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 Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, and father of screenwriter Jesse L. Lasky Jr.

Early life

Born in to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, Lasky worked at a variety of jobs but began his entertainment career as a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performer, playing the cornet in a duo act with his sister Blanche.

Career

In 1911, Lasky was the producer of two Broadway musicals: ''Hello, Paris'' and ''A La Broadway''. Beatrice deMille was also producing plays on Broadway and she introduced him to her son Cecil B. DeMille.

Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company

In 1913 Lasky and his sister Blanche's husband, Samuel Goldfish (before changing his name to

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; ; July 1879 (most likely; claimed to be August 27, 1882) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produce ...

), teamed with DeMille and Oscar Apfel to form the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, with Lasky as president. With limited funds, they rented a barn near Los Angeles where they made Hollywood's first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

, DeMille's '' The Squaw Man'', which was a success. Known today as the Lasky-DeMille Barn, it is home to the Hollywood Heritage Museum. Other films produced by the studio include the original version of ''

Brewster's Millions ''Brewster's Millions'' is a comedic novel written by George Barr McCutcheon in 1902, originally under the pseudonym of Richard Greaves. The plot concerns a young man whose grandfather leaves him $1 million in a will, but a competing will from ...

'', '' The Call of the North'', '' Cameo Kirby'', ''

The Circus Man ''The Circus Man'' is a 1914 silent film produced by Jesse Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Oscar Apfel and written by Cecil B. DeMille from a story based on the novel ''The Rose in the Ring'' by George Barr McCut ...

'', '' The Ghost Breaker'', ''

The Making of Bobby Burnit ''The Making of Bobby Burnit'' is a lost 1914 American silent drama film directed by Oscar Apfel and written by George Randolph Chester and Winchell Smith. The film stars Edward Abeles, Bessie Barriscale, Howard Hickman, George Hernandez, ...

'', '' The Man from Home'', ''

The Man on the Box ''The Man on the Box'' is a 1914 American silent comedy-drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this ki ...

'', '' The Master Mind'', '' The Only Son'', '' The Virginian'' (all 1914), '' The Cheat'', ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'', ''

Kindling Kindling may refer to: * Kindling, material for firelighting * ''Kindling'' (album), a 1973 album by Gene Parsons * ''Kindling'' (1915 film), a film by Cecil B. DeMille * Kindling (2023 film), a British drama film * ''Kindling'' (Mick Farren no ...

'' (all 1915), ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, an international criminal and one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives ...

'' (1916) and '' The Bottle Imp'' (1917).

Famous Players–Lasky

In 1916, Lasky's company merged with

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; ; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of Ameri ...

's rival company Famous Players Film Company to create Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, with Zukor as president and Lasky as vice-president in charge of production. In 1920, Famous Players–Lasky built a large studio facility in Astoria, New York, now known as the

Kaufman Astoria Studios The Kaufman Astoria Studios is a film studio located in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The studio was constructed for Famous Players–Lasky in 1920, since it was close to Manhattan's Theater District. The property was ...

. Films produced by Lasky include '' What Every Woman Knows'' (1921), ''

The Covered Wagon ''The Covered Wagon'' is a 1923 American silent film, silent Epic film, epic Western film released by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by James Cruze based on a 1922 novel of the same name by Emerson Hough about a group of pioneers tr ...

'' (1923), '' A Kiss for Cinderella'' (1925), ''

Beau Geste ''Beau Geste'' is an adventure novel by British writer P. C. Wren, which details the adventures of three English brothers who enlist separately in the French Foreign Legion following the theft of a valuable jewel from the country house of a r ...

'' (1926), '' Wings'' (1927). In September 1927, Famous Players–Lasky was reorganized under the name Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation, later becoming the

Corporation. In 1927, Lasky was one of the 36 people who founded the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

. His ''Wings'' was the first film to win the

Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...

. Financial problems arose within the industry as a result of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and Lasky resigned in 1932 after personally losing $12 million. Famous Players–Lasky went into receivership in 1933 and was folded into Paramount.

Other producing roles

He became an independent film producer and in 1935 formed a partnership with

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

to produce films but within a few years she dissolved their business relationship. He went on to produce a radio talent show. Lasky then found work as an associate producer at

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

before becoming a producer at

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

until 1945 when he formed his own production company. At Warners he produced ''

Sergeant York Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known by his rank as Sergeant York, was an American soldier who was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor fo ...

'' (1941), '' The Adventures of Mark Twain'' (1944) and '' Rhapsody in Blue'' (1945). His last film was '' The Great Caruso'' (1951). He became in debt to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and was preparing another production with Paramount, ''The Brass Band'', to help pay off the debt but died before production started.

Personal life and death

Jesse L. Lasky died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, aged 77. He is interred in

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

, adjacent to Paramount Studios, in Hollywood. He and his wife Bessie had three children Jesse L. Jr., Betty and Billy. In 1957 he published his autobiography, ''I Blow My Own Horn''.

Legacy

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Lasky has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 6433 Hollywood Boulevard. Lasky Drive in

was named in his honor.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lasky, Jesse Louis 1880 births 1958 deaths American film studio executives American film production company founders Film producers from California Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences founders Paramount Pictures executives Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award American vaudeville performers 20th-century American Jews Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Mass media people from San Francisco