W.W. (William Wallace) Hodkinson (1881-19710) opened one of the nation's first movie theaters in Ogden, Utah in 1907. He became a leading West Coast film distributor, and founded Paramount company in 1914 for distributing films of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Company. He left the motion picture business in 1929 to form Hodkinson Aviation Corporation, and later formed the Central American Aviation Corporation and Companía Nacional de Aviación in Guatemala. The collection consists of correspondence, financial records, diaries, reports, notes, photographs, tape recordings, clippings, and other printed material related to Hodkinson's involvement with the motion picture and aviation industries.

Hodkinson was born in 1881 in Pueblo, Colorado; worked as railroad telegrapher and correspondence school salesman; opened one of the nation's first movie theaters in Ogden, Utah in 1907; became a leading West Coast film distributor; went to New York in 1914 to negotiate film contracts, remaining to become one of the leading East Coast distributors; founded Paramount company in 1914 for distributing films of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Company; company name changed in 1918 to Paramount Pictures; left motion picture business in 1929 to form Hodkinson Aviation Corporation, and later formed the Central American Aviation Corporation and Companía Nacional de Aviación in Guatemala; he died in 1971.

13.5 Linear Feet (27 boxes)

Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.