Former binman Louis B Mayer rose from the rubbish heap in true ‘rags to riches’ style.
He became the most influential man in Hollywood during its golden era, when he reigned at the helm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Russian-born Mayer emigrated to Canada with his family as a child and worked in his father’s scrap metal business until his teens, when he moved to Boston.
In 1904 he bought a ramshackle movie theatre and began to show his favourite films. His sense of what the viewer wanted was to take him far, and in a few years he owned the largest theatre chain in New England.
Mayer branched out into film distribution in 1914, and after making a fortune moved to LA and founded his own production company, Louis B Mayer Productions, in 1917. In 1924 he merged his company with Metro Pictures and eventually Goldwyn pictures, forming MGM.
As the boss, Mayer made MGM into the world’s most successful movie studio, profiting even through the 1930s. The first executive in America to earn a million-dollar salary, Mayer experienced no Great Depression.
Mayer amassed “more stars than there are in heaven” - among others, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, the Marx Brothers, Ava Gardner, Greta Garbo, Elizabeth Taylor, Katherine Hepburn and Judy Garland all made their name at the studios.
The balance of power was firmly with the moguls in Mayer’s day. He tied the big stars to long contracts and Mayer, an ideologue who exalted family values, tried to exert a paternal influence on his stars. When asked whether he’d got the raise he’d asked for from Mayer, Robert Taylor is said to have replied, “no, but I found a father”.
A rigid Republican, Mayer is said to have had strict opinions on what constituted suitable subjects for celluloid. After 24 years at the top, public taste began to shift and the saccharine, wholesome films he promoted wore thin.
Ousted from MGM in 1951, Mayer tried to claw back some financial control of the company, but failed and retired from public life. That’s show business for you!
