Macy Weiser
10/16/05
Film History Group Project
The Studio Personnel of MGM
When discussing the historical personnel of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, it would seem most appropriate to start of with a discussion of Irving Thalberg. Born in 1899 with a heart condition, doctors estimated that he would not live past his thirtieth birthday. With his imposed bed-rest state for much of his childhood, his mother instilled a love of reading, which later would be credited for his ability to tell a story.
Through a family friend connection, Thalberg got a start to his career by being hired as a secretary to the head of Universal at the time, Carl Laemmle. Laemmle was so impressed by the work of Thalberg that he quickly worked his way to head of production at Universal while still so young in age he couldn't sign the payroll checks. In 1924 he got hired as vice president at MGM.
Despite his fragile health, Thalberg oversaw every movie made at MGM between 1924 and 1932 (Pawlak, 1),......
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