Editing Warner Bros. (section)

=== Warner Bros. Television and Warner Bros. Records ===
By 1949, with the success of television threatening the film industry more and more, Harry Warner decided to emphasize television production.<ref name="268lk">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=286}}</ref> However, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) would not permit it.<ref name="268lk" /> After an unsuccessful attempt to convince other movie studio bosses to switch, Harry abandoned his television efforts.<ref name="p287" />

Jack had problems with [[Milton Berle]]'s unsuccessful film ''[[Always Leave Them Laughing]]'' during the peak of Berle's television popularity. Warner felt that Berle was not strong enough to carry a film and that people would not pay to see the man they could see on television for free. However, Jack was pressured into using Berle, who replaced [[Danny Kaye]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_061149-1/10|title=Issuu.com}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Berle's outrageous behavior on the set and the film's massive failure led to Jack banning television sets from film sets and mentions of television itself from film scripts. In his 1991 autobiography, ''Don't Shoot, It's Only Me'', [[Bob Hope]] remarked that "when Warners filmed a living room after that, the whole family would just gather around a fireplace".<ref>p.127 Hope, Bob & Shavelson, Mel ''Don't Shoot, It's Only Me'' 1991 Jove Books</ref>
[[File:James Garner Bret Maverick Jack Kelly Bart Maverick.JPG|right|thumb|upright=0.75|[[James Garner]] and [[Jack Kelly (actor)|Jack Kelly]] in ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]'' (1957)]]
On March 21, 1955, the studio was finally able to engage in television through the successful [[Warner Bros. Television]] unit run by [[William T. Orr]], Jack Warner's son-in-law. Warner Bros. Television provided [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] with a weekly show, ''[[Warner Bros. Presents]].'' The show featured rotating shows based on three film successes, ''[[Kings Row#Television series|Kings Row]]'', ''[[Casablanca (film)#Sequels and other versions|Casablanca]]'' and ''[[Cheyenne (1947 film)|Cheyenne]]'', followed by a promotion for a new film.<ref name="bbddpp">{{Cite magazine |date=March 21, 1955 |title=Warner Bros. Enters Tv Field With Pact for ABC-TV Shows |url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-03-21-BC.pdf |magazine=Broadcast Magazine |page=112}}</ref><ref name="thomas192">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=192}}</ref> It was not a success.<ref name="thomas193">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=193}}</ref> The studio's next effort was to make a weekly series out of ''Cheyenne''.<ref name="thomas194">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=194}}</ref> ''[[Cheyenne (TV series)|Cheyenne]]'' was television's first hour-long [[Western (genre)|Western]]. Two episodes were placed together for feature film release outside the United States. In the tradition of its B movies, the studio followed up with a series of rapidly produced popular [[Western (genre)|Westerns]], such as writer/producer [[Roy Huggins]]' critically lauded ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]'' as well as ''[[Sugarfoot]]'', ''[[Bronco (TV series)|Bronco]]'', ''[[Lawman (TV series)|Lawman]]'', ''[[The Alaskans]]'' and ''[[Colt .45 (TV series)|Colt .45]]''.<ref name="thomas194" /> The success of these series helped to make up for losses in the film business.<ref name="thomas194" /> As a result, Jack Warner decided to emphasize television production.<ref name="thomas195">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 195}}</ref> Warners produced a series of popular [[Private investigator|private detective]] shows beginning with ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'' (1958–1964) followed by ''[[Hawaiian Eye]]'' (1959–1963), ''[[Bourbon Street Beat]]'' (1960) and ''[[Surfside 6]]'' (1960–1962).

Within a few years, the studio provoked hostility among its TV stars such as [[Clint Walker]] and [[James Garner]], who sued over a contract dispute and won.<ref name="thomas196-198">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=196–198}}</ref> [[Edd Byrnes]] was not so lucky and bought himself out of his contract. Jack was angered by their perceived ingratitude. Television actors evidently showed more independence than film actors, deepening his contempt for the new medium.<ref name="thomas199">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=199}}</ref> Many of Warner's television stars appeared in the casts of Warner's cinema releases. In 1963, a court decision forced Warner Bros. to end contracts with their television stars and to cease engaging them for specific series or film roles. That year, [[Jack Webb]], best known for originating the role of [[Joe Friday|Sgt. Joe Friday]] in the [[Dragnet (franchise)|''Dragnet'' franchise]], became the head of the studio's TV division.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Irvin |first=Richard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CuTDAwAAQBAJ&q=1963+jack+webb+warner+brothers&pg=PA157 |title=George Burns Television Productions: The Series and Pilots, 1950–1981 |date=May 12, 2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-1621-6 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

[[File:Dean Martin Frank Sinatra Dean Martin Show 1958.JPG|left|thumb|160px|upright=0.45|[[Dean Martin]] and [[Frank Sinatra]] appear in a number of Warner Bros. films produced in the early 1960s. Both singers also recorded for [[Reprise Records]], which the studio purchased in 1963.]]
On March 19, 1958, the studio launched [[Warner Bros. Records]], with its inaugural office based above the studio's machine shop on 3701 Warner Boulevard in Burbank.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=http://www.warnerbrosrecords.com/faq |website=Warner Bros. Records |access-date=4 June 2024 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716141442/http://www.warnerbrosrecords.com/faq |url-status=dead}}</ref> Initially, the label released recordings made by their television stars—whether they could sing or not—and records based on television soundtracks. Warner Bros. was already the owner of extensive music-publishing holdings, whose tunes had appeared in countless cartoons (arranged by [[Carl Stalling]]) and television shows (arranged by [[Max Steiner]]).<ref>{{IMDb name|70|Max Steiner}}</ref> In 2004, Time Warner sold the [[Warner Music Group]], along with Warner Bros. Records, to a private equity group led by [[Edgar Bronfman Jr.]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 24, 2003 |title=Warner Music to be sold for $2.6B |work=CNN Money |url=https://money.cnn.com/2003/11/24/news/companies/warner_music/index.htm |access-date=March 17, 2020 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026202157/https://money.cnn.com/2003/11/24/news/companies/warner_music/index.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, the since-separated Warner Bros. record division was rechristened [[Warner Records]], as WMG held a short-term license to use the Warner Bros. name and trademarks; as such, the label currently reissues the pre-2019 Warner Bros. back catalog.

In 1963, Warner agreed to a "rescue takeover" of [[Frank Sinatra]]'s [[Reprise Records]].<ref name="thomas255">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=255}}</ref> The deal gave Sinatra US$1.5&nbsp;million and part ownership of Warner Bros. Records, making Reprise a sub-label.<ref name="thomas255" /> Most significantly the deal brought Reprise manager [[Mo Ostin|Morris "Mo" Ostin]] into the company. In 1964, upon seeing the profits record companies made from Warner film music, Warner decided to claim ownership of the studio's film soundtracks.<ref name="thomas265">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=264–265}}</ref> In its first eighteen months, Warner Bros. Records lost around $2&nbsp;million.<ref name="thomas2645">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=265}}</ref>