The reason Hollywood is the movie capital of the world is because of Edison and his patent stinginess in the North, if i recall correctly.
I recall reading an article a week or two back (correct me if i'm wrong), California is home to 3/4 of the countries artists, writers, etc... and a large portion of California's, most notably Los Angeles, gets it income from the Arts.
Is it fair to say that had Edison not been so stingy with his Patents that this would be a different story?
No, not at all. You're assuming that entertainment via Hollywood is the main component of California's GDP. In fact, the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector make up less than 2% of the states GDP. Instead the real estate, professional services, government spending, and the tech sectors drive most of the state's economy. You can see that in this document from Chase (3rd page) which is an analysis of the state economy.
California is one of the most economically successful states
How are you measuring "economically successful"? It ranks #16 amongst the states in terms of income per capita.