Joe Brandt

Joe Brandt was born in Troy, New York, on July 20, 1882. He attended high school in New York City and got his LL.B from New York University, and was admitted to the bar in 1906. He entered the motion picture industry as the private secretary to Carl Laemmle in 1908. Prior to that he was with the Hampton Advertising Ageny, and also served as the New York representative of "Billboard" and was, for a time, advertising manager of the Dramatic Mirror. In 1912 he was instrumental in the formation of the Universal Film Corporation, and served as General Manager of the company until 1918. He and Isadore Bernstein (as production manager) joined forces to form the National Film Corporation of America, Inc. with William Parsons (aka "Smiley Billy"), formerly producing as Capitol Comedies, but the death of Parsons on September 29, 1919 (just prior to the finish of Lightning Bryce (1919), a 15-chapter serial written by Brandt) spelled "finis" for that company. Brandt, in partnership with Harry Cohn and Jack Cohn then formed C.B.C.(Cohn-Brandt-Cohn) Sales Company in 1921. Brandt sold his interests in the company (that was now Columbia Pictures Corporation) in February of 1932. He then became President of WorldWide Pictures, and vice-president of Educational Pictures, Inc. in May of 1932, but resigned in November of 1932. He then became President of Associated Productions and resigned and retired in late 1933. He died in 1939. He was the father of Jerrold T. Brandt.