Joseph Michael Schenck (; December 25, 1876 – October 22, 1961) was a Russian-born American film studio executive.

Life and career

Schenck was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Rybinsk Rybinsk (, ) is the second-largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Yaroslavl Oblast in Russia. It lies at the confluence of the Volga and Sheksna rivers, north-north-east of Moscow. Population: It was previously known as '' ...

, Yaroslavl Oblast,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on July 19, 1892, under the name Ossip Schenker; and with his younger brother

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

eventually got into the entertainment business, operating concessions at New York's Fort George Amusement Park. Recognizing the potential, in 1909 the Schenck brothers purchased Palisades Amusement Park and afterward became participants in the fledgling motion picture industry in partnership with Marcus Loew, operating a chain of movie theaters. In 1916, through his involvement in the film business, Joseph Schenck met and married

Norma Talmadge Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...

, a top young star with Vitagraph Studios. He would be the first of her three husbands, but she was his only wife. Schenck supervised, controlled and nurtured her career in alliance with her mother. In 1917, the couple formed the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation, which became a lucrative enterprise. They divorced in 1934; Schenck then built a home in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

. After parting ways with his brother, Joseph Schenck moved to the West Coast where the future of the film industry seemed to lie. Within a few years Schenck was made the second president of the new United Artists.

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reports that he was an alternate delegate from California to the 1928 Republican National Convention. In 1933, he partnered with Darryl F. Zanuck to form

Twentieth Century Pictures Twentieth Century Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film, independent Cinema of the United States, Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1933 by Joseph Schenck (the former president of United Artists) and Darryl F. Za ...

to produce motion pictures for United Artists, until 20th Century merged with Fox Film in 1935. As chairman of the new 20th Century-Fox, he was one of the most powerful and influential people in the film business. Caught in a payoff scheme to buy peace with the militant unions, he was convicted of income tax evasion and spent time in prison. He was granted a presidential pardon by Harry Truman in 1945. Following his release, he returned to 20th Century Fox where he became infatuated with the then unknown

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

, and played a key role in launching her career.

Honors

One of the founders of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

, in 1952 he was given a special

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in recognition of his contribution to the development of the film industry. He has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 6757 Hollywood Blvd.

Death

Schenck retired in 1957 and shortly afterwards suffered a stroke, from which he never fully recovered. He died in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, in 1961 at the age of 84, and was interred in Maimonides Cemetery in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schenck, Joseph 1876 births 1961 deaths 20th Century Studios people 20th-century American Jews Academy Honorary Award recipients Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences founders American amusement park businesspeople American businesspeople convicted of crimes American chief executives American film production company founders American film studio executives American people convicted of tax crimes American people of Russian-Jewish descent Businesspeople from Los Angeles Businesspeople from Palm Springs, California California Republicans Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Film producers from California Jews from the Russian Empire People from Rybinsk Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government People pardoned by Harry S. Truman Twentieth Century Pictures United Artists people