Biography
Irving Thalberg — producer with roots in the Russian Empire
Irving Thalberg was an American film producer who became head of production at MGM in 1925, at the age of 26. Known as the Boy Wonder, he oversaw some 400 films before his death at 37 and was the model for Monroe Stahr in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon.
Russian Connection
Tracing the roots — Wetzlar; Hamburg (Germany)
Born on 30 May 1899 in Brooklyn to German Jewish immigrants: his father, William Thalberg, came from Wetzlar, and his mother, Henrietta Haymann (also spelled Heyman), emigrated from Hamburg with her family as an infant.
Family Tree
Subject
Irving Thalberg🇺🇸 USA
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Parents
William Thalberg
Henrietta Haymann
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Origin
Wetzlar; Hamburg (Germany)🇷🇺
Key Achievements
A career defined by ambition
01
Head of Production at MGM (1925-1936)
02
Supervised production of Grand Hotel (1932), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), The Good Earth (1937)
03
Credited with inventing the modern story conference and reshooting system
04
The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award — named in his honour at the Academy Awards
05
Inspiration for Monroe Stahr in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon
"Credit you give yourself is not worth having."
Irving Thalberg
Sources