Louis B. Mayer - Samuel Goldwyn - Marcus Loew

Louis B. Mayer

Born to a Jewish family in Minsk, Russian Empire (now Belarus), Mayer emigrated with his family to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada when he was still very young, and Mayer attended school there. His father started a scrap metal business, J. Mayer & Son. Louis, as the son, salvaged material from sunken vessels on the ocean floor, where his father would throw him overboard and would not let him return onto the boat until he had what his father needed. Throughout Mayer's childhood, he was constantly abused by his father. He married Margaret Shenberg on June 14, 1904, and, three years later, moved to Amsterdam

Mayer renovated the "Gem Theater", a rundown, 600 seat burlesque house in Haverhill, Massachusetts[3], which he reopened on November 28, 1907 as the "Orpheum", his first movie theater. To overcome the unfavorable reputation that the building once had in the community, Mayer decided to debut with the showing of a religious film. He would say years later that he went with From the Manger to the Cross [4], although other sources place the release of that film as 1912 [5]. Within a few years, he owned all five of Haverhill's theaters, and, with Nat Gordon, created the Gordon-Mayer partnership that controlled the largest theater chain in New England [6]. Mayer partnered with Richard A. Rowland in 1916 to create Metro Pictures Corporation, a talent booking agency, in New York City. Two years later, Mayer moved to Los Angeles and founded Louis B. Mayer Pictures Corporation to form his own production company. The first production was 1918's Virtuous Wives [7]. A partnership was set up with B. P. Schulberg to make the Mayer-Schulberg Studio. Mayer's big breakthrough, however, was when Marcus Loew, owner of the Loew's theatre chain, merged Metro Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn's Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, and Mayer Pictures into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. As "Vice-President in Charge of Production", Mayer effectively controlled MGM.

As a studio boss, Louis B. Mayer built MGM to the most financially successful motion picture studio in the world and the only one to pay dividends throughout the Great Depression of the 1930s. However he frequently clashed with production chief Irving Thalberg who preferred literary works over the crowd-pleasers Mayer wanted. He ousted Thalberg as production chief in 1932 while Thalberg was recovering from a heart attack and replaced him with independent producers until 1936 when he became head of production as well as studio chief. This made Mayer the first executive in America to earn a million-dollar salary. Under Mayer, MGM produced many successful films with high earning stars including Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Lon Chaney, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, Judy Garland and many others.
Although Mayer had a reputation for ruthless expediency and allegedly narrow views about what subjects were suitable topics for motion pictures, Katharine Hepburn referred to him as a "nice man" (she personally negotiated many of her contracts with him), and young actresses such as Debbie Reynolds, June Allyson, and Leslie Caron who matured as MGM contract players viewed him as a father figure.

Samuel Goldwyn (27 August 1882 – 31 January 1974)[1] was an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning producer, also a well-known Hollywood motion picture producer and founding contributor of several motion picture studios.

Born Schmuel Gelbfisz in Warsaw to a Polish Jewish family, at an early age he left his native Warsaw penniless and on foot. He made his way to Birmingham, England, where he remained with relatives for a few years using the Anglicised name Samuel Goldfish. In 1898, he emigrated to the United States, but fearing refusal of entry, he got off the boat in Nova Scotia, Canada before moving on to New York in January 1899. He found work in upstate Gloversville, New York in the bustling garment business. Soon his innate marketing skills made him a very successful salesman. After four years, as vice-president for sales, he moved back to New York City.

Marcus Loew (May 7, 1870–September 5, 1927) was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loews Theatres and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Born into a poor Jewish family in New York City, he was forced by circumstances to work at a very young age and thus had little formal education. Nevertheless, beginning with a small investment from money saved from menial jobs, he bought into the penny arcade business. Soon, in partnership with others, one of whom was Adolph Zukor, Loew acquired a nickelodeon and over time he turned Loews Theatres into the largest chain of movie theaters in the United States.
By 1905, Marcus Loew was on his own and his success eventually necessitated that he secure a steady flow of product for his theaters. In 1904, he founded the People's Vaudeville Company, a theatre chain which showcased one-reeler films as well as live variety shows. In 1910, the company had considerably expanded and got the name Loew's Consolidated Enterprises. His associates included Adolph Zukor, Joseph Schenck, and Nicholas Schenck. In 1919, Loew reorganized the company under the name Loew's, Inc. In the early 1920s, Loew purchased Metro Pictures Corporation. A few years later, he acquired a controlling interest in the financially troubled Goldwyn Picture Corporation which at that point was controlled by theater impresario Lee Shubert. Goldwyn Pictures owned the Leo the Lion trademark which at the time was inconsequential to the importance of its studio property in Culver City, California. Without Samuel Goldwyn, the Goldwyn studio lacked capable management. With Loew's assistant Nicholas Schenck needed in New York City to help manage the large East Coast movie theater operations, Loew had to find a qualified executive to take charge of this new Los Angeles entity.
In April 1924, Loew resolved his problem with the purchase of the film production company owned by Louis B. Mayer. The new conglomerate became known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. As part of the deal, the very capable Mayer became studio head for the three combined Hollywood entities, and Mayer's assistant Irving Thalberg took charge of film production. In addition, the acquisition brought Mayer Pictures' contracts with key directors such as Fred Niblo and John M. Stahl and up-and-coming actress, Norma Shearer.
While immediately successful, Marcus Loew never got to see the powerhouse that MGM was to become. He died three years later of a heart attack at the age of fifty-seven in Glen Cove on Long Island, New York. He was interred in the Maimonides Cemetery in Brooklyn.
For his very significant contribution to the development of the motion picture industry, Marcus Loew has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1617 Vine Street. To this day, the Loew name is synonymous with movie theaters.