Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer
Category: Books,Humor & Entertainment,Movies
Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer Details
From Publishers Weekly Anyone who's heard one of the legions of tales about obstinate Hollywood founding father Mayer's tyranny over his stars (and the entire studio system) won't be surprised to learn Mayer grew up selling scrap machinery in the eastern Canadian port town of Saint John: "Junk dealing itself made [Mayer] endlessly resourceful and opportunistic," Eyman (Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford) writes in this meticulous and engaging biography. But because Mayer (1885–1957) was a Russian Jew selling scrap metal and was looked down upon by many, he developed his "almost feral belligerence" early on. That ruthlessness may explain his unprecedented consolidation of power once he arrived in Los Angeles in 1918, but not his genius for packaging and selling the nascent and suspicious medium of film to audiences. Mayer's maudlin sentimentality about American values and the virtues of family life (despite major womanizing) surfaced in most of the films he oversaw at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer—and in what he did to get them made. Mayer's "mania for quality" drove MGM to the top of Hollywood's studio system, while his melodramatic fainting spells and crying jags would frequently induce fellow executives or stars to relent. Eyman's extensive knowledge of old Hollywood, his scrupulous research and his refusal to indict the often-pilloried Mayer make this biography an often revelatory delight. Agent, Fran Collin. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more Review "Lion of Hollywood is compulsive reading as well as thoroughly enjoyable. There is so much that is new, so much that surprised me." -- Kevin Brownlow, author of The Parade's Gone By... "Scott Eyman has accomplished the near impossible -- he's taken Louis B. Mayer, the comic goblin of so many Hollywood histories, and restored him to his rightful place as one of the great business executives of the twentieth century. Laughable no more, Mayer is a fascinating amalgam of vision, chutzpa, cunning, and sheer genius." -- James Curtis, author of W. C. Fields and James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters Read more See all Editorial Reviews
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In 1890, the Mayer family came from Ukraine to New Brunswick. The illiterate fathersupported a wife and three children by dealing in scrap metal in the street. Louis, bornin 1884, was educated till age 13. He spoke English but was not street-wise and had notrade, money or connections. Thinking he could set up a junk business, he got himselfarrested for having no license. The judge forced him to work for his father but Dad beat him to get respect.At age 19, he rented a room in a Boston push-cart neighborhood and worked for ascrap dealer. He met and married his wife, moved into her parents' apartment andstayed until their first child was born. With help, he bought a nearby burlesque theater and built an apartment inside to be his dwelling. He catering to female customers,reasoning that they decided family entertainment. He promised a more refined,strait-laced product than that of competing theaters and he installed an organ.His first program was, "The Passion Play", viewing religious slides to organ music.A success at last, he was invited to become manager of the New Bijou Theaterwhich produced plays. He treated actors like royalty and they recommended himto New York investors. Generating profits now, he bought a hotel which catered toshow people. By 1910, he owned a string of theaters and had brought in opera.He formed The American Feature Film Company to produce a few films. When he purchased the New England rights to “Birth of a Nation”, he invested $50,000 and earned $250,000. In 1912, he became a citizen. In 1924, he became the Mayer in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). And, he was the man who invented movie stars.