David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca'' (1940), both of which earned him an Academy Award for Best Picture. E ...

(1902–1965) was an American motion picture producer whose work consists of three short subjects, 67 feature films, and one television production made between 1923 and 1957. He was the producer of the 1939 epic '' Gone With the Wind''. Selznick was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and educated in public schools in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He began working in the film industry in New York while in his teens as an assistant to his father, jeweler-turned-film producer

Lewis J. Selznick Lewis J. Selznick (May 2, 1870 or 1869 – January 25, 1933) was an American producer in the early years of the film industry. After initial involvement with World Film at Fort Lee, New Jersey, he established Selznick Pictures in California. B ...

. In 1923, he began producing films himself, starting with two documentary shorts and then a minor feature, ''Roulette'' (1924). Moving to Hollywood in 1926, Selznick became employed at

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

(MGM), where he produced two films before switching to

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

in early 1928. After helping to guide Paramount into the sound era, Selznick moved to

RKO Radio RKO General, Inc. (previously General Teleradio, RKO Teleradio Pictures, and RKO Teleradio) was, from 1952 through 1991, the main holding company for the noncore businesses of the General Tire and Rubber Company and, after General Tire's reorganiz ...

in 1931 where he served as the studio's executive producer. During his time at RKO he oversaw the production of '' King Kong'' (1933) and helped to develop

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

and Myrna Loy into major film stars. In 1933 Selznick returned to MGM, this time as a vice-president in charge of his own production unit. During his two years with the studio he produced elaborate versions of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

's '' Anna Karenina'' and

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' '' David Copperfield'' and '' A Tale of Two Cities''. In 1935, he left MGM to form his own production company, Selznick International Pictures, where he produced adaptations of Robert Smythe Hichens' '' The Garden of Allah'' (1936), Frances Hodgson Burnett's '' Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (1936),

Anthony Hope Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope (9 February 1863 – 8 July 1933), was a British novelist and playwright. He was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels but he is remembered predominantly for only two books: ''Th ...

's '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's '' The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1938). Selznick also became a pioneer in the use of Technicolor with the first and last of these films and also with his productions of '' A Star Is Born'' and '' Nothing Sacred'' (both 1937). In 1939, Selznick brought Swedish actress

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...

to the United States to star in '' Intermezzo'' and the following year he brought

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

over from England to direct ''

Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

''. Also in 1939, Selznick produced his epic version of

Margaret Mitchell Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...

's '' Gone With the Wind'', which became the most financially successful film of all time. Selznick liquidated his corporation in the early 1940s but returned to independent producing in 1943. His work from this period included two more Hitchcock films, '' Spellbound'' (1945) and '' The Paradine Case'' (1948) and several films starring

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned over five decades, she was nominated ...

, among them '' Since You Went Away'' (1944), '' Duel in the Sun'' (1946) and ''

Portrait of Jennie ''Portrait of Jennie'' is a 1948 American fantasy film based on the 1940 novella by Robert Nathan. The film was directed by William Dieterle and produced by David O. Selznick. It stars Jennifer Jones and Joseph Cotten. At the 21st Academy Awar ...

'' (1948). Selznick ceased his independent productions in 1948. Beginning with Carol Reed's ''

The Third Man ''The Third Man'' is a 1949 British film noir directed by Carol Reed, written by Graham Greene and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Set in postwar Vienna, the film centres on American Holly Martins (Cotten), ...

'' (1949), he entered into a period of co-producing motion pictures with other filmmakers. In 1954, he made his sole venture into television with the production ''Light's Diamond Jubilee''. Selznick retired from filmmaking after producing an adaptation of

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

's ''

A Farewell to Arms ''A Farewell to Arms'' is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant () in the am ...

'' (1957). Selznick's productions were the recipients of numerous

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nominations. Two of his films—''Gone With the Wind'' and ''Rebecca''—won Academy Awards for Best Picture. Six other films that he produced—'' Viva Villa!'' (1934), ''David Copperfield'' (1935), ''A Tale of Two Cities'' (1935), ''A Star is Born'' (1937), ''Since You Went Away'' (1944), and ''Spellbound'' (1945)—were nominated for Best Picture. As of 2013, four of the films Selznick produced have been added to the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception i ...

: ''King Kong'' (1933), ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), ''Gone With the Wind'' (1939), and ''The Third Man'' (1949). For his work in motion pictures, Selznick received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...

Filmography

The release dates, titles, and names of the directors for Selznick's films are derived from the filmographies presented in the books ''Memo From David O. Selznick'' by

Rudy Behlmer Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch polit ...

and ''David O. Selznick's Hollywood'' by

Ronald Haver Ronald Haver (January 14, 1939 – May 18, 1993Ronald Haver biography
at

< ...

