Karl Hoblitzelle (October 22, 1879 – March 8, 1967) was an American theater owner, real estate investor, and philanthropist.

[1][2][3] His father, Clarence Linden Hoblitzelle, was a veteran of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.

[2] Hoblitzelle graduated from high school in St. Louis, but his parents could not afford to send him to college.

[2] Hoblitzelle met Edward McMechin, a businessman who suggested he invest in vaudeville theaters, in 1904.

[2] More theaters were opened in Fort Worth, Waco and Houston as well as Shreveport, Louisiana, Birmingham, Alabama, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Wichita, Kansas.

[2] During World War II, Hoblitzelle worked with the United States Army to show patriotic films in his theaters.

[1] He was the founder of the Texas Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization for the promotion of Texan culture.

[1] His funeral was held at the Park Cities Baptist Church, and he was buried in the Bellefontaine Cemetery in St.