imported>NotBartEhrman: /* Goldwynisms */

2025-11-04T11:49:37Z

Goldwynisms

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{{Short description|Polish–American film producer (1882–1974)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Samuel Goldwyn
| image = Samuel Goldwyn (SAYRE 2218).jpg
| caption = Goldwyn in 1949
| birth_name = Szmuel Gelbfisz
| birth_date = July 1879{{efn|name=Birthdate|Goldwyn was likely born on July{{nbsp}}1879, although he claimed his birthday to be August{{nbsp}}27, 1882.}} or August 1882
| birth_place = [[Warsaw]], [[Congress Poland]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|1|31|1879|7|27|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park]], [[Glendale, California]], U.S.
| other_names = Samuel Goldfish
| years_active = 1917–1959
| spouse = {{ubl
| {{marriage|Blanche Lasky|1910|1915|end=div}}
| {{marriage|[[Frances Howard (actress)|Frances Howard]]|1925}}
}}
| children = 2, including [[Samuel Goldwyn Jr.|Samuel Jr.]]
| relatives = {{ubl
| [[Tony Goldwyn]] (grandson)
| [[John Goldwyn]] (grandson)
| [[Liz Goldwyn]] (granddaughter)
}}
| signature = Samuel Goldwyn Signature from the Goldman Collection.png
}}

'''Samuel Goldwyn''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|g|oʊ|l|d|w|ɪ|n}} {{respell|GOHLD|win}}; born '''Szmuel Gelbfisz'''; {{langx|yi|שמואל געלבפֿיש}}; July{{nbsp}}1879{{efn|name=Birthdate}}{{snd}}January{{nbsp}}31, 1974) was a Polish-born American [[film producer]] and pioneer in the [[Cinema of the United States|American film industry]], who produced the United States's first major motion picture. He was best known for being the founding contributor and [[Studio executive|executive]] of several [[Film studio|motion picture studios]].<ref>Obituary, ''[[Variety Obituaries|Variety]]'', February 6, 1974, pg. 63.</ref> He was awarded the [[Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award]] (1973),<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Jang|first1=Meena|title=Samuel Goldwyn: Remembering the Movie Mogul on the Anniversary of His Death|journal=The Hollywood Reporter|date=January 31, 2015|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/samuel-goldwyn-remembering-movie-mogul-768785|access-date=August 8, 2015}}</ref> the [[Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award]] (1947), and the [[Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award]] (1958).

==Early life==
Goldwyn was likely born in July{{nbsp}}1879, although he claimed his birthday to be August{{nbsp}}27, 1882. At the time, most Jews [[age fabrication|fabricated their ages]] to prevent future conscription for the [[Russian Empire]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TbMAAAAAQBAJ&dq=samuel+goldwyn+1879+1882&pg=PP16 | title=Goldwyn: A Biography | isbn=978-1-4711-3006-9 | last1=Scott Berg | first1=A. | date=August 2013 | publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref> He was born as Szmuel Gelbfisz in [[Warsaw]] to [[Hasidic Jewish]] parents, Aaron Dawid Gelbfisz,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Grave in Warszawa |url= https://cemetery.jewish.org.pl/id_97953/info/| website= cemetery.jewish.org.pl| publisher= |date= | access-date= }}</ref> a peddler, and Hanna Frymet ({{née|Fiszhaut}}).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hannah Gelbfisz obituary |language= pl |url= https://polona.pl/item/nasz-przeglad-organ-niezalezny-r-3-nr-148-31-maja-1925,OTE0ODc3MA/9/#info:metadata| website= polona.pl| date= |publisher= | access-date= }}</ref>

