Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer

by Scott Eyman

Book Overview

Based on some 150 interviews and access to previously unavailable archival sources, "Lion of Hollywood" follows Louis B. Mayer's remarkable life from the Russian shtetls through his reign as chief executive of MGM to his embittered exile.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743204816
• ISBN13: 9780743204811
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 596 Pages
• Weight: 1.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.9" x 6.6" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Compelling and Knowledgeable Look into an Industry and a Man

What distinguishes this book about Louis B. Mayer, the fearsome and legendary Hollywood mogul of the classic MGM era, is that it's far more than a biography. I was tempted into reading not by a fascination with Mayer (though I came to be fascinated once I began reading) but by the author's, Scott Eyman, previous books about Hollywood and the studio system. His knowledge and understanding of movie-making back in the Golden Age of Hollywood are outstanding, nuanced and multi-faceted. "Lion of Hollywood" is so much more than just an insightful biography of a complicated man -- Eyman's expansive book is also about the ins-and-outs MGM, from the business practices to the personalities, and how Mayer forged American cinema because he was the head of the greatest movie studio in Hollywood, therefore the greatest movie studio in the world. There is a lot of well-researched information and carefully argued hypotheses of Mayer's personality and home-life, and while Eyman is full of understanding for his subject, he never lets Mayer off the hook for his hypocrises or cruelties. He didn't write this book to redeem Mayer into a "good man" -- he wrote this book to properly give Mayer the place in movie history he deserves. When he and the other moguls arrived, L.A. and Hollywood consisted of orange groves and dirt streets. Mayer didn't build Hollywood with his hands, he did it with his massive will, guile, business acumen and cunning understanding of mass entertainment. What comes through in the book is not what a nice man Mayer was, but what a *great* man he was. Flawed and venal, yes. Brilliant and complicated, also yes. It's easy to look back at the movie moguls, with their terrible reputations for crushing actors and directors, their womanizing and vulgar ways, and condemn them as "what's wrong with Hollywood". But without them, without Mayer, Hollywood as we knew it wouldn't have existed. They set up and ran the studio system that nurtured such stars as Greta Garbo, Clark Gable and Gene Kelly. Mayer was a major reason American movies are the hallmark of mass entertainment all throughout the world today, and it wasn't because he was a great artist himself. He was that very rarest of beings: a businessman who understands, recognizes and nurtures talent in others. He was instrumental in setting up the Academy Awards because he instinctively got that actors and directors would almost prefer the prestige of awards over money. He was a dedicated Republican but hired Communists, Socialists, lefties of all stripes -- and said so to the McCarthy witch hunts -- because political affiliation had nothing to do with talent. He covered up murders, hushed up scandals, arranged marriages for gay stars: anything to keep the machine of movie-making well-oiled. Mayer knew movies and he knew his audience -- he prided himself on being the "average movie-goer" -- and he was a savvy enough businessman to know that you have to spend a dollar to make a dollar and ten cents. H

Lion of Hollywood

I couldn't put it down. What an incredible journey into the years of building the famous movie studios from their beginnings as nicolodeons right up to the razzle-dazzle of the 40's and 50's! To read about Louis B. Mayer and the amazing people he drew in around him, is to read about the minds behind the images that so profoundly affected all of us growing up in America in the last century--whether we realized it or not. As a story of one immigrant's rise from abject poverty to fame and influence that few people ever acheive, Mayer's unstoppability wakes you up and inspires you to get to work on making your own dreams come true.

The Unbiased Book on Mayer

I have long been fascinated by Louis Mayer and have read everthing written about him. Most of those stories showed a one dimensional (evil) person, but Scott Eyman had no bones to pick and no grudges to bear, so he was able to write a fair and accurate biography showing the many sides to this complex man. It is a must read for every fan of MGM.

Will the real Mr. Mayer please stand up...

It's about time movie fans get to read a book that tells more then one side of a story. Before I read this book I always thought that Mayer was a monster. Scott Eyman is a fantastic writer. He is able to be very objective in telling the story of Mayer. Interestring too is his portrait of Irving Thalberg. I have always thought of him as this untouchable Hollywood legend that helped Mayer shape the way movies would be made for several decades. What surprised me was that Thalberg just wasn't a very nice guy. He only cared about himself, money and what he could do to make MGM great. He treated people like dirt but in a much more subversive way. I have always believed that MGM was the cream of the crop movie studio and this book proves it. Read it today and learn about one of the greatest movie moguls to come out of the golden age of Hollywood.

Another winner from a terrific biographer

You can always rely on Scott Eyman for a readable, well-researched and even-handed bio. This is no exception: it's fascinating to see L.B. Mayer not as the monster so many have painted him, but as a well-rounded human being. Eyman also gives his readers credit for intelligence and judgment: he repeats the questionable stories (John Gilbert hitting Mayer; Mayer cheating Marie Dressler out of money), but then cites his sources and lets us make up our minds as to how legitimate these stories are. No doubt Mr. Eyman is taking a well-deserved breather after this book, but I al already anxiously awaiting his next project.