Academy Founders 22

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

22. Harry M. Warner (Harold Eichelbaum, 1881-1958) of the Producers Branch, in a Floyd McCarty photo with Jane Wyman (Sarah Jane Mayfield, 1917-2007).

With his brother Sam (Samuel Eichelbaum, 1887-1927), Harry Warner co-founded Warner Features, Inc., in 1910. Five years later, the company became United Film Service, and in 1924 four Warner brothers organized the eponymous Warner Bros. corporation. 

Sam Warner pushed the foundering company into partnership with Vitaphone. His brother Harry's response to the news that Warner's was developing talking pictures was direct: "Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"

In 1939, Harry Warner received an Academy certificate "In recognition of patriotic service in the production of historical short subjects presenting significant episodes in the early struggle of the American people for liberty."

Academy Founders 21

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

21. Irving Thalberg (1899-1936) of the Producers Branch with his wife (Edith) Norma Shearer (1902-1983).

A romantic figure who knew he was fated to die young, Thalberg went to work for Carl Laemmle's Universal Pictures at the age of 21. He moved on to work for the (then) minor Louis B. Mayer Productions, which put him in good stead when Mayer merged his company with Metro-Goldwyn to form MGM. 

Thalberg has 89 credits as an (uncredited) producer. Only his last film, THE GOOD EARTH (1937), boasts one, and it was released after his death; in life Thalberg eschewed all screen credit. Some of the films he produced: FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1926), THE CROWD (1928), ANNA CHRISTIE (1930), THE SIN OF MADELON CLAUDET (1931), GRAND HOTEL (1932), A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935), CAMILLE (1936), and A DAY AT THE RACES (1937).

After his death, the Academy created the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, for "Creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production." 

Academy Founders 20

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

20. Joseph M. Schenck (1876-1961) of the Producers Branch, shown here (at right) with Dr. and Mrs. Harry W. Martin. Mrs. Martin is better known as Louella Parsons (Louella Rose Oettinger, 1881-1972), the scenarist and gossip columnist.

Joseph M. Schenck came to New York in 1893 and to Hollywood in 1917, the year after he married Norma Talmadge (1894-1957). He had previously been in partnership with his brother Nick; he now worked with Marcus Loew to combine Metro Pictures with Goldwyn Pictures, the precursor to the merger that produced MGM. In the same period, Schenck became the chairman and then president of United Artists. By the late 1920s, he was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.

200th post

This blog has spun out in some unexpected directions, with many more unidentified (or vernacular) subjects than I thought at the start. 

For some identified sitters, I would suggest the Academy Founders link. I have written or posted a lot — more than a quarter of the entries to date — on Athletic Model Guild subjects; the Broadway link will lead to a variety of posts, as will Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.

Unidentified accounts for about 20% of the entries, for what that’s worth. As for the rest, there are dozens of single mentions of sitters (from Adele Astaire to Yves Grangeat), at least some of whom I hope to treat further in the future. 

Academy Founders 19b

Continuing with the identifications in this photo, Mrs. Nicholas M. Schenck (Pansy Wilcox) is in the center. Louis B. Mayer is to her left, followed by Edgar Joseph “Eddie” Mannix (1891-1963) and finally Hunt Stromberg (1894-1968), with Harry Rapf, Irving Thalberg, and Mayer one of the “Big Four” at MGM and a nominee for the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1939.

Academy Founders 19a

19. Harry Rapf (1882-1949) of the Producers Branch, second from left next to Buster Keaton (and with Louis B. Mayer third from right), at a house party at William Randolph Hearst’s “El Cuesta Encantada” in San Simeon, California, ca. 1927. 

Harry Rapf has 81 producer credits at IMDb, among them BROWN OF HARVARD (1926), THE BROADWAY MELODY (1929), MIN AND BILL (1930), and Robert Benchley’s short HOW TO SLEEP (1935). His last film was SCENE OF THE CRIME (1949).

