Louis F. "Bo" Polk Jr. (born c. 1930) was an American businessman who was briefly president of

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

Biography

Polk had studied engineering at Yale and had an MBA from Harvard. He joined

General Mills General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company ori ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

in 1960, working as financial controller and director, instigating rapid change, becoming a youth-conscious organization with a growing group of young managers and closing almost half of their mills and diversifying into other businesses such as

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and

Play-Doh Play-Doh is a modeling compound for young children to make arts and crafts projects at home. The product was first manufactured in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, as a wallpaper cleaner in the 1930s. Play-Doh was then reworked and marketed to Ci ...

. He had no previous involvement in movie making but he had impressed

Edgar Bronfman, Sr. Edgar Miles Bronfman (born June 20, 1929 – December 21, 2013) was a Canadian-American businessman. He worked for his family's distilled beverage firm, Seagram, eventually becoming president, treasurer and CEO. As president of the World Jewish ...

then the major shareholder in MGM. There was opposition to his appointment within MGM but he was elected as a director in December 1968 and named president in January 1969. Polk replaced Robert O'Brien. He was greeted with reports of MGM incurring a loss of $2.5 million for the first financial quarter. Polk said he became interested in making the film after watching ''Blow Up''. He hired Harvard MBAs to work as executive assistants at the studio and appointed

Herbert F. Solow Herbert Franklin Solow (December 14, 1930 – November 19, 2020) was an American motion picture and television executive, screenwriter, motion picture and television producer, director and talent agent. Biography Solow was born to a Jewish ...

as head of production. During the year it became apparent MGM would record a loss of $19 million. Polk and Solow decided to drop a number of projects to which MGM had the rights, including ''Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead'', ''The Homecoming'', ''Baker Street'' and the musical ''Say It with Music''. The following films were announced under Polk's regime: *''

False Witness ''False Witness'', also known as ''The Diplomat'' internationally, is a two-part Australian television mini-series, produced by Screentime Australia, and broadcast simultaneously on the Australian subscription television channel UK.TV and BBC H ...

'' *''

The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart ''The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart'' is a 1970 American film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) about a confused college student's experiences with sex, relationships, and drugs in late 1960s New York City. Produced by Martin Poll and directed ...

'' *'' The Moonshine War'' *''

The Strawberry Statement ''The Strawberry Statement'' is a non-fiction book by James Simon Kunen, written when he was 19, which chronicled his experiences at Columbia University from 1966–1968, particularly the April 1968 protests and takeover of the office of the dean ...

'' *''The Adventures of Augie March'' directed by

Noel Black Noel Black (June 30, 1937 – July 5, 2014) was an American film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. Black was born in Chicago, Illinois. He won awards at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival for an 18-minute short subject filmed in ...

*''Man's Fate'' to be directed by Fred Zinnemann *''She Loves Me'' directed by

Blake Edwards Blake Edwards (born William Blake Crump; July 26, 1922 – December 15, 2010) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Edwards began his career in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon began writing screenplays and radio s ...

and starring

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy ...

– adapted from ''

The Shop Around the Corner ''The Shop Around the Corner'' is a 1940 American romantic comedy-drama film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart and Frank Morgan. The supporting cast included Joseph Schildkraut, Sara Haden, Fe ...

'' *''The Ballad of Dingus McGee'' *''Tai Pan'' from the novel by James Clavell starring Patrick McGoohan ''Augie March'', ''Man's Fate'', ''Tai Pan'' and ''She Loves Me'' were all cancelled and ''Dingus McGee'' was made later. There were also several TV series made at the studio: ''

The Courtship of Eddie's Father ''The Courtship of Eddie's Father'' is an American sitcom based on the 1963 film of the same name, which was based on a novel by Mark Toby (edited by Dorothy Wilson). The series is about a widower, Tom Corbett (played by Bill Bixby), who is a ...

'', ''

Then Came Bronson ''Then Came Bronson'' is an American adventure/drama television series starring Michael Parks that aired on NBC. It was created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, and produced by MGM Television. ''Then Came Bronson'' began with a television film pilot ...

'' and ''

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''. Polk lasted less than a year in the job.

Kirk Kerkorian Kerkor Kerkorian ( hy, Գրիգոր Գրիգորեան; June 6, 1917 – June 15, 2015) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was the president and CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Bever ...

moved to control the company and eventually succeeded. When he did so he put

James T. Aubrey James Thomas Aubrey Jr. (December 14, 1918 – September 3, 1994) was an American television and film executive. As president of the CBS television network from 1959 to 1965, with his "smell for the blue-collar," he produced some of telev ...

as president. Following Polk's resignation MGM reported a $35 million loss, as opposed to the predicted $19 million. Polk then sued MGM and Kerkorian for $4 million.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, Louis F. Year of birth uncertain Living people General Mills people Harvard Business School alumni Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives Yale University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)