he could rely upon. A.P., at 60, was preparing to give up his position as president of

Transamerica, probably influenced by his continuing health problem. The pain caused

by his polyneuritis was extremely severe and was getting worse. 111 The condition is

an inflammation of all or most of the peripheral nerves and settled in A.P. 's legs,

arms and shoulders. 112

A.P.'s early reaction to the October, 1929 stock market crash was expressed in his message to his top executives that nothing was going to interfere with his planned

goal of nationwide branch banking. 113 In November of 1929 he decided to offer

Walker the overall control of Transarnerica, the banking institution that he had built

111 Nash, 105. 112 Bonadio, 135. 113 Ibid, 152. Taibleson 71 with his son Mario and with Doc's major contributions. Walker assured A.P. in a public statement. that the bank's goal to achieve nationwide banking was absolute and inviolable. On January 16, 1930 Walker became Transamerica's Chairman of the

Board and chief executive officer at an annual salary of $100,000. Monnet was named vice-chairman at $50,000 per year. 114 Doc, again seemed to be the one strident voice that recognized the impending disaster. A.P. apparently did not discuss his plan with Doc. If he did, he obviously ignored Doc's disagreement and alarm. In a letter nine days later, to board member, Armando Pedrini, a San Franciscan Italian, Doc wrote: "The Blair crowd is already spreading the word in Wall Street that Giannini is through and they are now in control. There is no mention even of Mario assuming the presidency. What A.P. built up seems to have been emasculated overnight. This group never cared for our kind."115

It is sad that A.P. did not consider Doc's distrust of the Wall Street establishment that included Elisha Walker. The New York Times reported in a front page, four column, story in September, 1931:

A.P. Giannini, his son, Lawrence M. Giannini and Attilio H. Giannini who formed the gigantic Transamerica Corporation in 1928 to develop a nation-wide system of branch banking from a nucleus of California and New York banks controlled by the Giannini interests have been replaced on the board of Transamerica... according to an announcement yesterday by Elisha Walker chairman of the corporation in a letter to stockholders.

114 Bonadio, 152-153. 115 Ibid, 154. Taibleson 72

The article reports the complete change in the Board of Directors. It also discusses the significant changes to be implemented in the operations of Transamerica Corporation.

Walker's actual program was to dismember and liquidate Transamerica Corporation.

The parts would obviously be sold to Wall Street banking friends at bargain prices.

The reason given for the change in operations was an unvarnished perfidy. The article quotes Walker in explaining the major reason: "There is no apparent likelihood that nation-wide branch banking will be authorized by law in the near future." 116

A later article indicates that Doc was leaving New York and was moving to the West Coast, which he did in October 1931. He would sever his relationship with

Bank of America in New York, which was to be merged with the National City Bank.

The article further states that Dr. Giannini would become chairman of the executive committee of Bank of America National Trust and Savings Association in California and the Transamerica Corporation controls both banks. 117

The Gianninis might make mistakes, but they weren't quitters. A.P.' s significant error, clouded by his overarching desire to achieve nationwide branch banking, was his choice of Elisha Walker as the one eastern banker needed to reach that goal. "Giannini rejected his brother's [Doc's] plea for prompt and decisive intervention, at least temporarily."118 Doc, in New York in his letter to Pedrini in

April, 1931, indicated that he could live with the drop in the value of the stock.

However, he added concisely and without rancor, as he focused on the real problem:

116 New York Times, "Gianninis Lose Rule of Huge Bank Chain," September 23, 1931, pg. 1. 117 Ibid, October 7, 1931, pg.43. 118 Bonadio, 147. Taibleson 73

"if we had a happy organization where everybody was pulling together-working with people who do not possess the same motives that we do, makes it doubly hard ... Walker. .. moves to slowly to suit me. I will stand it just a wee bit longer, and if there is nothing doing, I will do [resign] as Mario did."119

Doc returned to California in October 1931 as the Chairman ofthe Executive

Committee of Bank of America NTSA and was in charge of the Southern California operations. His office was in Los Angeles, the head office of the Southern California region. The entire California operation was under attack by Transamerica' s Chief

Executive Officer, Elisha Walker and his Wall Street establishment cohorts. The

Giannini interests were in the middle of a bitter proxy fight with the New York interests who were intent on finishing the Gianninis, who were resisting the take over of Bank of America NTSA. The Walker group attacked the credibility of the

Gianninis in every possible manner. They also spread an avalanche of ugly rumors that Bank of America NTSA was insolvent. The claim was a complete fabrication.

However, uneasy nervous depositors' withdrawals from the bank's Southern

California branches reached large threatening proportions. Doc upon his arrival recognized the major emergency and immediately took action to rebut their claim. 120

Doc saw this as an opportunity for his film industry friends to respond to the bank's need. The motion picture industry now had an opportunity to repay Doc, not just with kind words, but with actions, risking their own money. Doc asked each of

119 James, 315. 120 Taylor, 48. Taibleson 74 the studio heads and the producers to handle all their payrolls through his bank. They immediately acknowledged his request. The 10,000 studio checks cashed each week through the bank's windows dramatically demonstrated to the depositors that the rumors were phony and that the bank was solvent. This act by the Hollywood studios was an unbelievable tribute to Doc that demonstrated their trust in him as at that time in 1931 all of the industry was in very bad financial shape. Withdrawals were brought under control and when the Gianninis were victorious in the proxy fight, the Spring

Street, Los Angeles head office became a tower of financial strength. Doc soon built the Southern California head office to a position where its volume of business exceeded that of the San Francisco home office. 121

In 1931 A.P. returned from Europe where he was attempting to get relief from the effects of his crippling polyneuritis. The sick man was outraged at Walker's plan to dismember and liquidate Transamerica Corporation. A.P. finally echoed Doc as he angrily exclaimed: "All he had built in a lifetime to be tom down and scattered to the winds." He raged that it was all a plot and a conspiracy to rob the stockholders. The answer was to mobilize a proxy fight with A.P. at the helm. His family was concerned that his health could not withstand the necessary effort. Instead the fight invigorated him and did more for him than all the doctors had been able to accomplish. Within a month he looked better than he had in two years. 122 A spontaneous movement to support the Gianninis developed and a committee of shareholders led by Charles W.