In the photo, left to right: Buster Keaton (Joseph Frank Keaton Jr., 1895-1966); Harry Rapf; Irving Thalberg (# 21); and Nicholas M. Schenck (1881-1969). There are so many names in this post that I will have to continue in a second part.

Academy Founders 18b

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.

Academy Founders 18a

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

18. Louis B. Mayer (Lazar/Ezemiel Mair, 1884?-1957; third from right) and 19. Harry Rapf (1882-1949; next to Buster Keaton) of the Producers Branch, at a house party at William Randolph Hearst’s “El Cuesta Encantada” in San Simeon, California, ca. 1927. 

Academy Founders 17

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

17. Michael C./M. C. Levee (1891-1972), Producers Branch, third president of the Academy, 1931-32, with his wife in New York in 1932.

He was both a longtime studio executive and a top agent; his clients included Mary Pickford, Joan Crawford, and Cecil B. DeMille.

Academy Founders 16

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

16. Jesse Louis Lasky (1880-1958) of the Producers Branch with Otto Kruger (1885-1974) during the production of SPRINGTIME FOR HENRY (1934). 

Jesse L. Lasky was perhaps the first Hollywood mogul, and while he did not retain control of the company he had founded, Lasky was one of the giants of early Hollywood. As studio chief at Paramount (as Famous Players-Lasky became), he has 477 credits at IMDb, with 140 credits as a producer. Among the films with which he was associated: THE SQUAW MAN (1914), WHY CHANGE YOUR WIFE? (1920), BLOOD AND SAND (1922), PETER PAN (1924), IT (1927), THE COCOANUTS (1929), and BERKELEY SQUARE (1933).

See an earlier picture of Lasky here.

Academy Founders 15

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

15. Sid Grauman (1879-1950) of the Producers Branch, at a typical ceremony at his Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Here, (Richard) Red Skelton (1913-1997) signs the pavement with his wife Edna in 1942.

In his day, Sid Grauman was as famous as any of the stars whose films showed in his Los Angeles theaters: the Chinese, the Egyptian, the Million Dollar, and the Metropolitan.

Grauman's Chinese Theatre particularly captured people's imaginations: built on land that had once belonged to Francis X. Bushman, it opened in May 1927 with Cecil B. DeMille's THE KING OF KINGS. (Jeanie MacPherson, #29, was the film’s screenwriter; the cast was a Who's Who of 1920s' Hollywood,)

In 1949, the Academy awarded Grauman an honorary Oscar as a "Master showman, [one] who raised the standard of exhibition of motion pictures."

Academy Founders 14

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

14. Charles Christie (1880-1955) of the Producers Branch. The photo is by Witzel Studio.

With his brother Al (Alfred Ernest Christie, 1881-1951), Christie was an early comedy producer. Like some of his fellow Academy founders, Charles Christie took an interest in the Motion Picture Relief Fund from its founding in 1921.

The Depression ultimately crippled the Christies' studio, after which Charles and Al focused on their real estate holdings.

Academy Founders 13

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

13. Raoul Walsh (Albert Edward Walsh, 1887-1980) of the Directors Branch, here with Gloria Swanson (Gloria May Josephine Svensson, 1899-1983) on the set of SADIE THOMPSON (1928).

An actor and director from 1913, his leading role in SADIE THOMPSON was the last before a freak accident involving a flying hare cost him an eye. His fifty-year directing career continued, with films like GOING HOLLYWOOD (1933), THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940), GENTLEMAN JIM (1942), and THE NAKED AND THE DEAD (1958). 

Curiously enough, he was never nominated for an Academy Award.

Academy Founders 12

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

12. John Malcolm Stahl (Jacob Morris Strelitsky, 1886-1950) of the Directors Branch, with Ramon Novarro (Jose Ramón Gil Samaniego, 1899-1968) on the set of LOVERS? (1927).

