Louis B. Mayer(1884-1957)
- Additional Crew
- Producer
- Actor
Mayer was born Lazar Meir in the Ukraine and grew up in Saint John,
New Brunswick, Canada after his parents fled Russian oppression in
1886. He had a brutal childhood, raised in poverty and suffering
physical and emotional abuse from his nearly-illiterate peddler father.
In the early 1890s, he changed his name to Louis and fudged his birth
date to reflect the more "patriotic" date of July 4, 1885. He moved to
Boston in 1904 and struggled as a scrap-metal dealer until he was able
to purchase a burlesque house. Although he made large sums by showing
films (he made a sizable fortune off
The Birth of a Nation (1915)),
his early business ventures favored legitimate theater in New England.
As his theater empire expanded, he had acquired and refurbished enough
small movie theaters that he was able to move his business to Los
Angeles and venture into movie production in 1918. Along with
Samuel Goldwyn and
Marcus Loew of Metro Pictures, he formed a
new company called Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Over the next 25 years, MGM was "the Tiffany of the studios," producing more films and movie stars than any other studio in the world. Mayer became the prime creator of the enduring Hollywood of myth, home to stars like Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, and Jean Harlow. Mayer became the highest-paid man in America, one of the country's most successful horse breeders, a political force and Hollywood's leading spokesman. Both he and MGM reached their peaks at the end of World War II, and Mayer was forced out in 1951. He died of leukemia in 1957.
Over the next 25 years, MGM was "the Tiffany of the studios," producing more films and movie stars than any other studio in the world. Mayer became the prime creator of the enduring Hollywood of myth, home to stars like Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, and Jean Harlow. Mayer became the highest-paid man in America, one of the country's most successful horse breeders, a political force and Hollywood's leading spokesman. Both he and MGM reached their peaks at the end of World War II, and Mayer was forced out in 1951. He died of leukemia in 1957.
