Hollywood in the 1920s sparkled with talent, confidence, and opportunity. Enter Irving Thalberg of Brooklyn, who survived childhood illness to run Universal Pictures at twenty; co-found Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at twenty-four; and make stars of Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, and Jean Harlow. Known as Hollywood's "Boy Wonder," Thalberg created classics such as Ben-Hur, Tarzan the Ape Man, Grand Hotel, Freaks, Mutiny on the Bounty, and The Good Earth, but died tragically at thirty-seven. His place in the pantheon should have been assured, yet his films were not reissued for thirty years, spurring critics to question his legend and diminish his achievements. In this definitive biography, illustrated with rare photographs, Mark A. Vieira sets the record straight, using unpublished production files, financial records, and correspondence to confirm the genius of Thalberg's methods. In addition, this is the first Thalberg biography to utilize both his recorded conversations and the unpublished memoirs of his wife, Norma Shearer. Irving Thalberg is a compelling narrative of power and idealism, revealing for the first time the human being behind the legend.

Drawing on archival sources, this is the first book to explore Thalberg's insights into casting, editing, story composition and the importance of the mass audience from a theoretical perspective.

More than seventy-five years after his death, Irving Thalberg remains a legendary Hollywood figure. In this definitive biography, his legend comes to life -- from his beginnings as the "Boy Wonder of Hollywood", to the creation with Louis B. Mayer of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, to his tragic death at the age of thirty-seven. With his remarkable talent for developing stars and doctoring scripts, this architect of the American film created some of America's best-loved movies: Ben-Hur, Mutiny on the Bounty, A Night at the Opera, Grand Hotel, Romeo and Juliet, The Good Earth, Camille. His genius has made his name a legend in the land of legends.

More than any other individual, Irving Thalberg was responsible for building M-G-M into the most successful studio in Hollywood. Here is the first major biography of one of the most influential and fascinating figures in 1920's and '30's filmdom--and the inspiration for F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon. Photo insert.