121 Taylor, 48. 122 James, 317. Taibleson 75

Fay, a former postmaster of San Francisco and director of Bank of America NTSA visited A.P. Fay advised him that the committee represented holders of 2,000,000 of

Transamerica's 24,800,000 shares. The problem was that these stockholders were the

"little fellows." The Associated Transamerica Stockholders became the adopted name of the group. 123 Their effort was to enlighten the public as to the consequences of the proxy battle. As the California public digested what the fight was all about, the

Giannini support became overwhelming. On February 15, 1932 the owners of

15,371,578 shares gave the Gianninis' a landslide victory and they were back in control of Bank of America NT SA. 124

123 James, 329. 124 Ibid, 343. Taibleson 76

Chapter III

A Financier in Hollywood

Doc's ability to utilize his Hollywood connections stems from the how and why Hollywood and the doctor developed their relationship of trust with and dependence on each other. The immediate support exhibited by Hollywood, in response to Doc's request during the proxy fight, showed the nature and the depth of their relationship. Doc was involved with Hollywood from its inception long before he moved to New York. Their personal relationship strengthened and matured over time as Doc helped shape Hollywood, as he was part of Hollywood. Hollywood responded in kind and helped shape Bank of America and Doc as Hollywood's personal banker. Doc's informal personal style did not always win approval within banking circles, yet was significantly positive in dealing with his friends.

One such friend, who became Doc's advance agent to Hollywood and

Broadway, was Sol Lesser, an industry pioneer. Lesser had experience in the three branches of the film industry. Upon his father's death in 1907, he inherited his family's San Francisco nickelodeon that needed a $500 loan so that additional chairs could be purchased in 1908. Seven years after the $500 loan, he was the head of a major firm at the age of 24. Lesser became a leading film exchange operator in

California after a formidable expansion into distribution. He also became an independent motion picture producer. 125 In keeping with the past, Lesser remained

125 J.A. Aberdeen, Hollywood Renegades, "Moving In" (Los Angeles: Cobblestone Entertainment, 2000), 95-97. Taibleson 77

Doc's loyal customer and the Bank ofltaly continued to be the recipient of almost all of his banking business. 126

When Lesser became an independent film producer, he produced films starring child star Jackie Coogan in the early 1920s. He also founded the West Coast

Theaters with partners Abe and Mike Gore that through expansion became the main first-run theater chain in the Pacific states. He was so successful that he sold his West

Coast interests in 1926 as he planned a leisurely retirement at a very young age.

However, Lesser discovered that he was not ready for retirement. Beset with boredom, he returned to the industry shortly thereafter and became a successful independent producer as he formed Principle Pictures. Through mutual industry relationships Lesser had many close friends with other independent producers. He was very close to Joseph Schenck, who was then at United Artists, and Lesser was instrumental in bringing Walt Disney to United Artists in the 1930s and was a life- long friend of the Disneys. 127

Lesser also had the uncanny knack of deferring, to others in the industry, in situations that resulted in a financial bonanza for him. He had a long-time association with Charlie Chaplin and at Chaplin's request he held back the release of a Jackie

Coogan film until after Chaplin's film, The Kid (1921 ), with Coogan, was released.

He then had Chaplin's lasting friendship and was the independent producer of a more valuable Coogan film that greatly benefited from the epic success of The Kid. In

126 Nash, 94. 127 J.A. Aberdeen, 95-97. Taibleson 78 another situation, Lesser owned the film rights to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan character and produced Tarzan films in the 1930s. Through the courts he established his rights to the Tarzan character, however, Lesser allowed MGM-for a small fee- to release the sensationally successful film, Tarzan the Apeman. The impact of the

MGM film was a major boost to the box office success of Lesser's Tarzan series, that became the mainstay of his independent productions. 128 Doc's initial loan launched

Lesser on his successful independent course and Doc as the financier for the early

Hollywood. 129

The $50,000 loan to Famous Players-Lasky Corporation in 1918 is an example of how Doc's influence and financing assistance made a difference. 130 The recipient of Doc's first large loan was a company that had an interesting background.

The firm's owners were people that attained a celebrated status in the industry. Yet

Doc at that time was the only banker willing to recognize the legitimacy of the individuals and the industry. The company was formed in 1916 as result of a merger between Jessie Lasky's Feature Play Company and film distribution czar, Adolph

Zukor's Famous Players Company. 131

Jessie L. Lasky's story was typical of the reception afforded by the conventional bankers. His connection with the entertainment business was, with his younger sister Blanche, as a professional comet duo vaudeville act. As an offshoot they became managers of 40 other vaudeville acts. One of the acts was the singer, Al

128 J.A. Aberdeen, 95-97. 129 Ibid, 95-97. 130 Wasko, 122. 131 Scott Smith, The Film 100, (Secaucus, N.J.: Citadel Press, 1998) ,52. Taibleson 79

Jolson, who in later years was recognized by many as the greatest entertainer of them all. In 1910, Blanche had married glove salesman, Samuel Goldfish (later he chose to rename himself Samuel Goldwyn). Goldfish continually pressed Lasky to get into the film business. Lasky, Goldfish and Lasky's good friend, Cecil B. DeMille founded the Lasky Company in 1913. Goldfish was in charge of the business activities;

DeMille was responsible for production and the artistic elements of the films; Lasky's responsibility was to acquire plays for production and to hire the actors. DeMille's brother William was hired as a writer and he developed Hollywood's first story department. 132

Lasky's studio had come under pressure from Thomas Edison's Motion

Pictures Patents Company (the Edison Trust), that was intent on destroying the independent producers, However Lasky refused to give up. When Edison's thugs physically threatened him, he packed up his small studio and moved it to California and settled in a little unknown town by the name of Hollywood in 1914. Opening a small office on Sunset Boulevard, Laskey, in a sense, became the founder of the center of the world's film production for the next 80 years-Hollywood-far from the thugs who threatened him. 133 The studio's first full-length production was The

Squaw Man (1914) starring matinee idol Dustin Farnum. This film was the first movie to be produced in Hollywood, and was a financial success. Capitalizing on their achievement the Lasky studio produced 36 feature-length films in 1915.

132 Smith, 51-53. 133 Ibid, 51. Taibleson 80

Carmen, featuring Metropolitan Opera star Geraldine Farrar, was the studio's biggest financial success and the movie was also important in elevating the industry's artistic acceptance level.

The merged firm-The Famous Players-Lasky Corporation-produced 80 percent of the films that Paramount Pictures, formed in1915, produced. Motion picture personal relationships generally seem to be transient rather than lasting.

Goldfish and Zukor could not get along and Goldfish left the company. Shortly thereafter Famous-Players-Lasky acquired control of Paramount Pictures. During the

1920's Paramount-Famous-Lasky dominated the industry. 134

In 1951 Jessie Lasky was the first person to be awarded the Silver Wreath of

Honor from the Screen Producers Guild for his historic contribution to the American motion picture industry. 135

Moving to New York from California in 1919 had not interfered with Doc's

California relationships. His desire to be the motion picture industry's principal lender was achieved, over time, at his New York location. He maintained his relationship with Hollywood and advanced increasingly larger amounts of credit to the Southern California enterprisers including Mack Sennett, Vitagraph, and General

Films. The East River National Bank was located a short distance south of Fourteenth

Street on Broadway that had been the site of New York's earliest movie district.

