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Irving Grant Thalberg (May 30, 1899 – September 14, 1936) was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures. He was called "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his extraordinary ability to select the right scripts, choose the right actors, gather the best production staff and make hundreds of very profitable films, including ''Grand Hotel'', ''China Seas'', ''Camille'', ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' and ''The Good Earth''. His films carved out a major international market, "projecting a seductive image of American life brimming with vitality and rooted in democracy and personal freedom," states biographer Roland Flamini.〔 He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and as a child was afflicted with a congenital heart disease that doctors said would kill him before he reached the age of thirty. After graduating high school he took night classes in typing and worked as a store clerk during the day. He then took a job as a secretary at Universal Studios' New York office, and was later made studio manager for their Los Angeles facility, where he oversaw production of a hundred films during his three years with the company. Among the films he produced was ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame.'' He then partnered with Louis B. Mayer's studio and, after it merged with two other studios, helped create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). He was made head of production of MGM in 1925, at the age of twenty-six, and after three years MGM became the most successful studio in Hollywood as a result of his supervision. During his twelve years with MGM, until his early death at age 37, he produced four hundred films, most of which bore his imprint, and their production had adapted his innovations. Among those innovations were story conferences with writers, sneak previews to gain early feedback, and extensive re-shooting of scenes to improve the film. In addition, he introduced horror films to audiences and coauthored the “Production Code,” guidelines for morality followed by all studios. During the 1920s and 1930s, he synthesized and merged the world of stage drama and literary classics with Hollywood films. Thalberg created numerous new stars and groomed their screen images. Among those whose stardom was guided by Thalberg were Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, John Gilbert, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Luise Rainer, Greta Garbo, Lionel Barrymore, and Norma Shearer, who became his wife. He had the ability to combine quality with commercial success, and was credited with bringing his artistic aspirations in line with the demands of audiences. After his death, Hollywood's producers declared him to have been, despite his young age, "the foremost figure in motion-picture history" throughout the world. President Roosevelt wrote, "The world of art is poorer with the passing of Irving Thalberg. His high ideals, insight and imagination went into the production of his masterpieces." ==Early years== Thalberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, to German Jewish immigrant parents, William and Henrietta (Haymann). Shortly after birth, he was diagnosed with "blue baby syndrome," caused by a congenital disease that limited the oxygen supply to his heart. The prognosis from the family doctor, and from specialists years later, was that he would possibly live to age twenty, or at most, age thirty.〔Vieira, Mark A. ''Irving Thalberg: Boy Wonder to Producer Prince'', Univ. of California Press (2010)〕 During his high school years in Brooklyn, he began having attacks of chest pains, dizziness and fatigue. This affected his ability to study, though until that time he was a good student. When he was 17, he contracted rheumatic fever, and was confined to bed for a year. His mother, Henrietta, to prevent him falling too far behind other students, brought him homework from school, books, and tutors to teach him at home. She also hoped that the schoolwork and reading would distract him from the "tantalizing sounds" of children playing outside his window.〔 With little to entertain him, he read books as a main activity. He devoured popular novels, classics, plays, and biographies. His books, of necessity, replaced the streets of New York. He also took an interest in classical philosophy and in philosophers such as William James, from whom he learned that "pragmatism" was more valuable in life than "abstraction."〔 When Thalberg returned to school, he lacked the stamina to enroll in college, which he felt would have required constant late-night studying and cramming for exams. Instead, he took part-time jobs as a store clerk, and in the evenings taught himself typing, shorthand, and Spanish, while going to a night vocational school.〔 When he turned 18, he placed an ad with the local newspaper hoping to find better work: 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Irving Thalberg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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