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DIED
January 31, 1974

RECENT CREDITS
Porgy and Bess (FILM)  Jun. 24, 1959
Guys and Dolls (FILM)  Jan. 1, 1955
Edge of Doom (FILM)  Aug. 3, 1950
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (FILM)  Sep. 1, 1947
The Best Years of Our Lives (FILM)  Nov. 20, 1946

BIOGRAPHY
Penniless immigrant turned successful glove salesman who entered films in 1912, persuading his father-in-law, impressario Jesse Lasky, to establish a production and distribution company. Together with C. B. DeMille as....
Penniless immigrant turned successful glove salesman who entered films in 1912, persuading his father-in-law, impressario Jesse Lasky, to establish a production and distribution company. Together with C. B. DeMille as director, they formed the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company and scored a huge success with their first film, "The Squaw Man" (1914). In 1916 they merged with Adolph Zukor's Famous Players, but infighting inspired Goldfish to leave and start afresh, forming the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation with Edgar Selwyn and others. Goldwyn's policy of enlisting only the best available talent and turning out only the finest product would become his legacy, a standard of excellence dubbed "the Goldwyn touch."

Two years after Goldwyn was forced out of power in 1922 his former company merged with Metro Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions to form MGM. Undaunted, Goldwyn founded his own corporation, Samuel Goldwyn Inc., and this time steered a completely independent path, appointing neither studio bosses nor a board of directors.

Notorious for his idiosyncratic use--or misuse--of the English language ("include me out," "anyone who goes to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined," etc.), Goldwyn had a knack for finding the right property and talent. Among the stars he sought out and worked with were Ronald Colman, Vilma Banky, Gary Cooper, Anna Sten, Will Rogers, David Niven and Merle Oberon. Goldwyn also recruited some of the finest writers in the business, including Sinclair Lewis, Ben Hecht, Lillian Hellman and Sidney Kingsley. He enjoyed his most fruitful relationship with William Wyler, who directed Goldwyn's more glittering productions, such as "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946).



Headlines

Dec. 14, 1999
Hollywood opens its presents early this weekend with the arrival of a few deluxe-wrapped packages full of good holiday cheer. "Anna and the King," a richly decorated version of the classic musical "The King and I" sans the music, should pique the interests of romantic moviegoers young and old. It stars Academy Award winner Jodie Foster and Hong Kong action icon Chow Yun-Fat. Gi...




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Recently Worked With...

Dana Andrews
Edge of Doom
Released: Jan. 1, 2004

Sidney Poitier
Porgy and Bess
Released: Jun. 24, 1959

The Godfather Movie Still: Marlon Brando
Guys and Dolls
Released: Jan. 1, 1955

The Best Years of Our Lives
Released: Feb. 2, 1954

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Released: Sep. 1, 1947


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