There were many individuals, soon to be prominent in Hollywood, whose careers

134 Smith, 51-53. 135 American National Biography Vol.l3, Gen. Ed. John Garrity, "Lasky, Jesse Louis," (New York: Oxford Press, 1999), 222-223. Taibleson 81 began on that same street in 1919. They were employed in the penny arcades and flea circuses, were ushers in the movie theaters, waiters, pants pressers and workers in the sweat shops. Doc deliberately cultivated them, knew them and their relatives and friends and obtained their banking business. He never ceased enhancing his contacts with the movie pioneers and he took the lead, continually making loans to the movie industry. 136

In the Spring of 1929, Bank of America formed its own securities affiliate by acquiring Blair & Co. Historian Janet Wasko reported that the newspapers considered the founding ofBancamerica-Blair a major event. They wrote:

The Giannini Brothers ... have a large slice of practically every big picture outfit in the business. In fact, it is generally accepted that Bill Fox and Sheehan take their orders from these bankers, as do many others ... Every star in the racket is honored when bid to a party thrown by A.P. [sic] The Doc lives in the east, New York, and an invitation to his home there is regarded in the business as a command. That the brothers would busy themselves financing the expansion of bigger companies in the present screen development was expected. This merger means plenty. 137

Some of the industry giants that were formed or grew or survived as a consequence of Doc's judgment, intuition and faith in the industry included

Twentieth Century Fox, Columbia Pictures and Sam Goldwyn as an independent producer. Character was an important factor that Doc depended on in making his decisions. This acquisition of Blair & Co was a major step in expanding the

136 James, 246. 137 Wasko, 122-123. Taibleson 82

Giannini's relations with the movie industry. 138 However the tragic side effect, as reported in Chapter II was more than a bump in the road.

Doc's attention to developing and maintaining relationships obtained the desired results. By 1921, more than 25 film-distributing companies supplied film to approximately 16 thousand theaters in the United States and most of these major firms were customers of a Giannini bank. The benefits of the Lesser-Webber $500 loan, that initiated Doc's association with the movie industry now made a huge impact on the bank's development and involvement in the new and uncharted waters of film financing. Lesser and Webber were Doc's advance agents in his new position in New Y ork. 139 They were buddies of soon to be moguls; movie pioneers in addition to Joe Schenck were also Marcus Loew and Lewis Selznick. During this period Doc made motion picture history when in 1920 his New York bank made its largest movie loan of $250,000 to First National Pictures to finance the production of Charlie

Chaplin's The Kid. 140 The film was so successful that the loan was repaid in six weeks. Doc noted in 1926: " If a film is offered me starring Doug [Fairbanks],

Charlie [Chaplin], Harold [Lloyd], or any of a half dozen leading actors, it is as good as cash. When I am in doubt, I call up any of a half dozen theater managers and get an immediate rating." 141 All the loans were at regular interest rates, the same rates charged to all legitimate companies.

138 Wasko, 120-122. 139 Taylor, 45. 140 Edward Buscombe, Hollywood, Ed. Thomas Schatz, "Notes on Columbia Pictures Corporation 1926-1941," (London: Routledge, 2004), 137. 141 Nash, 94. Taibleson 83

Hollywood's celebrated columnist Sheilah Graham reported some interesting expanded information regarding Doc's prior action before he made the loan to the

First National Pictures Company for Charlie Chaplin's The Kid. According to

Graham when Doc was considering the loan, he telephoned the fashionable Mrs.

Spence's school in New York. He asked her to send 12 of her young ladies to his home to view a new Chaplin film. When the excited girls entered the projection room and viewed the film they were crazy about the movie, as was Doc. He made the loan to produce The Kid and his directors were incensed. According to Doc, as reported by

Graham, Liberty Bonds were still the favored investment at that time and purchasing the bonds was an expression of patriotism. The bank's board of directors asserted that

Doc's loan commitment was an act of lese-majeste, equivalent to treason. Doc's defense was that his loan collateral was the films negative and in three months the bank would be repaid plus interest, while the value of Liberty Bonds would be down. 142 D oc ' s pred" 1ct10n . was ng . ht on target.

When Wall Street, the Morgans and the Rockefellers and their cohorts, became involved in financing Hollywood informal personal banking was replaced by formal conventional attitudes. As the Wall Street investment banks became convinced that motion pictures had established their supremacy as the popular entertainment for the masses, they became interested in making loans to the major studios. The climate changed and a new era in motion picture financing occurred in 1919 as the industry now had long-term financing needs. They looked for sources of long-term funds to

142 Sheilah Graham, San Francisco Chronicle, D-3. Taibleson 84 finance their expansion and to maintain their competitive well-being. Short term debt was not a viable solution. Selling their corporate stocks and bonds to the public, coinciding with their needs was the desirable approach. Fortunately Wall Street investment banks were now interested in considering their needs. For short term loans the companies continued to rely on the commercial banks to provide the funds.

As an example of this new order, historian Wasko discusses a significant investment banking transaction. In 1919, the first year of the new era, Famous

Players-Lasky and investment banker Kuhn Loeb & Co. arranged for a public offering of the film company's stock. The importance of this association was greatly enhanced by Kuhn Loeb's stature as an established, prestigious and conservative banking firm also active in international and railroad financing. Kuhn Loeb hired an independent auditor-H. D. H. Connick, vice president of American International

Corporation-to conduct a wide-ranging, in-depth study of Famous Players-Lasky and the motion picture industry. The audit indicated that the probability of the permanence of the industry depended on the exhibition of the pictures to the public, not on manufacturing them. The deal was consummated and the stock sale was completed. 143 In accordance with the usual modus operandi several Kuhn Loeb officers became members of the Board of Directors of Famous Players-Lasky, and

Connick was named Chairman of the Board for two years.

The usual first step of the investment bankers in establishing a relationship was to have its officers obtain a seat on the board of directors. By the early 1920s

143 Wasko, 17-20 Taibleson 85

Wall Street firms were represented in the boardrooms of almost every film company.

This takeover was not a cause of universal joy as expressed by Cecil B. DeMille as he complained: "When we operated on picture money, there was joy in the industry.

When we operated on Wall Street money, there was grief in the industry."144

Although eventually these corporate arrangements would prevail making Doc's role less important. in the mid-teens and later in the 1920s, Jews were generally unable to borrow from the Wall Street banking community. The Kuhn Loeb/Famous Players arrangement may have been influenced by the fact that Adolph Zukor, the CEO of

Famous Players and Otto Kahn, the CEO of Kuhn, Loeb had similar backgrounds.

