David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and film studio executive who produced ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'' (1939) and ''

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

'' (1940), both of which earned him an

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...

. He also won the Irving Thalberg Award at the 12th Academy Awards, Hollywood's top honor for a producer, in recognition of his shepherding ''Gone with the Wind'' through a long and troubled production and into a record-breaking blockbuster. The son and son-in-law of movie moguls Lewis J. Selznick and

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1884Mayer maintained that he was born in Minsk on July 4, 1885. According to Scott Eyman, the reasons may have been: * Mayer's father gave different dates for his birthplace at different times, so ...

, Selznick served as head of production at R.K.O. Radio Pictures and went on to become one of the first independent movie producers. His first wife was Mayer's daughter Irene Selznick, who became a highly successful Broadway producer after their divorce, and his second wife was Oscar-winning actress

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental-health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned more than five decades, she was nomin ...

Early life

Selznick was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, the son of Florence Anna (née Sachs) and Lewis J. Selznick, a

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

producer and distributor of

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 ...

origin. His father was born in the

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 ...

in 1870. David had three siblings, including his brother Myron, also a film producer and later a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds work for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various entertainm ...

. David Selznick added the "O" to distinguish himself from an uncle with the same name, and because he thought it had flair. The "O" stands for nothing, and he never had his name legally changed to incorporate it. He studied at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

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 ...

and started training as an apprentice for his father until the elder's bankruptcy in 1923. In 1926, Selznick moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, and with the help of his father's connections, he gained a job as an assistant story editor at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

. He left MGM for

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

in 1928, where he worked until 1931. While at Paramount he married Irene Gladys Mayer, daughter of MGM mogul

Stint at RKO

David Sarnoff David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was a Russian and American businessman who played an important role in the American history of radio and television. He led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) for most of his career in ...

, head of RKO, hired Selznick as Head of Production in October 1931. In addition to implementing rigorous cost-control measures, Selznick championed the unit production system, which gave the producers of individual movies much greater independence than they had under the prevailing central producer system. "Under the factory system of production you rob the director of his individualism", said Selznick, "and this being a creative industry that is harmful to the quality of the product made."Bordwell, David, Janet Staiger, and Kristin Thompson (1985). ''The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style & Mode of Production to 1960''. New York: Columbia University Press. , p. 321. Instituting unit production, he predicted, would also result in cost savings of 30–40 percent. To make films under the new system, Selznick recruited prize behind-the-camera personnel, such as director

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor ( ; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer, producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO Pictures, RKO when David O. Selzn ...

and producer/director Merian C. Cooper, and gave producer

Pandro S. Berman Pandro Samuel Berman (March 28, 1905July 13, 1996), also known as Pan Berman, was an American film producer. Early life Berman was born to a American Jews, Jewish family in Pittsburgh in 1905. His father Henry was general manager of Universal ...

, aged twenty-six, increasingly important projects. Selznick discovered and signed a young actress who was quickly counted as one of the studio's big stars,

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

. John Barrymore was also enlisted for a few memorable performances. Selznick spent a mere fifteen months as RKO production chief, resigning over a dispute with new corporate president Merlin Aylesworth concerning creative control. One of his last acts at RKO was to approve a

screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...

for a thirty-three-year-old, balding Broadway song-and-dance man named

Fred Astaire Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz, May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American dancer, actor, singer, musician, choreographer, and presenter, whose career in stage, film, and television spanned 76 years. He is widely regarded as the "g ...

. In a memo, Selznick wrote, "I feel, in spite of his enormous ears and bad chin line, that his charm is ... tremendous". Selznick's tenure was widely considered masterful: In 1931, before he arrived, the studio had produced forty-two features for $16 million in total budgets. In 1932, under Selznick, forty-one features were made for $10.2 million, with clear improvement in quality and popularity. He backed several major successes, including '' A Bill of Divorcement'' (1932), with Cukor directing Hepburn's debut, and the monumental ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

'' (1933)—largely Merian Cooper's brainchild, brought to life by the astonishing

special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

s work of Willis H. O'Brien.

Return to MGM

In 1933, he returned to MGM where his father-in-law,

, was studio CEO. Mayer established a second prestige production unit for Selznick, parallel to that of

Irving Thalberg Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather productio ...

