Lewis J. Selznick (born Lewis Zeleznick; May 2, 1870 or 1869 – January 25, 1933) was an American
producer in the early years of the
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...
. After initial involvement with
World Film at
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades.
As of the 2020 Uni ...
, he established
Selznick Pictures in California.
Biography
Selznick was born in 1870 in
Anyksciai,
Kovno Governorate
Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...
,
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 ...
(now in
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
),
to Ida (Ringer) and Joseph Zeleznick of a poor
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. Later in his life he claimed that he was born in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
(now in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
).
Selznick arrived in the United States in 1888 and became a naturalized citizen on September 29, 1894.
He settled in
Pittsburgh
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 ...
and built up a successful jewelry retail business. In 1896, he married Florence "Flossie" Sachs.
They had three sons: Howard Selznick (1897–1980), who suffered some undiagnosed mental disability;
(1898–1944), who worked as a producer and studio executive before establishing a
talent agency
A talent agency is a company that represents actors, authors, musicians, model (person), models, professional athlete, athletes, writers, dancers, and other professionals in various industries. Talent agencies specialize, either by creating dep ...
; and
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...
(1902–1965), a Hollywood filmmaker 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). A daughter, Ruth, was born in 1904 but died before the age of one.
Retaining his jewelry stores in the Pittsburgh area, Selznick moved his family to
Brooklyn
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 ...
in 1903.
He opened a large jewelry store,
the Knickerbocker, at Sixth Avenue and 23rd Street in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, but by 1907 he had left the business. The family surname changed from Seleznick to Selznick sometime in 1908 or 1909. During this period, the family resided at 530 44th Street, a 1908 limestone/brownstone-clad
Renaissance Revival
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...
row house in Brooklyn's
Sunset Park district. In the year 1910 or 1911, the family moved to Manhattan, where Selznick worked as a patent promoter and sold electrical supplies.
Through an old acquaintance from Pittsburgh, Selznick became involved with the
Universal Film Manufacturing Company in 1913
but was soon dismissed by
Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle ; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a German-American film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films.
Regarded as one of the ...
.
[ In February 1914,]Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a Borough (New Jersey), borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop The Palisades (Hudson River), The Palisades.
As of the 2020 Uni ...
, with general offices in New York City.Trilby
A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in UK, BritainBernhard Roetzel, Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. B ...
'' starring Wilton Lackaye and Clara Kimball Young, and ''Wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
'' starring Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell (born Helen Louise Leonard; December 4, 1860 or 1861 – June 6, 1922) was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, praised for her beaut ...
and Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blyth; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in '' A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
.Shubert Brothers
The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of Broadway theaters in New York City's Theater District, as the hub of the theatre industry in the United States. Through the Shubert Organization, founded by brothers Lee, Sam, and Jac ...
' Shubert Pictures Co., and became very successful, in 1915 hiring Sidney Olcott away from Kalem Studios
The Kalem Company was an early American film studio founded in New York City in 1907. It was one of the first companies to make films abroad and to set up winter production facilities, first in Florida and then in California. Kalem was sold to V ...
plus the French director Maurice Tourneur
Maurice Félix Thomas (; 2 February 1876 – 4 August 1961), known as Maurice Tourneur (), was a French film director and screenwriter.
Life
Born Maurice Félix Thomas in the Épinettes district (17th arrondissement of Paris), his father was a w ...
away from the American arm of the giant, Pathé
Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe.
It is the name of a network of Fren ...
. By 1916, personality conflicts with his partners saw him ousted from the firm by the board of directors.[
Selznick's business practices such as special preview functions, putting his name up in lights, signing stars for big salaries, upset others in the industry]Adolph Zukor
Adolph Zukor (; ; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of Ameri ...
purportedly offered him a salary of $5,000 a week for life to go to China and stay there.[ He later invented an advance deposit system whereby his productions were financed by selling the rights to exhibitors.][
Although he had annoyed other film industry people, he had a friendship with ]Marcus Loew
Marcus Loew ( ; May 7, 1870 – September 5, 1927) was an American business magnate and a pioneer of the motion picture industry who formed Loew's Theatres and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio (MGM).
Life and career
Loew was born in New York ...
who helped him with loans. Following 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 ...
's marriage to Joseph Schenck
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 family in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russian Empire. He emigrated to New York Cit ...
, the booking manager for the Loew circuit, Talmadge signed for Selznick and the first film of hers he distributed, ''Panthea'', set her on the road to becoming a star. Talmadge's sister Constance also signed for Selznick.[
In 1917, Zukor acquired a 50% interest in Selznick's Select Pictures; however, this led to Selznick's name no longer appearing in lights or on the screen. Constance Talmadge then asked for his name to be removed from her pictures.][
Following this, Selznick's son Myron signed Olive Thomas in December 1918, and put the Selznick name up in lights again. Selznick then bought out Zukor to take control of Select Pictures again.][
Selznick continued in film on the East Coast until 1920 when he moved to Hollywood, where he teamed up with Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky. However, within a few years his company, Lewis J. Selznick Productions, Inc., began to lose stars;][ Selznick experienced severe financial difficulties, and went bankrupt in 1925. He re-entered the industry the following year, and managed Associated Exhibitors][ before retiring from the film business.
Selznick died at his home in Los Angeles on January 25, 1933, from a heart attack,][ with his wife and sons at his bedside.]
Legacy
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Lewis J. Selznick was inducted into 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 ...
on February 8, 1960. His star is located at 6412 Hollywood Blvd.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selznick, Lewis J.
19th-century births
1933 deaths
American film producers
American film studio executives
American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
Ukrainian Jews
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)