They both were both German Jewish immigrants and had been furriers and reminisced about their past experiences. 145 Perhaps Doc was blessed with his informal and personal banking style that made loans to the individuals whose character was most important to him.

The unconventional Doc was a positive factor in the ability of some studios to continue in business. 146 He explained his philosophy as he expressed the reasons for his attitude and behavior in two presentations. In 1926, Doc addressed an audience of the American Academy of Political and Social Science when he was president of the

Bowery and East River Bank during his residence in New York.

In a matter of fact presentation, Doc said he benefited from the fact that most commercial bankers had the mistaken belief that the motion picture business would

144 Cecil B. DeMille, Autobiography , (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc. 1959}, 288- 289. 145 Wasko, 12, 17-20. 146 Taylor, 48. Taibleson 86 never amount to anything. Doc posited that continuous misrepresentations about the integrity of the people in the industry produced the accepted and damaging belief that the movie business would always be a bad risk for the bankers. He noted that he quickly observed the honesty and ability of the individuals who in his judgment were

"militantly enthusiastic crusaders of the type who chose to earn tomorrow's bread by to-day's toil." The men in control of this industry were just as intelligent, just as industrious and just as capable as the men in any other big business. Justifying his assertion, Doc mentioned that in the past 15 years the motion picture industry had advanced to a high-ranking position in America's national activities. He stated further that the masses approved of this form of entertainment and the public's demands were being met.

Doc further commented that the film business was wholesome and managed by men with a clear-eyed determination to render a great public service and the industry has attained respectability and legitimacy, as these men, asserted Doc:

"Prometheus-like, put the fire of life into what was fifteen years ago an inert business." He believed that it was sad that his competitors looked at the whole business as a venture that would not stand the test of time. Doc judged the individuals and their business in the same manner as any industry should be evaluated. The loans he made were in every instance at the current rate of interest offered to any legitimate business as compared to the usurious bonus sharks. He added that many film companies were wrecked, to a great degree, by the bonus sharks that had no faith in the individuals and the industry but were a limited source of last resort funds. As he Taibleson 87 was ending his speech, true to his direct straightforward manner, he criticized the

American government for its lack of interest in the motion picture industry. Doc asserted that some European governments, by their actions were much more supportive of the industry. He concluded by expressing his pride in being the commercial banker who had loaned more money to the industry than any other banker. 147

A year later, in 1927, Doc's stature as the financier of early Hollywood was enhanced by the introduction of a lecture series by the prestigious Harvard

University. The university announced that a course of lectures, on the motion picture industry, would be given at the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration.

The university invited business leaders to present their stories as a case study and enable the graduate students to query the presenters. The school invited the leaders of the motion picture industry to present their own story in their own way. The plan was to bring together the foremost representatives in every department and branch of this industry. 148

The subject of Doc's lecture was the financial aspects of the industry. All of

Doc's fellow lecturers, who spoke on the other specific facets of the wide-ranging industry were men who Doc knew intimately and whose friendship he enjoyed. The most recognizable names were Will H. Hays, Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Laskey, Cecil

B. DeMille, Sidney R. Kent, Samuel Katz, Marcus Loew, William Fox and Harry M.

147 Attilio H. Giannini, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, "Financing the_Production and Distribution of Motion Pictures" Vol. 128 ( N 1926): 46-49. 148 Joseph P. Kennedy ed., The Story of the Films (Chicago: A.W. Shaw Company, 1927), iii-ix. Taibleson 88

Warner among others. The lecturers at the presentations were motion picture pioneers. By extension Doc was also a recognized pioneer of the Southern California

Motion Picture Industry.

Doc's presentation included much of the same information that he discussed in "Financing the Production and Distribution of Motion Pictures." The question and answer period expanded some information. A significant fact was that the industry was so young that the pioneers that started and built the industry were still in active control of the companies that made up the industry. The presentation and the question and answer period exposed some of Doc's unconventional practices and also explained his reasons for making loans that no other commercial banker would consider. In response to a student's question he talked about the conventional standard bank loan requirement of an evaluation of a borrowers character, the determination of borrower's capacity to work, and the capital the borrower has available to invest: referred to as the three C's. Doc indicated that the attending students would be familiar with that facet of a bank loan requirement. 149 He made it clear that the application of the three C's, that were familiar to the graduate students, was a determination by the lender. Doc indicated that the early movie borrowers never met the capital requirement. However, as long as he judged that they met the other two C's he was willing to make small loans as he developed a relationship with the borrower and the loans were paid. As the situation developed favorably, he considered advancing larger amounts.

149 I personally was not aware of the application of the three C's. Taibleson 89

Another student's question disclosed the depth of Doc's intimate knowledge and assessment of the people in the industry. He made it very clear that he had no interest in the actual technical aspects of movie making. He knew the moguls, the producers, the directors, the writers and the actors and/or someone who knew them well. His discriminating desire to make loans was bolstered by his intimate knowledge of the capabilities of those individuals based on their past history. The evidence of no losses, he advised, justified his approach. 150

There were motion picture producers and studios, some still in business when journalist Frank J. Taylor wrote an article in 1939 that would not have survived or been born, without Doc's grace and his belief in the integrity of people and their dreams. Some were major players others were less celebrated that later became major contributors as a result of Doc's common sense considerations. 151

By the 1920s other bankers in the country, in addition to Doc, recognized what Doc had deduced much earlier. The motion picture industry possessed a profit and investment opportunity too great not to invite financing participation by the conventional bankers who earlier had refused to consider loans to the industry.

Historian Bonadio describes the significant difference between Doc and the other bankers that moderated their position, as she asserts: "But he [Doc] was the only one who did everything possible to bankroll the industry's growth and to provide moviemakers with personal support and much needed public legitimacy." Doc's

15°Kennedy, 77-98. 151 Taylor, 46. Taibleson 90 action with Columbia Pictures in 1920 confirms his judgment and his desire that enhanced the growth of the motion picture industry as he financed the birth of

Columbia Pictures. Subsequently he became a member of the firm's board of directors. 152

The owners of Columbia Pictures were Harry and Jack Cohn and Joe Brandt who were all formerly employed by Carl Laemmle at Universal Pictures. Doc lent them $100,000 to start the company. In 1932, Harry Cohn bought Brandt's interest and a voting trust was set up to control the company. The voting trust consisted of

Harry and Jack Cohn and Doc. Doc was a also a member of the voting trust that controlled Universal Pictures. He also had positions of authority in several independent production companies including Selznick International Pictures and

Lesser-Lubitsch. These organizations did not own large chains of movie theaters and therefore were not burdened with the institutional debt required to operate as a real estate company. It was the real estate that was a principal element that enticed the

