 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Other Businesses |
Manka Digital Distribution |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
KHAN, SIMEON AND HARRY MANKEWITZ: PEASANT BROTHERS FROM BULGARIA WHO REVOLUTIONIZED THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY
May 2, 1901 - Khan, Simeon and Harry Mankewitz arrive at Ellis Island. At the processing station, Khan tells his brothers that they will become "big deals" in America and make their father and mother proud. Mankewitz is shortened to Manka by the Immigration Officer.
The Mankas (Khan remained "Mankewitz" - only later reluctantly accepting Manka for business reasons) arrive in the Bulgarian section of New York (the corner of 14th & Bleeker).
Over the next couple of years, the brothers perform as clowns on the streets for pennies. The next year, Harry saw The Great Train Robbery. He is afraid of the trains coming at him.
Remembering this incident years later, Khan, on a whim, steals his brother Simeon's horse (and only friend) Princess and sells it to buy a movie camera. Simeon was completely devasted and, some say, he never recovered. Khan's first movies with his new camera were of his brother crying. These films proved to be very successul and started the Mankas on their way.
Khan felt so bad for nearly killing his brother that he found a funny film to show Harry in the hospital. Everyone was so impressed that they decided to film themselves juggling and fighting. The crowds overflowed.
The Mankas charged admission… raising the prices because the demand was so high. Simeon knew this was their chance to become "big deal in America". They sold everything and bought two more projectors, setting them up in nearby storefronts. The Khan Mankewitz Moving Pictures Company was up and running.
Thanksgiving Day, 1907: The Mankas move west to California, settling in the Bulgarian section of Los Angeles (3rd & Fremont - present day 3rd & Hill).
The Manka Bros. make a series of shorts about Turkish repression of the Bulgarians and the valiant way they fought and died. Ironically, the shorts they made of Kittens Playing With Balls Of Twine doubled the receipts of the Bulgarian movies.
The Manka Bros. Moving Picture Studio incorporates - May 16, 1918.
First film after incorporation - The Immigrant starring Jolly Chester.
February 3, 1919: The Manka Bros. Moving Picture Studio lot is opened in present day Panorama City. "The rest of Los Angeles film community will come to us"… they say.
March 10, 1921: Manka Bros. relocates to Hollywood.
Over the next 80+ years, Manka Bros. Studios has brought the world some of the greatest entertainment ever produced - over 7,000 films, 50,000 hours of television, and hundreds of thousands of songs.