, who was in poor health. Selznick's unit output included the all-star cast movie '' Dinner at Eight'' (1933), ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

'' (1935), '' Anna Karenina'' (1935), and ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

'' (1935).

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress and a premier star during Hollywood's Silent film, silent and early Classical Hollywood cinema, golden eras. Regarded as one of the g ...

's contract with MGM supposedly provided that only Selznick or Thalberg could produce her pictures for the studio. When Selznick later announced his departure from MGM, Garbo asked him to stay, offering to allow him the exclusive right to produce her films. Selznick declined the offer.

Selznick International Pictures

Selznick longed to be an independent producer with his own studio. In 1935, he realized that goal by leasing RKO's

Culver City Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights to the ea ...

studios and back lot, forming Selznick International Pictures, and distributing his films through

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

. His successes continued with classics such as '' The Garden of Allah'' (1936), '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' A Star Is Born'' (1937), '' Nothing Sacred'' (1937), ''

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (also simply known as ''Tom Sawyer'') is a novel by Mark Twain published on June 9, 1876, about a boy, Tom Sawyer, growing up along the Mississippi River. It is set in the 1830s-1840s in the town of St. Petersbu ...

'' (1938), '' The Young in Heart'' (1938), '' Made for Each Other'' (1939), '' Intermezzo'' (1939) and ''

'' (1939), which remains the highest-grossing film of all time (adjusted for inflation). ''Gone with the Wind'' won eight

Oscars 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 i ...

and two special awards. Selznick also won the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award that same year. The following year, he produced his second-Best Picture Oscar winner, ''

'' (1940), the first Hollywood production of British director

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

. Selznick had brought Hitchcock over from England, launching the director's American career. ''Rebecca'' was Hitchcock's only film to win Best Picture.

Later productions

After ''Rebecca'', Selznick closed Selznick International Pictures and took some time off. His business activities included the loan of his contracted artists to other studios, including

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...

, Vivien Leigh and Joan Fontaine. He formed The Selznick Studio and returned to producing pictures with '' Since You Went Away'' (1944), which he also wrote. He followed that with the Hitchcock films '' Spellbound'' (1945) and '' The Paradine Case'' (1947), as well as ''

Portrait of Jennie ''Portrait of Jennie'' (also released under the title ''Tidal Wave'') is a 1948 American supernatural film directed by William Dieterle, produced by David O. Selznick, and starring Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, and Lillian ...

'' (1948) with

. He also developed film projects and sold the packages to other producers. Among the movies that he developed but then sold was Hitchcock's '' Notorious'' (1946). In 1949, he co-produced the

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

picture ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene, and starring Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway. Set in post-Worl ...

'' with

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

. ''Gone with the Wind'' overshadowed the rest of Selznick's career. Later, he was convinced that he had wasted his life trying to outdo it. A major effort to was '' Duel in the Sun'' (1946), which featured future wife Jennifer Jones in the role of the primary character Pearl. With a huge budget, the film is known for causing moral upheaval because of the then risqué script written by Selznick. And though it was a troublesome shoot with a number of directors, the film would be a major success. The film was the second highest-grossing film of 1947 and was the first movie that

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

saw, inspiring Scorsese's own directorial career. "I stopped making films in 1948 because I was tired," Selznick later wrote. "I had been producing, at the time, for twenty years....Additionally it was crystal clear that the motion-picture business was in for a terrible beating from television and other new forms of entertainment, and I thought it a good time to take stock and to study objectively the obviously changing public tastes....Certainly I had no intention of staying away from production for nine years." Selznick spent most of the 1950s nurturing the career of his second wife,

. His last film, the big budget production '' A Farewell to Arms'' (1957) starring Jones and Rock Hudson, was ill-received. But in 1954, he ventured into television, producing a two-hour extravaganza called '' Light's Diamond Jubilee,'' which, in true Selznick fashion, made TV history by being telecast simultaneously on all four TV networks: CBS, NBC, ABC, and DuMont.