Wall Street interests in financing the motion picture industry in the 1920s. Doc seemed to be the only banker that was more interested in making movies. 153 Different than the operations of the other studios Columbia was run like a family business that was not indebted to the Wall Street investment banks. 154

In 1920 Columbia Pictures was a small, not very competitive, studio that would have been out of business had Doc enforced payment on a large past due loan

152 Bonadio, 113. 153 Buscombe, 137. 154 Ibid, 138. Taibleson 91 in later years. Harry Cohn had moved to California and was in charge of production as Jack stayed in New York. In 1925 Columbia was producing a comedy serial titled

The Hall Room Boys. Their modest success inspired them to consider the production of more ambitious short films. They came to Doc, their usual lender, to borrow

$10,000 to finance the expansion. Doc made the loan and the Cohn's were successful and prospered, and paid off the loan. They then decided to move their venture forward with their first major production in 1931. The name of the super-colossal film was Dirigible. Columbia was near bankruptcy by the end of the year as the film was not finished. 155

The Cohns were cash poor and they could not pay off their loans on the

Dirigible movie when it was due. They had spent $400,000 on the super-colossal production; most of the money supplied by the bank. Doc had to decide whether to carry the Cohns or to call the loan. Had he demanded payment, this would have been the first time that a producer would have failed to meet his commitment to Doc and

Columbia Pictures would no longer exist. Doc believed that Harry Cohn was a man he could trust and felt certain that the film would be completed and released if they had more time. Doc did not call the loan. Over a period of several months the film was completed and the loan was paid. Doc's confidence in Harry did not waver and he continued to make loans to Columbia for new pictures. 156

155 Taylor, 45. 156 Ibid, 45. Taibleson 92

Among the financed new films was the Frank Capra directed American

Madness in 1932 starring the distinguished actor Walter Huston. The importance of reporting on this Columbia film relates to the program note that discussed the film at its screening at the National Film Theater. The program suggested that the bank manager, Dixon [played by Huston], had been based on A. H. Giannini, a California banker that was influential in Columbia's affairs in the 1930s. In the movie Dixon was characterized as a banker that based his banking policies on honesty, faith and tolerance rather than imposing harsh banking criteria. Dixon's board of directors had contrary views, and were ruthless in pursuing tight money policies. Dixon believed that money should be lent to businesses based on his judgment of the borrower's character and intensions. A run on the bank proved that Dixon was correct as the customers came to the aid of the bank. 157 Doc's May 28,1932 letter to Harry Cohn on the movie asserted: "This photoplay will do more than any other single agency to stop runs on banks which are started by false and malicious rumors." 158 The letter was circulated to many important movie people including Will Hays. The letter was considered a message of great importance and was also sent to state banking regulators throughout the country. The letter must have been very easy for Doc to write as he was really approving of his own banking practices as portrayed by Dixon.

Doc financed the celebrated Columbia classic It Happened One Night, in

1934, directed by Frank Capra the film starred two of Hollywood's most celebrated

157 Buscombe, 135-136 158 A.H. Giannini Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences," American Madness." Taibleson 93 actors: Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. 159 This movie launched Columbia from an unimportant contributor into a major motion picture force. The film earned Columbia the first of many Oscars and enormously increased Columbia's prestige in the motion picture industry. 160

The tremendous success of It Happened One Night caused Columbia to augment their very cost conscious productions with an occasional expensive film.

They had their stable of contract actors such as Jack Holt, Ralph Bellamy, and in

Westerns, Buck Jones and Charles Starrett. As competent as Columbia's contract actors were, their box-office appeal did not compare with the stars of the major studios. Being cost conscious helped insure fiscal responsibility at Columbia but it was also a bar in reaching the level of accomplishments necessary to compete with the achievements of the major studios. Harry Cohn found the solution, he solicited successful directors from other studios inviting them to make infrequent pictures for

Columbia. These films would have larger budgets than Columbia's usual pictures with stars that had great box-office appeal, also borrowed from other studios. As an additional enticement, the directors were also allowed to produce some of their own films. Capra was also given larger budgets and more celebrated actors and earned many Oscars for himself and Columbia. To defray some of the increased costs Harry eliminated every wasteful expense and tightened up production schedules that reduced expensive down time. The range of films produced under this program raised

159 Taylor, 46. 160 Buscombe, 143. Taibleson 94

Columbia Pictures stature as a major producer. 161 The Columbia success story is another affirmation of Doc's success in recognizing the attributes ofthe early motion picture pioneers.

The pioneers of the motion industry were comfortable with Doc and they wanted him around when they were involved in large transactions. Because of their trust and faith in his integrity it was not unusual that the closing of a deal that called for the payment of $50,000,000 in cash, not a transfer of paper, was being held in

Doc's Bank of America office at 44 Wall Street in 1929. Generally deals that closed on Wall Street were usually the exchange of lawyered documents and bank certifications approved by the counsels on each side of the transaction. In this unusual deal cash, represented by checks and wire transfers, was going to be on the table. The transaction was a simple buyout, however the price and the magnitude of assets involved is what made the deal noteworthy. William Fox agreed to buy out the heirs of Marcus Loew, who died in 1927 and the other stockholders of Loew' s Inc.

Marcus Loew's relationship with Doc began when Loew became seriously interested in the motion picture industry. Sol Lesser, the loyal matchmaker, introduced Loew to Doc, early in Loew's movie career and as reported by Historian

Neal Gabler: "Doc became one of the first sources of capital for Marcus Loew."162

Marcus Loew started his successful motion picture association in 1899 when he became a factor in theatrical real estate. By 1912 Loew owned 400 movie houses that

161 Buscombe, 143-144. 162 Gabler, 134. Taibleson 95 accounted for more than 50 percent of all the theaters in America. The great chain of theater properties became Loew's Inc. in 1919. 163 He realized that he needed films to show in his theaters, consequently he moved to Hollywood to be close to the moviemakers.

At that time Southern California had become the center of movie production.

Loew did not enter the motion picture production business until 1920 when he acquired the Metro Company for $3,000,000. In 1924 he merged the Metro Company with the Goldwyn and Mayer companies forming, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM].

The parent company was Loew's Inc. and Marcus Loew, blessed with good fortune and umestrained tenacity, was the most powerful man in the motion picture industry.

Unfortunately he had a heart attack in 1923 and died in 1927. 164 This short history of

Marcus Loew whose estate was the seller to William Fox, in the transaction that is described a bit later, leads to a short narrative on the buyer.