He left Warsaw penniless after his father's death and made his way to [[Hamburg]]. There he stayed with acquaintances of his family where he trained as a glove maker. On November 26, 1898, Gelbfisz left Hamburg for [[Birmingham]], [[England]], where he remained with relatives for six weeks under the name '''Samuel Goldfish'''. On January 4, 1899, he sailed from [[Liverpool]], arrived in [[Philadelphia]] on January 19, and went to [[New York (state)|New York]]. He found work [[Upstate New York|upstate]] in [[Gloversville, New York]] in the bustling glove business. Soon, his marketing skills made him a very successful salesman at the Elite Glove Company. After four years as vice-president of sales, he moved to [[New York City]] and settled at 10 West 61st Street.<ref name=":0">{{cite book| first= A. Scott |last= Berg| title= Goldwyn{{Snd}} A Biography| publisher= Penguin Putnam Inc; Riverhead Books| year= 1989 | isbn= 1-57322-723-4}}</ref>

==Paramount==
{{main|Paramount Pictures}}
[[File:Samuel Goldwyn - Jul 1919 EH.jpg|thumb|upright|Goldwyn in 1919]]

In 1913, Goldwyn, along with his brother-in-law [[Jesse L. Lasky]], [[Cecil B. DeMille]], and Arthur Friend formed a partnership, The Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company, to produce feature-length motion pictures. Film rights for a [[stage play]], ''[[The Squaw Man (play)|The Squaw Man]]'', were purchased for $4,000 and [[Dustin Farnum]] was hired for the [[leading role]]. Shooting for the [[The Squaw Man (1914 film)|first feature film]] made in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] began on December 29, 1913.<ref name="berga">Berg, pp. 31–35, 41.</ref>

In 1914, [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] was a film exchange and [[Movie theater|exhibition]] corporation headed by [[W. W. Hodkinson]]. Looking for more movies to distribute, Paramount signed a contract with the Lasky Company on 1 June 1914 to supply 36 films per year. One of Paramount's other suppliers was [[Adolph Zukor]]'s [[Famous Players Company]]. The two companies [[merged]] on 28 June 1916, forming the [[Famous Players–Lasky Corporation]]. Zukor had been quietly buying Paramount [[Share capital|stock]], and two weeks before the merger, became [[President (corporate title)|president]] of Paramount Pictures Corporation and had Hodkinson replaced with [[Hiram Abrams]], a Zukor associate.<ref name="bergb">Berg, pp. 49, 58.</ref>

With the merger, Zukor became president of Paramount and Famous Players–Lasky, Goldwyn was named chairman of the board of Famous Players–Lasky, and Jesse Lasky was the first vice-president. After a series of conflicts with Zukor, Goldwyn resigned as chairman, and as a member of the [[Committee|executive committee]] on September 14, 1916. Goldwyn was no longer an active member of [[management]], although he still owned stock and was a member of the board of directors. Famous Players–Lasky later became part of Paramount Pictures Corporation, and Paramount became one of Hollywood's major studios.<ref name="bergc">Berg, pp. 58–59, 63.</ref>

==Goldwyn Pictures==
In 1916, Goldwyn partnered with [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] producers [[Edgar Selwyn|Edgar]] and [[Archibald Selwyn]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qv0CWuFSxDoC&q=goldwyn+edgar+selwyn&pg=PA273|title=The Papers of Will Rogers: From vaudeville to Broadway : September 1908 – August 1915|first1=Will|last1=Rogers|first2=Steven K.|last2=Gragert|first3=M. Jane|last3=Johansson|date=May 1, 2001|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|isbn=9780806133157|access-date=October 7, 2018|via=Google Books}}</ref> using a combination of both names to call their film-making enterprise [[Goldwyn Pictures]]. Seeing an opportunity, he had his [[Name change|name legally changed]] to Samuel Goldwyn in December 1918<ref name=":0" /> and used this name for the rest of his life. Goldwyn Pictures proved successful, but it is their "[[Leo the Lion (MGM)|Leo the Lion]]" trademark for which the company is remembered today.

