Hollywood isn’t just home to the most creative minds in the film industry. For the Webb family, it’s home to their business Studio Air and Power—and part of their century-old family legacy.
The Webb family history begins with silent film actress Lillian Peacock (born Lillian M. Webb), who was active 1908–1918. Her brother Harry was a film producer, director, and screenwriter in 1924–1940. Harry’s son Gordon joined the Director's Guild of America in 1955 at the age of 19 and produced and managed over 20 feature films, including Space Jam and Kindergarten Cop.
Gordon Webb Jr., Gordon’s son and Harry’s grandson, initially worked as a cable person/boom operator on various films. Inspired by his father, Gordon started his own business in 1986 to provide air conditioning to the motion picture industry. Studio Air Conditioning grew from a small three-employee business to an industry staple now known as Studio Air and Power, operating with over 20 trucks, 1000 pieces of equipment, and a team of 40 employees.
Harrison Webb, the son of Gordon Jr., started working at Studio Air and Power at age sixteen and is now the CEO. Under Harrison’s leadership, the business was able to survive and thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic that brought the entire world to a halt.
“COVID threw a wrench in everyone’s plans, obviously,” says Harrison. “It changed health and safety protocols overnight. Even billion-dollar corporations didn’t know how to navigate the situation.”
At the start of lockdown, Harrison and Gordon Webb Jr. met with union and studio heads who were looking for answers. Together, they came up with solutions like germicidal UV-C lights and guidelines for safe air. This set an example that other providers in the film industry could follow to keep cast and crew safe.
How did Studio Air and Power keep their doors open when so many businesses didn’t?
“We kept our core value of ‘customer service comes first, beyond everything else.’ As long as we took care of our customers, we knew everything would be all right,” says Harrison.
This relentless focus on service led to the biggest spotlight in the film industry. Studio Air and Power provided temporary HVAC services for the Academy Awards in 2020 to let the show resume during COVID restrictions.
Now, with COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, Harrison is optimistic about the future of Studio Air and Power. The company recently embraced temporary power as a major service offering, paired with the reliability and service that customers have come to expect. This prompted the company to change its name from Studio Air Conditioning to better capture the services offered.
“Studio Air and Power has done power for the last 20 years—we were halfway there but hadn’t stepped into all the things we could do with it, like powering the Hollywood Bowl for a runway show, and tech power on stages,” says Harrison. “Now we offer power as a dedicated service."
Growth is a top priority for Harrison, who has no intention of slowing down—even in the thick of Hollywood’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
“In five years, we want to be the number-one provider in LA for air and power,” he says. “Our goal is to be known as the most dependable and reliable company out there. We want to go as far as we can, as fast as we can while keeping our focus on customer service and dependability”.
The company has already gone international with projects like Selina on location in Baja California, with more to come in the future. With Harrison at the helm, the Webb family legacy—and Studio Air and Power—is still just getting started.