William Fox, Doc's friend, a Hollywood pioneer arranged for the closing of the Loew transaction to be held in Doc's Wall Street office. Fox came to America from Hungary, when he was nine months old, with his Jewish parents of German descent. He was reared in abject poverty on the streets of New York's lower East

Side. The family was so poor that when Fox broke his left arm playing stickball, on the streets, they could not afford any medical attention. As a consequence, he lived with a crippled left arm all the rest of his life, however, that did not deter him from

163 French, 146. 164 Smith, 135-136. Taibleson 96 clawing and climbing up to reach the top. After a successful short career in the garment trades, in 1904 at the age of 25 he took his first step toward a career in the motion picture industry with the purchase of a penny arcade on Brooklyn's

Broadway. Twenty-five years later, in 1929, Fox was the president of both Fox Film

Corporation and Fox Theaters. He owned 53 percent of Fox Film Corporation and 93 percent of Fox Theaters. Fox was never content to relax. As reported by the Fox

Films Publicity Director: "In 1929 Fox owned more than a thousand theaters and it galled him that Adolph Zukor topped him with about 1,200 in his Paramount

Companies."165

The transaction between the Loew estate and Fox, that took place in 1929, included Loew's studio in Hollywood and his nation-wide chain of theaters for the stupendous sum of $50,000,000 cash. The Loew heirs and the Loew stockholders arrived before Fox and were getting concerned about the legitimacy of the deal because ofFox's late arrival.

Doc's function was to receive and verify the $50,000,000 cash from Fox and then to issue cashiers checks to the heirs and the stockholders for their individual shares of the proceeds. When Fox arrived he handed Doc a check for $10,000,000 and apologized for being late. Doc's immediate and abjectly concerned question was

"Where's the rest of the money?" Fox was unfazed and said he would get the money if he could use Doc's phone. Fox made calls to near and far cities asking where were the promised funds in amounts each ranging from $1,000,00 to $5,000,000.

165 Glendon Allvine, The Greatest Fox of Them All. (New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc. 1969), 10-53. Taibleson 97

Messengers began and continued to arnve with checks until three a.m. the next morning. In addition, during the same period, wire transfers were arriving at the bank.

During the tense, chaotic and lengthy night it was not surprising that by three a.m. there was only $46,000,000 in hand. Fox asked Doc if he was going to let the deal collapse for a measly $4,000,000, and asked Doc for a loan. Doc had to make a decision; should he let the transaction collapse because of the shortage? He certainly could not get the approval of his bank's directors. All things considered without hesitation Doc loaned the $4,000,000 balance to William Fox with the same spontaneity as he had loaned the first $500 to Herman Webber and Sol Lesser, for the nickelodeon chairs, two decades earlier. Doc then wrote out and delivered cashiers checks to each of the heirs and stockholders. 166 It turned out to be the correct decision, the loan was repaid in a timely manner. The pioneers-Marcus Loew and

William Fox were two of the giants in early Hollywood.

Two other pioneers were the Schenck brothers, Joseph and Nicholas, whose careers were germinated on that Broadway site ofNew York's earliest movie district.

They were bank customers, close friends and supporters of Doc in his role in the motion picture industry. Doc assisted the brothers shortly after he came to New York.

They commenced their movie house ownership business in that area. Within a few years they built a studio in New Jersey across the Hudson River on top of the New

Jersey Palisades in the early 1920s. They then acquired amusement parks in North

Manhattan and New Jersey. The Schenck's leased film concessions in the parks to

166 Taylor, 48. Taibleson 98

Marcus Loew and they were employed by the Loew organization. In 1910 Nick became secretary of Loew's Consolidated Enterprises and Joe was in charge of the organization's movie theaters. 167

Joe left Loew in 1917 and with Louis Selznick's company embarked on the production of his own films, he also directed the career of Buster Keaton. In 1927

Nick succeeded Marcus Loew as president of Loew' s Incorporated. Loew died in that year. Arthur Loew, the founder's son became president in 1955 as Nick became

Loew's Chairman of the Board. Nick retired a year later. Joe, a close friend of Sol

Lesser, had a varied career. He was with First National then became president of

United Artists. While there he organized their small circuit of preview cinemas and was associated with it for more than thirty years. His prominence was recognized as he received a special Academy Award in 1952 for "long and distinguished service."

168

As a result of Doc's accessibility to Hollywood and the informality of Joseph

Schenck as a long time friend and customer walked into Doc's office with the young

Darryl Zanuck in 1933. Schenck came to ask Doc for help in organizing a new production company. Based on Doc's relationship with Schenck a new production company was formed. Schenck introduced Zanuck to Doc and explained that Zanuck was a producer at Warner Brothers and had unprecedented ideas but no money to fulfill his dreams. He wanted to start his own movie production company. Schenck

167 French, 148-149, 168 Ibid, 148-149. Taibleson 99 and Zanuck proposed that they would form Twentieth Century Pictures that would produce the films that Zanuck burned with desire to show the public. Relying on his assessment of Joe Schenck, Doc agreed to loan the new company fifty percent of the cost of each picture. The first loan was $500,000, big money at the time. Twentieth

Century became an industry marvel. Upon the later prestigious merger with Fox Film

Corp Schenck became Chairman of the Board of Twentieth Century-Fox. 169 The celebrated film company would never have existed without the intuitive sense and courage of Dr. Atillio Giannini. Somehow Doc was the first to recognize these contn.b utors to A menca . ' s cu 1ture an d entertamment. . 170

Joseph Schenck was an example of a pioneer who reached the Wall Street banker's acceptance level. The story circulated about Schenck, the most incorrigible, and one of the best-liked Hollywood moguls, is testimony to the Wall Street attitude.

By the early 1920s, Schenck with his partner, Thomas Ince, who was not Jewish, went to a Wall Street bank for a loan. During the discussion the bank officer asked

Ince, in front of Schenck, what he was doing with a kike. Years later Schenk went to see that same bank officer. He said "the kike wants to borrow $100 million and the security is Twentieth Century-Fox." The banker responded that he would be happy to do business with him and Schenk said: "Fuck You." Schenck, without any expression of regret, explained that he could not resist the opportunity to respond to past humiliations. 171

169 Taylor, 46. 170 Ibid, 45. 171 Gabler, 132. Taibleson 100

Another example of Schenck's reaction to what he considered, blatant anti-

Semitism even from a friend, occurred during a previously mentioned event. When

Schenck was a member of the Board of Directors of Bank of America. A.P ., enraged by an action by Henry Morgenthau, screamed and shouted in anti-Semitic language about the Secretary of the Treasury. A.P.'s usual explosions were not restricted to

Jews, and were familiar to the board members. As a consequence of A.P.' s outburst the two Jewish directors Louis Mayer and Schenck got up and left. They both resigned as members of the board and Schenck's letter of resignation, reported by

Nash followed:

There are two reasons why I am resigning. The number one reason is because of the expression you made regarding the Jews being against you. I know that you are possibly of a suspicious mind and in looking for a reason for the unjustified criticisms which have been made by the comptroller's office you discovered the international fall-guy-the Jew. However, I happen to be a Jew and it didn't sit well with me. It was very embarrassing and I therefore, feel that I am better off out of the bank. 172

Interestingly, Schenck's letter of resignation indicated that he agreed that A.P.'s anger with Morganthaus was justified. However, he was offended by A.P.'s emotional outburst that indicated that his problem with Morganthau was related to the secretary being a Jew. Consistent with his usual behavior, A.P. never apologized to Schenck or

Mayer for his outburst. A.P. 's outbursts were well known and interestingly any antagonism toward A.P. did not flow to Doc and negatively impact Doc's relationship with the moguls.