Personal life

In 1928, Selznick began an on-again off-again affair with Jean Arthur, one of the actresses under contract at Paramount while he was an executive there. Simultaneously he was dating Irene Gladys Mayer, daughter of MGM mogul

. In 1930, Selznick married Mayer and after living in a series of rented houses they moved into an estate in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. It was purchased for them by Mayer's father and designed by architect Roland Coate in 1933–1934. They separated in 1945 and divorced in 1948. They had two sons, Jeffrey Selznick (1932–1997) and Daniel Selznick (1936–2024). Daniel, who died in August 2024, would serve as an executive at Universal Pictures for four years and also produced the television mini-series ''Blood Feud'' and Hoover vs. The Kennedys, among others, and theatrical productions such ''The Man with the Perfect Wife''. In 1949, he married actress

, whom he had discovered early in her career and mentored. They had one daughter, Mary Jennifer Selznick (1954–1976), who died by suicide by jumping from a 22nd-floor window in Los Angeles on May 11, 1976. Selznick was an

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

user, and often dictated long, rambling memos to his directors, writers, investors, staff and stars. The documentary ''Shadowing The Third Man'' relates that Selznick introduced ''

'' director

to the use of amphetamines, which allowed Reed to bring the picture in below budget and on schedule by filming nearly 22 hours at a time. Selznick was a Republican. On October 18, 1944, the Hollywood Committee, led by Selznick and Cecil B. DeMille, held the Hollywood for Dewey Rally in the Los Angeles Coliseum in support of the Dewey- Bricker ticket, as well as Governor

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...

of California, who was Dewey's running mate in 1948. The gathering drew 93,000, with Lionel Barrymore as the master of ceremonies and short speeches by

Hedda Hopper Elda Furry (May 2, 1885February 1, 1966), known professionally as Hedda Hopper, was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, more than 35 million people read her columns. A strong supporter of the Hous ...

and

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

Accusations of sexual abuse

Selznick International Pictures employee Anita Colby warned

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

to be careful if she "found Selznick in stockings". Temple wrote in her autobiography ''Child Star'' that this gave her "the impression that casual sex could be a condition of employment" with Selznick. When she was 17, he locked Temple in his office and unsuccessfully attempted to rape her. About the incident Temple wrote:

Portrayals in film and television

Jonathan Shields, the lead character in the 1952 film '' The Bad and the Beautiful'', was loosely based on Selznick, to the point that Selznick contemplated suing the makers of the film for defamation.

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

plays Selznick in the 1980 TV movie '' The Scarlett O'Hara War''. Ron Berglas appears as Selznick in the TV movie '' RKO 281'' (1999). Toby Leonard Moore plays Selznick in the 2020 film ''

Mank ''Mank'' is a 2020 American biographical drama film about screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz and his development of the screenplay for the 1941 film ''Citizen Kane''. It was directed by David Fincher based on a screenplay written by his lat ...

''. Both films are dramatizations of the events surrounding the making of ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...

''. Selznick appears as a character in the second season of the anthology series ''Feud'', '' Capote vs. The Swans''. He is portrayed by actor Scott Zimmerman.

Death

Selznick died on June 22, 1965, at age 63 following several heart attacks, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. There he joined his older brother Myron Selznick (who had died in 1944) in the family crypt. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, David O. Selznick 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 7000 Hollywood Blvd in front of the historic Hollywood Roosevelt hotel.

Filmography

Academy Awards and nominations

References

Sources

* Bordwell, David, Janet Staiger, and Kristin Thompson. ''The Classical Hollywood Cinema: Film Style & Mode of Production to 1960''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985. * Jewell, Richard B., with Vernon Harbin. ''The RKO Story''. New York: Arlington House/Crown, 1982. * Lasky, Betty (1989). ''RKO: The Biggest Little Major of Them All''. Santa Monica, Calif.: Roundtable. * Mueller, John (1986). ''Astaire Dancing: The Musical Films''. London: Hamish Hamilton. * Schatz, Thomas (1998

989 Year 989 ( CMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Basil II uses his contingent of 6,000 Varangians to help him defeat Bardas Phokas (the Younger), who suffe ...

. ''The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era''. London: Faber and Faber. * Thomson, David. ''Showman: The Life of David O. Selznick''. New York: Knopf, 1992.

External links

* *
David O. Selznick
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selznick, David O. 1902 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters American film production company founders American film studio executives American male screenwriters American people of Russian-Jewish descent Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Businesspeople from Beverly Hills, California Businesspeople from Pittsburgh California Republicans Columbia University alumni Film people from Beverly Hills, California Film producers from California Film producers from Pennsylvania Jewish American screenwriters Jews from California Jews from Pennsylvania Mass media people from Pittsburgh Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Writers from Pittsburgh