Mayer, Louis B(urt)

Mayer, Louis B(urt) (1885-1957), American film executive, for 25 years the most powerful producer in Hollywood. He was born in Minsk (now in Belarus), and three years later emigrated with his parents to Canada. In 1907 Mayer moved to the United States and became a naturalized citizen in 1912. From being a film distributor and theatre manager in New England, he moved to Los Angeles in 1916 and formed his own producing company. In 1924 his company became part of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer after a series of mergers put together by Marcus Loew. As production chief of MGM from 1924 to 1951, Mayer worked with many of the screen's greatest stars, producers, writers, and directors. Among his outstanding successes were The Big Parade (1925), Ben-Hur (1925), Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), and the Andy Hardy comedy series. The latter typified Mayer's favourite projects; family oriented, uplifting, patriotic, and bittersweet films of family life.