San
Joaquin County
Biographies
MARK M. LEICHTER
With a long and successful
experience in connection with the theatrical industry,
Mark M. Leichter has demonstrated his executive
ability as manager of the State Theater at Stockton, owned by Sam Harris and
Irving C. Ackerman, long connected with the theatrical world in the west. In 1908 they started the Wigwam Theater in
San Francisco. Later they took over the
Republic and following that the Hippodrome in Los Angeles. In a short time they annexed houses in
Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, Stockton, Oakland, Fresno, Long Beach, and Salt
Lake. Their success has been noteworthy
and it is a well-known fact that every theater they handled proved a big money
maker. At present Ackerman & Harris
are operating the Palace-Hip, Seattle; the Hippodrome, Portland; the State and
Hippodrome, Sacramento; the State, Stockton; the Casino, Hippodrome and
Century, San Francisco; the State, Oakland; the Hippodrome, Fresno; and the
State, Salt Lake. They are booking their
vaudeville in several smaller houses in the west.
Mark M. Leichter
was born on January 29, 1884, at San Francisco, and there he attended the
public schools and the Humboldt High School.
In company with his father he became connected with a moving picture
theater at Third Avenue and Eighteenth Street, New York, and next they ran the
Clinton Street Theater there. In 1907
they opened the Hippodrome Theater in Jersey City with vaudeville and pictures,
and from that they established a circuit throughout the state in the large
cities. Returning to San Francisco, Mr. Leichter opened the Rex Theater on Polk Street in that city.
In 1916 Mark M. Leichter
opened the Strand Theater on Market Street, San Francisco, for Sid Grauman, as a picture house, and in 1917 he came to
Stockton and opened the Hippodrome Theater for Ackerman & Harris. Under his efficient management the theater
was a financial success and then Mr. Leichter retired
from the theatrical business for two years.
On November 17 he again entered the field in Stockton, opening Loew’s State Theater, now the State Theater owned by
Ackerman & Harris. This was formerly
the Yosemite Theater and was remodeled at a large expenditure into a modern,
up-to-date playhouse, for pictures and vaudeville, and again Mr. Leichter’s ability has made it a paying enterprise.
At San Francisco on October 31,
1909, Mr. Leichter was married to Miss Sibyl Cohen, a
native daughter of that city, and they have two sons, Newton Sterling and
Mortimer Elliott, both born in San Francisco.
Mr. Leichter is a member of Doric Lodge No.
216, F. & A. M. of San Francisco; the Scottish Rite
bodies there, and Islam Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.; he also belongs to the
Yosemite Club, the Lions Club and the Sciots of
Stockton. He is one of Stockton’s ardent
boosters, a live wire in every way, and when he returned to take over the
management of the State Theater he received a hearty welcome from his many
friends here.
Transcribed by V. Gerald Iaquinta.
Source: Tinkham, George
H., History of San Joaquin County, California , Page 1515. Los Angeles, Calif.: Historic
Record Co., 1923.
© 2012 V. Gerald Iaquinta.
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