After personality clashes, Samuel Goldwyn left the company in 1922. Godsol became chairman of the board and President of Goldwyn Pictures in 1922.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 11, 1922|title=Godsol Heads Goldwyn Pictures|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/03/11/archives/godsol-heads-goldwyn-pictures.html}}</ref> On April 10, 1924, Goldwyn Pictures was acquired by [[Marcus Loew]] and merged into his [[Metro Pictures Corporation]], becoming [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Despite including his name, Samuel Goldwyn was never connected with ownership, management, or production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

==Samuel Goldwyn Productions==
[[File:Samuel Goldwyn The Hurricane Trailer screenshot.jpg|thumb|200px|left|From the trailer for ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]'' (1937)]]
{{main|Samuel Goldwyn Productions}}
Before the sale and merger of Goldwyn Pictures in April 1924, Goldwyn had established [[Samuel Goldwyn Productions]] in 1923 as a [[Production company|production-only operation]] (with no distribution arm). Their first feature was ''[[Potash and Perlmutter]]'', released in September 1923 through [[First National Pictures]]. Some of the early productions bear the name "Howard Productions", named for Goldwyn's wife, [[Frances Howard (actress)|Frances]].{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}

For 35 years, Goldwyn built a reputation in [[filmmaking]] and developed an eye for finding the talent for making films. [[William Wyler]] directed many of his most celebrated productions, and he hired writers such as [[Ben Hecht]], [[Sidney Howard]], [[Dorothy Parker]], and [[Lillian Hellman]]. (According to legend, at a heated story conference, Goldwyn scolded someone—in most accounts, Mrs. Parker, who recalled he had once been a glove maker—who responded to him, "Don't you point that finger at me. I knew it when it had a thimble on it!"<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Silverstein|editor-first=Stuart Y.|title=Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker|publisher=Scribner|date=1996|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/notmuchfunlostpo0000park/page/42 42, n. 75]|url=https://archive.org/details/notmuchfunlostpo0000park/page/42|isbn=0-7432-1148-0}}</ref>)

Goldwyn made numerous films during that time and reigned as Hollywood's most successful [[Independent film|independent]] producer. Many of his films were forgettable; his collaboration with [[John Ford]], however, resulted in a [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nomination for ''[[Arrowsmith (movie)|Arrowsmith]]'' (1931). Goldwyn and Ford had another successful collaboration six years later with ''[[The Hurricane (1937 movie)|The Hurricane]]'' (1937). [[William Wyler]] was responsible for most of Goldwyn's highly lauded films, with Best Picture [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nominations for ''[[Dodsworth (film)|Dodsworth]]'' (1936), ''[[Dead End (1937 film)|Dead End]]'' (1937), ''[[Wuthering Heights (1939 film)|Wuthering Heights]]'' (1939), ''[[The Little Foxes (film)|The Little Foxes]]'' (1941) and ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]'' (1946). Leading actors in several Goldwyn films, especially those directed by Wyler, were also [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Oscar-nominated for their performances]]. Throughout the 1930s, Goldwyn released all his films through [[United Artists]]; beginning in 1941 and continuing nearly to the end of his career, Goldwyn's films were distributed by [[RKO Pictures]].

==Oscar triumph and later years==
{{see also|Academy Awards}}
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2018}}
In 1946, the year he was honored by the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] with the [[Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award]], Goldwyn's [[Drama (modern genre)|drama]], ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]'', starring [[Myrna Loy]], [[Fredric March]], [[Teresa Wright]] and [[Dana Andrews]], won the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]].<ref>[http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1947 "The 19th Academy Awards (1947) Nominees and Winners."] ''oscars.org.'' Retrieved: December 16, 2023.</ref> In the 1950s, Samuel Goldwyn turned to make several [[musical film|musicals]] including ''[[Hans Christian Andersen (film)|Hans Christian Andersen]]'' (1952), his last with [[Danny Kaye]], with whom he had made many others, and ''[[Guys and Dolls (film)|Guys and Dolls]]'' (1955) starring [[Marlon Brando]], [[Jean Simmons]], [[Frank Sinatra]], and [[Vivian Blaine]], which was based on the successful [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] [[Guys and Dolls|musical]]. This was the only independent film that Goldwyn released through [[MGM]].

