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
Loews Theatres and
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM.
Born into a poor Jewish family in
New York City, he was forced by circumstances to work at a very young age and thus had little formal education. Nevertheless, beginning with a small investment from money saved from menial jobs, he bought into the
penny arcade business. Soon, in partnership with others, one of whom was
Adolph Zukor, Loew acquired a
nickelodeon and over time he turned Loews Theatres into the largest chain of
movie theaters in the United States.
By
1905, Marcus Loew was on his own and his success eventually necessitated that he secure a steady flow of product for his theaters. In the early 1920s, he purchased
Metro Pictures Corporation. A few years later, he acquired a controlling interest in the financially troubled
Goldwyn Picture Corporation which at that point was controlled by theater impresario
Lee Shubert. Goldwyn Pictures owned the
Leo the Lion trademark which at the time was inconsequential to the importance of its studio property in
Culver City, California. Without
Samuel Goldwyn, the Goldwyn studio lacked capable management. With Loew's assistant
Nicholas Schenck needed in New York City to help manage the large
East Coast movie theater operations, Loew had to find a qualified executive to take charge of this new
Los Angeles entity.
In April
1924, Loew resolved his problem with the purchase of the film production company owned by
Louis B. Mayer. The new conglomerate became known as
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. As part of the deal, the very capable Mayer became studio head for the three combined
Hollywood entities, and Mayer's assistant
Irving Thalberg took charge of film production. In addition, the acquisition brought Mayer Pictures' contracts with key
directors such as
Fred Niblo and
John M. Stahl and up-and-coming actress,
Norma Shearer.
While immediately successful, Marcus Loew never got to see the powerhouse that MGM was to become. He died three years later of a
heart attack at the age of fifty-seven in
Glen Cove on
Long Island, New York. He was interred in the Maimonides Cemetery in
Brooklyn.
For his very significant contribution to the development of the motion picture industry, Marcus Loew has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1617 Vine Street. To this day, the Loew name is synonymous with movie theaters.
*
Robert Sobel The Entrepreneurs: Explorations Within the American Business Tradition (Weybright & Talley
1974), chapter 7,
Marcus Loew: An Artist in Spite of Himself ISBN 0-679-40064-8.