172 Nash 125. Taibleson 101

Many moguls treated Doc as their confidant even in personal matters. Doc's involvement in financing dreams and saving situations that were in financial trouble was not unusual as indicated by the following examples.

Sam Goldwyn found that he made a big mistake when he merged his original company to form M.G.M. the colossus of the industry. Goldwyn believed his artistic style was restrained by having to deal with too many partners at Metro-Goldwyn­

Mayer. He wanted to be able to operate as an independent. His idea was to spend big money for the big box office draw movie stars. Goldwyn, in company with most of the independents, had a simple problem, he needed big money. He told Doc of his dream and Doc promised to start with a $500,000 loan. It further developed that Doc in 1932 made the first $1,000,00 loan for a movie. Goldwyn received this loan to produce Roman Scandals. 173 Doc put up $2,000,000 for the Goldwyn Follies that was released in 1938.

Doc's office also became the neutral friend ofthe court site, where deals were consummated. Attilio Giannini was the only banker in the country who did everything possible to bankroll the industry's growth and provide the needed public legitimacy. Doc defended the industry against some of its sharpest critics and served as financial advisor to producers like Louis B. Mayer, Cecil B DeMille and

Alexander Korda. When Jack Warner's drinking and gambling problems threatened to ruin his career as head of one of Hollywood's largest studios, it was Doc to whom

173 Taylor, 48. Taibleson 102

Warner's wife turned for assistance. One writer said: 'Everyone in Hollywood has cried on his shoulders."' 174

Doc's accomplishments with the Southern California Motion Picture Industry had propelled the Bank of Italy to the number one seat in bank lending to the developing film industry. 175 Historian James adds that Doc's activities in New York also drew the attention of the Robinson banks in Los Angeles. Impressed with the

East River Bank's relationship with the movie industry Robinson made a special study of the industry as a source of bankable loans. Their study concluded that:

"Motion picture loans, when properly guarded, offer security and liquidity." As a result of the study Robinson entered the field. 176 Doc, consistent with his actions, had urged other commercial bankers to recognize the moviemakers as a legitimate industry.

Nash, m his biography of A.P., credits A.P. with enhancing the bank's identification with the motion picture industry by developing personal friendships with important Hollywood figures. Among others A.P. appointed Cecil B. DeMille,

Will Rogers, Conrad Nagel and Sol Lessor, all friends of Doc, to positions of authority in the bank and they were also members of the bank's advisory boards. A.P. developed relationships with the important movie celebrities by rewarding them with appointments to the bank. The bank benefited from the public's awareness of the association of known individuals with the bank. The individuals were pleased with

174 Bonadio, 113-114. 175 Ibid, 94. 176 James, 246. Taibleson 103 the honor and recognition bestowed upon them. Doc's approach to the industry was entirely different. He was proactive as he involved himself in the industry and with its celebrities. Doc was a member of the boards of directors of many of the movie studios and had positions of trust and authority with several of the industry's companies. He solicited bank deposits and sold bank stock to the movie people.

Leading lady Norma Talmadge-Joseph Schenck's wife-, Charlie Chaplin, Will

Rogers, Wallace Beery, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Louis B. Mayer and

Joseph Schenck were members of the banks board of directors and/or large depositors.

A.P. was not responsible for developing the bank's relationship with

Hollywood. Nash asserts as a statement of fact that Doc deserved the primary credit for the bank's involvement in developing its relationship with the motion picture industry. He writes that Doc was sympathetic to the immigrant background of most of the early movie producers because of his immigrant parentage. Nash also adds that the other bankers refused to do business with those people. Doc's comment explaining his accomplishment was more cogent, he explained: "We stepped in to make loans to deserving companies. Our loans were at the current rate of interest. I simply decided that motion pictures were good merchandise, as good as cotton, wheat, or barley." Doc was also innovative in his approach and accepted motion Taibleson 104 picture rights to plays or books as well as assignment of box office receipts as security for loans. 177

As a banker, Doc at one time or another, rescued practically every studio from some crucial crisis at a critical moment. By the end of the 1930's he had loaned about

$130,000,000 to the film industry without losing a dollar.

Another very positive opinion of Doc that also describes incidents of his methods, is a 1936 column by the noted Hollywood journalist, Sheilah Graham, that includes references that resulted from her interview with Doc. Her article "The Story of First Banker to Accept Film as Collateral" asserts that Doc was the glue that

Hollywood required. Graham explains: "If it weren't for Dr. Giannini there would not be a motion picture industry. He was the first banker to realize the business appeal of box office appeal. He legitimatised what was regarded as a spurious industry from which profit and advancement were sucked dry by money lenders and shady financiers." Graham is effusive when she lists the names of the Hollywood elite who were indebted to Doc's banking practices and depended on him for business and investment advice. In Graham's words; "To them all the banker [Doc] has been manna from heaven." 178 Doc associated with the length and breadth of Hollywood, and Hollywood seems to be universal in their positive appraisal of Dr. Giannini.

Doc resigned from the bank in 1936 to start a new career in the motion picture industry. Doc's unique relationship with the film industry made him an ideal

177 Nash, 94-95. 178 Sheilah Graham, D-3. Taibleson 105 candidate for the presidency of United Artists Corporation whose ownership was a group of cinema prima donnas marketing their own films. The owners were Mary

Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Sam Goldwyn, Charles Chaplin and Alexander

Korda, all huge names in the film industry. As a result of ego clashes they found it difficult to keep a president. Doc held the positions of director and executive committee chairman of Bank of America and was acknowledged by Hollywood as the financial godfather of the cinema industry. On accepting the United Artist position

Doc declared, referring to his involvement in the personal affairs of the moguls: "I've just started getting paid for what I have been doing for years." 179 Doc soon discovered that keeping peace among these egocentric personalities was more difficult than controlling them as their banker. He left the glamorous position within two years and occupied a little back office in the Beverly Hills branch of Bank of

America. In later years, when Hollywood needed money they would go to the little back office in the Beverly Hills branch of Bank of America to see Doc who they recognized as the Financial Founder of the Southern California Movie Industry. They knew "Giannini will lend money."

