author
Samuel Goldwyn
1879–1974
One of Hollywood’s great early dealmakers and dreamers, he helped shape the studio era while remaining famous for his fiercely independent streak. Born in Warsaw and remade in America, he became a producer whose name stayed closely tied to prestige filmmaking for decades.
1 Audiobook
Behind the Screen
by Samuel Goldwyn
About the author
Born in Warsaw in July 1879, Samuel Goldwyn emigrated first to England and then to the United States, where he worked his way up from the glove business into movies. Early in the film industry’s growth, he became involved with Jesse L. Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille, helping launch what became a major Hollywood enterprise.
Goldwyn went on to found Goldwyn Pictures, and his name later lived on in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, even though he himself was not part of MGM for long. He built his reputation instead as a powerful independent producer, known for pushing ambitious, polished productions and for backing films that aimed for both popular appeal and quality.
He remained a major figure in American film for decades and is still remembered as one of the industry’s pioneers. Alongside the movies themselves, his larger-than-life personality became part of his legend, making him one of the most recognizable producers of classic Hollywood.