Louis B. Mayer came up with the idea for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in conversation with Fred Beetson, of the Association of Motion Picture Producers (A.M.P.A.S. founder # 33); actor Conrad Nagel (# 5); and director Fred Niblo (# 11).
A native of the Kiev region of Ukraine, Mayer grew up in New Brunswick. With money from his successful scrap-metal operation, he bought a burlesque house in Boston; from there his rise was swift, and with the mega-merger of Metro and Goldwyn Pictures with his own Louis B. Mayer Productions he created the model Hollywood studio, with “more stars than there are in the heavens.”
His tenure at MGM lasted a quarter century, and if he left in comparative ignominy – forced out by Nicholas M. Schenck, also in this photo – Mayer had overseen an extraordinary run of films and shaped the careers of hundreds of film stars. In 1951 he won an honorary Academy Award for “distinguished service to the motion picture industry.”
I will identify the others in the photo in Harry Rapf’s post.
No comments:
Post a Comment