The Jews who founded Hollywood — and make no mistake, the big studio heads were overwhelmingly Jewish — shared several things: ambition, creative vision and killer business instincts.
But more than anything else, the men who were the driving forces behind Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Universal, Columbia and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer shared a very 20th-century sense of being Jewish in America.
They were assimilationists who considered themselves American above all else and who molded Hollywood to reflect and shape their American ideals.
Beyond a few brief mentions, including Billy Wilder fleeing Nazi Germany, a photo of the MGM mogul and academy founder Louis B. Mayer looming over Judy Garland, and a few scoundrels in an exhibit on #MeToo, Jews were absent.
Jewish studio heads, business leaders and actors were almost entirely shut out, an oversight that led to much outcry.
Persons:
—, Mayer, assimilationists, ” Neal Gabler, ” Louis B, Hollywood’s, Billy Wilder, Louis B, Judy Garland
Organizations:
Hollywood —, Paramount, Century Fox, Warner Brothers, Universal, Columbia, Metro, Goldwyn, MGM, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Locations:
America, An, Nazi Germany