His name alone is synonymous in the theaters of America..(and luxury hotels For that matter.) He only produced one film in his life, but his money produced many. He was the man behind the studio, and this is his story ..
He was born Marcus Loew on May 7, 1870 in New York, New York. He was born into a poor Jewish family, and forced into work at a very young age, thus had a very limited formal education. Doing odd jobs, he saved literally every penny he made to invest into the penny arcade business. Even from a very young age, he was a shrewd businessman. From the penny arcade, came investment into a single Nickelodeon. From that came another Nickelodeon, then another, and yet another. Over time, racking up more Nickelodeon’s than anyone on earth. The nickelodeons were obviously named Loew’s Theaters, and would become the largest chain of movie theaters in the United States. Marcus has created a conglomerate, and it was huge!
By 1905, Marcus was on his way and his success necessitated that he secure a steady flow of product for his theaters. He wanted “his” films in “his” theaters. In the early 1920s, he purchased Metro Pictures Corporation. A few years later, he acquired a controlling interest in the financially troubled Goldwyn Pictures. He liked the vast, large, studio. 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 studio venture. He found it with Louis Mayer, with the purchase of the film production company, Louis B. Mayer Pictures.
A merging of all three companies Marcus had purchased; the new conglomerate became Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). As part of the deal, the very capable Mayer became studio head and with Mayer’s assistant, Irving Thalberg, they set out to make MGM the greatest studio in Hollywood.
MGM was immediately successful; however, Marcus never saw the success it was to become. He died just three years after the merger of a heart attack at the age of fifty-seven in his mansion on Long Island, New York. For his enormous contribution to Hollywood, he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. R.I.P. Mr. Loew. Leave a note and flowers here. |