He was more than a lender of money to the movie industry. He believed in the people and the industry. Louis B. Mayer a true Hollywood mogul, was the CEO of the industry's largest studio, and came to Doc for financial advice. In his own words

Louis B. Mayer, head ofMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer said "The doctor was the first banker to recognize motion picture making as a legitimate industry. He started producers

179 "Prima Donna's President," Time, 20 July 1936,61. Taibleson 106 whose greatness would never have been known had it not been for his courage."180

Doc was proud of being the commercial banker who has loaned more money to the industry than any other banker and never lost a dollar. Further enhancing Doc's stature is Taylor's assertion in 1939. By the time New York started to court

Hollywood, Doc had more than 90 percent of the picture-production tied up in his

Southern California branch banks. And further, the industry had contracted the habit of doing nothing big without talking it over with Doc. 181

The cinema magnates went to him first, for loans and financial advice, called him Doc, and credited him with having settled more cinema wrangles than all the law courts of California. The power brokers in Hollywood knew that Doc was the financial founder of the cinema industry and his unique relationship with them could be relied upon in the future. How different Doc's life, and the life of Hollywood, would have been if Doc hadn't made that $500 loan to Lesser and Webber.

Why is Doc the neglected figure lost to obscurity, the man not known outside of the Motion Picture Industry? Considering all the information that this thesis, with

appropriate attribution, unearthed, why hasn't Doc been recognized as the man that made the Southern California Motion Picture Industry possible? Why hasn't someone written his biography? The answers that follow are suggested.

Doc was the product of an immigrant background and his style was informal

and personal. He dealt with people with immigrant backgrounds whose behavior and

180 Taylor, 23. 181 Ibid, 48. Taibleson 107 reactions were also personal and informal. Doc and his friends sealed a deal with a handshake, they did not need a lawyer to interpret their agreement. When Doc said it was a deal it was a deal. In the same manner he relied on their answers as truthful commitments. Doc and his borrowers were friends, not adversaries. They were both part of Hollywood and each had a function to perform. The gathered information was largely based on personal recollections and reminiscences of the individuals that Doc dealt with and of Doc himself. The consequence of Doc's personal and informal mode of operation resulted in a lack of institutional records that researchers would normally rely upon. But as Mayer and others asserted Doc was "more influential, perhaps, than any other individual in placing this industry on a sound financial basis."

182 To the moguls there was no mistake: Doc was the early financier of Hollywood.

182 Kennedy, 346. Taibleson 108

Conclusion

When Doc and Leontine returned to California from New York in 1931 they bought a home in Los Angeles' upscale Holmby Hills where they still lived at the time ofDoc's death. Urbane and dignified Doc was fond of moving in wealthy circles and counted as his friends many of Hollywood's most powerful and socially prominent figures. He was a widely traveled cosmopolite, an erudite lover of the arts.

Consistent with his persona and life style, he was a voracious reader, raconteur and gourmet. For 38 years Doc and Leontine were still happily married. Their son

Bernard, a Bank of America officer, followed in his father's footsteps and became the manager of the Los Angeles head office with the additional responsibility for the bank's relationship with Hollywood.

Doc occupied the little back office in Bank of America's Beverly Hills branch where he continued his business and social relationships with his Hollywood friends and still had many different interests in the motion picture industry. He always had a penchant for public service and as he had more time he expanded his involvement in community and civic affairs. He led community chest campaigns and was a sponsor of the Philharmonic Orchestra as well as other organizations. He became a leader in

Los Angeles' U.S.O. movement. Doc was born with the desire to help others. That characteristic did not interfere with his also helping himself.

Doc was not foolhardy, he courageously accepted challenges because, he possessed an uncommon trait, he believed in himself and consequently was able to believe in others. Doc was a compassionate man with an uncompromising desire to Taibleson 109 do what he thought was right. He frequently made decisions no one else would make and saw them through to their conclusion. The doctor was a man with the courage of his convictions, who created new ideas in banking practices with the same determination he fought to save lives as a doctor. The same credo exemplified his political life, when he fought corruption and devoted his efforts to accomplish civic improvements with generally more tenacity than his peers. Doc made a difference in each facet of his careers. His banking career was marked by the regard expressed by his customers who responded to his requested advice even as they rose in the hierarchy of their chosen vocation. Doc was decisive in all of his actions and was not patient in seeking solutions or in correcting, what he considered to be, stupid challenges.

Doc was a realist when he often referred to the human heart as the "ticker".

Dwight L. Clarke, a Bank of America officer, reported that on more than one occasion Doc would put his hand on his left side and say: "Some day boys, this old ticker of mine is going to stop like that!" snapping his fingers. The remark was prophetic. Doc was a regent of Los Angeles' Loyola University. He was attending a gathering of the Board of Regents of Loyola University on February 7, 1943 at the home of Mrs. Frank H. Powell. Chatting with fellow members, before sitting down for lunch, Doc complained of a pain in his chest and suddenly gasped and sank into a chair unconscious. A fire department rescue squad was called and when they arrived Taibleson 110 they were unable to revive Doc. 183 A few days after the funeral, a close friend of Doc gave the following sonnet to Doc's son, Bernard. It is a fitting tribute: a poignant, realistic, representation of the man.

Gay heart, so quick to fire, to flash and jest In repartee, to leap the common wall For high adventure, both in cloistered hall Or where the crowd milled thickest. Keener zest For living none had shown. To him the quest Was greater than the goal. Not trusting all, His faith once pledged was plighted past recall­ Warm core that harmonized his glad unrest. For him no candles guttering low, nor shame His memory with cerements of grief. Somewhere the joyous spark that gave him fame More bright survives this interruption brief: Death came for him no harbinger of gloom, And answering, he smiled and left our room 184

Doc Giannini was a fascinating figure in all of his activities. In San Francisco he was a medical doctor, served in the Spanish-American War, started his banking career and was elected to two terms to the Board of Supervisors. In New York he was a banker to Broadway and Hollywood. He remained a banker to Hollywood when he returned from New York. Yet it seems that after the funeral, despite his famed celebrated status in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York he was not remembered and faded into obscurity.

The evidence is very clear that Doc's presence was a very important component in the rise of the Southern California Motion Picture Industry. Along with

183 New York Times, February 8, 1943, 19. 184 Clarke, 350. Taibleson 111 the stars, producers and moguls Doc Giannini deserved to be recognized as a movie p1oneer. Taibleson 112

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