The millionaire behind Joburg’s original dream factory
Ted Botha, author of ‘Hollywood on the Veld’, talks about Johannesburg and its stories
When Isidore William Schlesinger, a five-foot-two salesman from New York’s Lower East Side, arrived in Cape Town in 1896 with just a fob watch from his mother, SA was in the throes of the gold rush. But IW, as he became known, sought his fortune above ground. Travelling the veld by horse and buggy, he sold life insurance to miners and Swazi chiefs before launching his own company. As Johannesburg boomed, so did Schlesinger’s empire, which included insurance, real estate, cinemas, catering and hotels. He introduced American-style chain stores and “tea room bioscopes” (a combined café and movie theatre) to SA and became one of the country’s most powerful businessmen.
One of his more offbeat ventures was film. At a time when Hollywood was still in its infancy, Schlesinger was building sets and shooting large-scale productions on the outskirts of Johannesburg on a farm called Killarney, complete with extras and elaborate backdrops. Though he poured millions into his dream of turn...
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