The uncredited co-director of Ernst Lubitsch's STUDENT PRINCE IN OLD HEIDELBERG (1927), Stahl's 1930s output included STRICTLY DISHONORABLE (1931), IMITATION OF LIFE (1934), and MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1935). In 1947, again uncredited, he co-directed Otto Preminger's FOREVER AMBER.

Academy Founders 11

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

11. Fred Niblo (Frederick Liedtke, 1874-1948) of the Directors Branch. 

Niblo had something of a specialty during the silent period: replacing directors who had lost control of their productions. He is most famous for rescuing BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST (1925) and then Greta Garbo's film THE TEMPTRESS (1926). 

His career limped into the sound era, but his last successful films were silents: CAMILLE (1926), with Norma Talmadge and Gilbert Roland, and the splendid MYSTERIOUS LADY (1928), with Garbo and Conrad Nagel (A.M.P.A.S. founder #5).

Niblo's first wife was Josephine Cohan, sister of George M. Cohan; his second was Enid Bennett, star of many of his early films.

Academy Founders 10

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927. 

10. Frank Lloyd (1886-1960) of the Directors Branch, the sixth president of the Academy, 1934-35. The photo is by Woodbury Studio.

Lloyd was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning twice with THE DIVINE WOMAN (1929) and CAVALCADE (1933). He was a stickler for accuracy, and fidelity to his sources, wishing each film to reflect (for example) Charles Dickens rather than Frank Lloyd.

Academy Founders 9

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.

9. Henry King (1886-1982) of the Directors Branch. The photo is by Woodbury Studio. 

Harry King was a reliable spotter of talent, picking out Ronald Colman, Gary Cooper, and Tyrone Power (Jr.), among others. As with Cecil B. DeMille, the Academy was chary with honors: King was twice nominated for Oscars, but never won as Best Director. That said, in 1956 the Directors Guild of America honored him for lifetime achievement.

Academy Founders 8c

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.

8. Cecil B. DeMille (Cecil Blount de Mille, 1881-1959) of the Directors Branch.

Like Mary Pickford or Jesse L. Lasky, DeMille was a model of his kind: in his case, the bravura "Hollywood director." His career lasted long enough that he remade some of his films: THE SQUAW MAN of 1914 was remade twice, in 1918 and 1931; a wide-screen remake of the silent TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923) was the final film in DeMille's (directorial) career, released in 1956. He moved back and forth between romantic comedies and time-spanning (often Biblical) epics: the scenery-chewing GOLDEN BED (1925) was followed by THE VOLGA BOATMAN (1926) and THE KING OF KINGS (1927). 

Perhaps he was not the first to say it, but the phrase "The public is always right" is credited to him. Oddly enough, considering his film pedigree, DeMille was nominated for an Academy Award just twice; only one of his films won Best Picture: THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952). In honor of his service to the Academy, and the industry, he won an honorary Oscar in 1950 and the 1953 Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. 

Academy Founders 8b

Standing, left to right: Oscar Apfel (1878-1938), camera man for and co-director of THE SQUAW MAN (1914); Max Figman (1861-1952), Lolita Robertson's husband and frequent co-star; Charles Richman (1865-1940); art director Wilfred Buckland (1866-1946); Theodore Roberts (1861-1928), Moses in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923); Broadway transplants Robert Edeson (1868-1931) and Edward Abeles (1869-1919); and Cecil B. DeMille (1881-1959).

Academy Founders 8a

N.B. The member numbers follow The Internet Movie Database's list order announcing the Academy in January 1927.

Some of the early actors and staff at the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company in 1913. The studio -- later Famous Players-Lasky and then Paramount Pictures -- was developing THE SQUAW MAN (1914): the film's two directors -- including Cecil B. DeMille (#8 on IMDb's list of A.M.P.A.S. founders), standing at right -- may be seen in this photo. 

Seated, left to right: Lolita Robertson (1888-1959), Jesse L. Lasky (1880-1958, #16 on the list), and Bessie Barriscale (1884-1965).

I will cover the rest of the group in another post.