. The quotes are derived from Behlmer's book.

Early shorts

Selznick began working in the film industry while in his early teens. He was employed—after school hours—by his father, film producer

, initially as head of publicity and advertising and later as a newsreel

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film edit ...

. When the elder Selznick went bankrupt in 1923, young David took a job as a promoter for a two-reel short about prizefighter

Luis Firpo Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...

. Afterwards he convinced the Mineralava Beauty Clay Company to produce a two-reel film of a beauty contest they were sponsoring with actor

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

as the judge.

Aetna-Selznick Distributing Corporation

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (I)

In October 1926, Selznick secured a job at

as a script reader for producer Harry Rapf. After the McCoy Westerns, Selznick was assigned as assistant to producer Hunt Stromberg on the film ''

White Shadows in the South Seas ''White Shadows in the South Seas'' is a 1928 American silent film adventure romance directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Monte Blue and Raquel Torres. It was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions in association with MGM and distributed by MGM. ...

'' (1928). Disagreements with Stromberg and senior producer Irving Thalberg over the choice of the film's director (

W. S. Van Dyke Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke II (Woody) (March 21, 1889 – February 5, 1943) was an American film director and writer who made several successful early sound films, including ''Tarzan the Ape Man'' in 1932, ''The Thin Man'' in 1934, ''San Francis ...

or Robert J. Flaherty) led to Selznick's termination with the company.

Paramount Pictures

In early 1928 Selznick accepted the position of assistant to producer B. P. Schulberg at

Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest ...

. The professional relationship between the two, however, eventually deteriorated after Schulberg went to Europe for several months in 1929. During his absence, studio head

Jesse L. Lasky Jesse Louis Lasky (September 13, 1880 – January 13, 1958) was an American pioneer motion picture producer who was a key founder of what was to become Paramount Pictures, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr. Early life Born in to ...

placed Selznick into Schulberg's position and decided to keep him there. Selznick remained with Paramount until his resignation in June 1931. Selznick worked in a variety of jobs (i.e. supervisor, producer, associate producer, executive producer, or substantial contributor). The 13 films listed below were those whose production he was known to be heavily involved in. Except where noted these films are all-talking.

RKO Pictures

In 1931 Selznick and director Lewis Milestone attempted to form their own production company. After several months, however, the two were unsuccessful in achieving financial backing. Milestone eventually accepted an offer to because head of production at

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

while Selznick accepted a similar position at

. As Vice-President in Charge of Production, Selznick was personally involved in the 22 RKO films listed here.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (II)

After refusing to sign a new contract with RKO, Selznick returned to

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

in 1933, this time in the position as vice-president in charge of his own unit. During the next two years he personally produced 11 features for the studio before departing to form his own production company.

Selznick International Pictures

In 1935 Selznick left MGM to form his own production company, Selznick International Pictures. He also took over the operation of Pioneer Pictures, a production company designed to produce films in Technicolor and formed by his friend and ex-associate (at RKO)

Merian C. Cooper Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker and Academy Award winner, as well as a former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Polish Air Force. In film, he is credited a ...

. Selznick International produced a total of 11 features, of which all but one were distributed by

. '' Gone with the Wind'' was released by MGM as part of a deal with Selznick in exchange for the loan of

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

in the role of Rhett Butler.

Vanguard Films, Selznick Releasing Organization

Following the highly successful releases of ''Gone With the Wind'' and ''Rebecca'', Selznick began a three-year

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

of Selznick International Pictures in order to draw profits for himself and his outside investors. He developed and sold film projects to other producers and studios, and arranged loan outs of his contracted artists. Without outside backers he formed David O. Selznick Productions, Inc., which in 1941 became owner of one-fourth of

. Selznick established a film production company,

Vanguard Films Vanguard Films, Inc. was an American film production company, established by producer David O. Selznick in 1943, after the dissolution of Selznick International Pictures. The company's president was Daniel T. O'Shea; Dore Schary was the head of p ...

(1943–1951). The first three features for his new company were distributed by United Artists. In 1946 Selznick broke with UA over the distribution of '' Duel in the Sun'', and founded his own distribution company, Selznick Releasing Organization.

Final productions

In 1949 Selznick closed down his production facilities and he greatly reduced the staff of Selznick Releasing Organization. He and

began traveling in Europe and were married in July 1949. For the remainder of his career he collaborated with other film producers and also made his sole venture into television.

Academy Awards

Of the 68 features that Selznick produced 22 received a total of 82

nominations with 21 wins. In addition to these Selznick himself was twice nominated for the

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award is awarded periodically by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Governors Awards ceremonies to "creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion pictur ...

. He won the second of these two nominations. (Note: enter search for person or film)