Harry L. Kovar
- Producer
Harry Lionel Kovar (Kowarsky) arrived in the United States from Russia on November 28, 1893 at the age of 18 and settled in New York City. He was fluent not only in Russian but also German, French, and English, the last enabling him to gain a degree in Chemistry. Although he also become a licensed pharmacist, his true love was chemistry. Together with Herman Mason, his co-producer for Resurrection, he developed and patented an improved process for fixing images in the film emulsion applied to the nitrocellulose backing whose use continued for many years beyond the silent era. Proceeds from the patent, as well as friends he made in the fledgling New York film industry, led him eventually to Hollywood where he and his partner, Mason, co-produced Resurrection in 1912. Harry was not only a gifted linguist but also a man of literature and he consulted on the screenplay as well. He was married Ethyl Freydberg. He died in Hartsdale, NY, July 7, 1955, and is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale.