Sam Goldwyn

Sam Goldwyn (1882-1974), American producer, born Samuel Goldfish in Warsaw (now in Poland), from where he emigrated to the United States at the age of 13. Manufacturing and selling gloves was his trade until family connections brought him into the film business.

In 1916, Goldwyn was one of the founders of the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation, persuading many prestigious writers and stage performers to work for him until he was forced out in 1922. The company merged with Metro Pictures and became Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer (MGM).

As an independent, Goldwyn turned out two to three pictures a year, usually of quality—and this was due to his ability to recognize talent when it was recommended to him. During the silent period he was lucky to have Henry King: Stella Dallas (1925) and The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926); and in the talkies, William Wyler: Dodsworth (1937), Wuthering Heights (1939), The Little Foxes (1941), and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Many of his most cherished projects without such directors are not so highly respected, for example, Hans Christian Andersen (1952).

Goldwyn was fortunate, too, in having Ronald Colman, Joel McCrea, and Gary Cooper among his stars; but few shared his enthusiasm for Miriam Hopkins, Merle Oberon, or Virginia Mayo. He failed to make stars out of Will Rogers or Anna Sten, but did produce successful vehicles for Eddie Cantor and Danny Kaye. Goldwyn retired after the failure of Porgy and Bess (1959).