William Le Baron
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William LeBaron (February 16, 1883February 9, 1958) was an American
film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...
. LeBaron's film credits included '' Cimarron'', which won the Academy Award for Outstanding Production at the
4th Academy Awards The 4th Academy Awards were held on November 10, 1931 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, awarding films released between August 1, 1930, and July 31, 1931. '' Cimarron'' was the first Western to win Best Picture, and would rema ...
ceremony for
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
/
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
. LeBaron also produced landmark comedy features from
W. C. Fields William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...
,
Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...
and
Wheeler and Woolsey Wheeler & Woolsey were an American vaudeville comedy double act who performed together in comedy films from the late 1920s. The team comprised Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) of New Jersey and Robert Woolsey (1888–1938) of Illinois. Collaboration ...
. In addition to being a producer, LeBaron served as the last production chief of
Film Booking Offices of America Film Booking Offices of America (FBO), registered as FBO Pictures Corp., was an American film studio of the Silent film, silent era, a midsize producer and distributor of mostly low-budget films. The business began in 1918 as Robertson-Cole, an ...
and at FBO's successor,
RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
, where he was replaced by David O. Selznick.


Biography

LeBaron was born in
Elgin, Illinois Elgin ( ) is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. Elgin is located northwest of Chicago, along the Fox River. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 114,797, the seventh-large ...
on February 16, 1883. After graduating from high school, he attended the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
and
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
, and then spent a decade writing musical scores and lyrics for Broadway shows. He then wrote for some magazines and publications, before
Joseph Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...
, an investor in several of LeBaron's plays, suggested that LeBaron move to California in 1924. He joined the
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
(ASCAP) in 1933 and became a production chief at several studios, including
RKO Studios RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
(1929-1931),
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 ...
(1936-1941) and
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
(1941 until his retirement in 1947). LeBaron died on February 9, 1958, a week before his 75th birthday, and was buried in
Chapel of the Pines Crematory Chapel of the Pines Crematory is a crematory and columbarium located at 1605 South Catalina Street, Los Angeles, in the U.S. state of California, in the historic West Adams District a short distance southwest of Downtown. It is beside Angelus-Ros ...
. He was married to Mabel Hollins (1887-1955), a British musical comedy actress.


Selected filmography

* ''
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 rel ...
'' (
1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...
) * ''
It's the Old Army Game ''It's the Old Army Game'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Louise Brooks. The film was directed by Eddie Sutherland and co-stars Sutherland's aunt, the stage actress Blanche Ring in one of her few silent film app ...
'' (
1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...
) * '' Love 'Em and Leave 'Em'' (1926) * ''
The Show-Off ''The Show-Off'' is a 1924 stage play by George Kelly about a working-class North Philadelphian family's reluctance to accept their daughter's suitor Aubrey Piper, an overly confident Socialist buffoon. The play has been revived five times on Bro ...
'' (
1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of V ...
) * '' Running Wild'' ( 1927) * ''
Love's Greatest Mistake ''Love's Greatest Mistake'' is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by A. Edward Sutherland and starring Evelyn Brent. The film is now lost. Plot Honey McNeil (Josephine Dunn) comes to New York expecting to have a rather dull time under ...
'' (1927) * '' Blind Alleys'' (1927) * ''
Lightning Speed ''Lightning Speed'' is a 1928 American action film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring Bob Steele, Mary Mayberry and Barney Furey.Munden p.436 Synopsis A journalist in love with the daughter of a state governor tries to prevent her bei ...
'' (1928) * ''
Street Girl ''Street Girl'' is a 1929 pre-Code musical film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Betty Compson, John Harron and Jack Oakie. It was adapted by Jane Murfin from "The Viennese Charmer", a short story by William Carey Wonderly. While it was ...
'' (
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
) * ''
Side Street A side road is a minor highway typically leading off a main road.Main road — definition

'' (
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
) * '' Rio Rita'' (
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
) * ''
Beau Bandit ''Beau Bandit'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code Western film, directed by Lambert Hillyer, from a screenplay by Wallace Smith, based on his short story, "Strictly Business" which appeared in the April 1929 edition of ''Hearst's International-Cosmo ...
'' (
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
) * '' Hit the Deck'' (
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
) * '' Hook, Line and Sinker'' (
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
) * ''
Midnight Mystery ''Midnight Mystery'' is a 1930 American pre-Code mystery film directed by George B. Seitz, from a screenplay by Beulah Marie Dix, which was adapted from the play ''Hawk Island'' by Howard Irving Young. Betty Compson starred, leading an ensemble ...
'' (1930) * '' The Case of Sergeant Grischa'' (1930) * ''
The Fall Guy ''The Fall Guy'' is an American action/adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonli ...
'' (1930) * ''
Conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
'' (1930) * ''
She's My Weakness ''She's My Weakness'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Melville W. Brown (assisted by Dewey Starkey) and starring Sue Carol and Arthur Lake. The screenplay was written by J. Walter Ruben, based on the Broadway play ...
'' (1930) * ''
Traveling Husbands ''Traveling Husbands'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Paul Sloane based on a screenplay by Humphrey Pearson. The film stars Constance Cummings, Frank Albertson, Evelyn Brent, Dorothy Peterson and Hugh Herbert. Hugh Herbert's ...
'' (1931) * '' Cimarron'' (
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) * ''
The Sin Ship ''The Sin Ship'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by the actor Louis Wolheim in his only directorial effort. The film marks the last contribution Wolheim made to the film industry ...
'' (1931) * ''
The Lady Refuses ''The Lady Refuses'' is a 1931 American pre-Code melodrama film, directed by George Archainbaud, from a screenplay by Wallace Smith, based on an original story by Guy Bolton and Robert Milton. It stars Betty Compson as a destitute young woman ...
'' (1931) * ''
Laugh and Get Rich ''Laugh and Get Rich'' is a 1931 pre-Code American comedy film, directed by Gregory La Cava, from a screenplay he also wrote with contributions from Douglas MacLean, who also was the associate producer, and Ralph Spence. The film stars Dorothy ...
'' (1931) * ''
Kept Husbands ''Kept Husbands'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Lloyd Bacon, starring Dorothy Mackaill and Joel McCrea, with major supporting roles filled by Robert McWade, Florence Roberts and Mary Carr. The original story was written by t ...
'' (
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) * '' Cracked Nuts'' (
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) * ''
The Public Defender ''The Public Defender'' is a 1931 American pre-Code crime film directed by J. Walter Ruben, starring Richard Dix and featuring Boris Karloff. Rich playboy Pike Winslow dons the mantle of 'The Reckoner', a mysterious avenger, when he learns that ...
'' (
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) * ''
She Done Him Wrong ''She Done Him Wrong'' is a 1933 pre-Code American crime/comedy film starring Mae West and Cary Grant. The plot includes melodramatic and musical elements, with a supporting cast featuring Owen Moore, Gilbert Roland, Noah Beery Sr., Rochelle Hu ...
'' (
1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
) * ''
Baby Face Babyface or Baby Face can refer to: Nicknames * Lester Joseph Gillis a.k.a. Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber * Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette (1933–1971), an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician * "Baby Face", Jimmy McLarnin ...
'' (
1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
) * ''
I'm No Angel ''I'm No Angel'' is a 1933 pre-Code film directed by Wesley Ruggles, and starring Mae West and Cary Grant. West received sole story and screenplay credit. It is one of her films that was not subjected to heavy censorship. Plot Tira (Mae West ...
'' (
1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
) * ''
Belle of the Nineties ''Belle of the Nineties'' is a 1934 American Western film directed by Leo McCarey and released by Paramount Pictures. Mae West's fourth motion picture, it was based on her original story ''It Ain't No Sin'', which was also to be the film's t ...
'' (
1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
) * ''
It's a Gift ''It's a Gift'' is a 1934 American comedy film starring W.C. Fields. It was Fields's 16th sound film, and his fifth in 1934 alone. It was directed by Norman McLeod, who had directed Fields in his cameo as Humpty Dumpty in ''Alice in Wonderlan ...
'' (
1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
) * ''
Man on the Flying Trapeze ''Man on the Flying Trapeze'' (UK title: ''The Memory Expert'') is a 1935 comedy film starring W. C. Fields as a henpecked husband who experiences a series of misadventures while taking a day off from work to attend a wrestling match. As with his ...
'' (
1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...
) * ''
Klondike Annie ''Klondike Annie'' is a 1936 American Western (genre), Western film starring Mae West and Victor McLaglen. The film was co-written by West from her play ''Frisco Kate'', which she wrote in 1921 and a story written by the duo Marion Morgan (choreo ...
'' (
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
) * '' Forgotten Faces'' (1936) * ''
The Princess Comes Across ''The Princess Comes Across'' is a 1936 mystery/comedy film directed by William K. Howard and starring Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray, the second of the four times they were paired together. Lombard, playing an actress from Brooklyn pretend ...
'' (
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
) * '' Till We Meet Again'' (1936) * '' Born to the West'' (
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
) * '' Night of Mystery'' (1937) * '' The Buccaneer'' (
1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
) * ''
Television Spy ''Television Spy'' is a 1939 American drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring William Henry. Plot A scientist invents a television called the Iconoscope, which thieves try to steal. Cast * William Henry as Douglas Cameron * Judith ...
'' (
1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...
) * '' Emergency Squad'' (
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...
) * ''
Golden Gloves The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States, where they are awarded a belt and a ring. And the title of nations champion is awarded. The Golden Gloves is a term used to refer to the Nation ...
'' (
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...
) * ''
Dr. Cyclops ''Dr. Cyclops'' is a 1940 American science fiction horror film from Paramount Pictures, produced by Dale Van Every and Merian C. Cooper, directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, and starring Thomas Coley, Victor Kilian, Janice Logan, Charles Halton, ...
'' (
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...
) * ''
Week-End in Havana ''Week-End in Havana'' (also known as ''A Week-End in Havana'' and ''That Week-End in Havana'') is a 1941 20th Century Fox Technicolor musical film directed by Walter Lang and starring Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda. It was the second of three pict ...
'' (
1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...
) * ''
Orchestra Wives ''Orchestra Wives'' is a 1942 American musical film by 20th Century Fox starring Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery, and Glenn Miller. The film was the second (and last) film to feature The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and is notable among the many sw ...
'' (
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
) * ''
Footlight Serenade ''Footlight Serenade'' is a 1942 musical comedy film directed by Gregory Ratoff, starring Betty Grable, John Payne, and Victor Mature. Plot Tommy Lundy is an arrogant champion boxer who is hired by Broadway promoter Bruce McKay to star in a sta ...
'' (
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
) * ''
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
'' (
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
) * ''
Springtime in the Rockies ''Springtime in the Rockies'' is an American Technicolor musical comedy film released by Twentieth Century Fox in 1942. It stars Betty Grable, with support from John Payne, Carmen Miranda, Cesar Romero, Charlotte Greenwood, and Edward Everett Ho ...
'' (
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...
) * '' The Gang's All Here'' (
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...
) * '' Stormy Weather'' (
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...
) * '' Pin Up Girl'' (
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
) * ''
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
'' (
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:LeBaron, William 1883 births 1958 deaths American film producers Burials at Chapel of the Pines Crematory