In his final film, Samuel Goldwyn brought together African-American actors [[Sidney Poitier]], [[Dorothy Dandridge]], [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] and [[Pearl Bailey]] in a [[Porgy and Bess (film)|film rendition]] of the [[George Gershwin]] opera, ''[[Porgy and Bess]]'' (1959). Released by [[Columbia Pictures]], the film was nominated for three Oscars but won only one for [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]. It was also a [[Box office bomb|critical and financial failure]], and the Gershwin family reportedly disliked the film and eventually pulled it from distribution. The film turned the [[opera]] into an [[operetta]] with spoken dialogue in between the musical numbers. Its reception was a major disappointment for Goldwyn, who, according to biographer [[Arthur Marx]], saw it as his crowning glory and had wanted to film ''Porgy and Bess'' since he first saw it onstage in 1935.

Goldwyn's house at [[1200 Laurel Lane]] in Beverly Hills was completed in 1934, designed by [[Douglas Honnold]] and [[George Vernon Russell]]. The Goldwyns hosted frequent social events at the house.<ref>Berg, p. 246</ref>

==Awards==
* In 1957, Goldwyn was awarded the [[Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award]] for his outstanding contributions to [[humanitarian]] causes.
* On March 27, 1971, Goldwyn was presented with the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Richard Nixon]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0160588634|title=Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Richard Nixon|year=1971|page=490|publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=0160588634|access-date=2013-04-01}}</ref>

==Marriages==
In 1910, Goldwyn married Blanche Lasky, a sister of [[Jesse L. Lasky]]. The marriage produced a daughter. The couple divorced in 1915. In 1925, he married actress [[Frances Howard (actress)|Frances Howard]], to whom he remained married for the rest of his life. Their son, [[Samuel Goldwyn Jr.]], eventually joined his father in the business.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dagan|first1=Carmel|title=Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Dies at 88|url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/samuel-goldwyn-jr-dies-at-88-1201399483/|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]|access-date=10 January 2015|date=9 January 2015}}</ref>

Despite his marriages, Samuel Goldwyn was known as a ladies' man in social circles. Goldwyn Girl Jean Howard was quoted saying, "Sam Goldwyn was not a fellow to make a pass in public; he had too much taste for that," but his dalliances were many, even as his wife Frances Howard turned a blind eye.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Berg |first=A. Scott |title=Goldwyn: A Biography |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. |year=1989 |isbn=0-394-51059-3 |location=New York |language=English}}</ref>

==Death==
Goldwyn died of [[heart failure]] at his home in Los Angeles in 1974. In the 1980s, the [[Samuel Goldwyn Studio]] was sold to [[Warner Bros.]] There is a [[Samuel Goldwyn Theater|theater named after him in Beverly Hills]] and he received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 1631 [[Vine Street]] for his contributions to motion pictures on February 8, 1960.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/samuel-goldwyn|title=Samuel Goldwyn {{!}} Hollywood Walk of Fame|website=www.walkoffame.com|access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/samuel-goldwyn|title=Samuel Goldwyn|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref>

==Descendants and relations==
===Grandchildren===
Samuel Goldwyn's grandchildren include:
* Francis Goldwyn, founder of the Manhattan Toy Company and managing member of Quorum Associates
* [[Tony Goldwyn]], actor, producer, and director, best known for starring as President Fitzgerald Grant III in the TV series ''[[Scandal (TV series)|Scandal]]''
* [[John Goldwyn]], film producer
* Peter Goldwyn, the current president of [[Samuel Goldwyn Films]]
* Catherine Goldwyn, creator of Sound Art, a non-profit that teaches popular music all over Los Angeles
* Liz Goldwyn, with a film on [[HBO]] called ''Pretty Things'', featuring interviews with queens from the heyday of [[American burlesque]];<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lgoldwynfilms.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=104|title=Pretty Things|access-date=2013-04-02|publisher=Liz Goldwyn Films|date=June 2, 2018}}</ref> her book, an extension of the documentary titled ''Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens'', was published in 2006 by [[HarperCollins]]<ref>{{Cite book|last=Goldwyn|first=Liz|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2NhyQgAACAAJ|title = Pretty Things: The Last Generation of American Burlesque Queens|publisher=HarperCollins|date=2006|isbn=9780060889449|access-date=June 2, 2018}}</ref>
* Rebecca Goldwyn (August 15, 1955{{Snd}}September 1, 1955)

===Nephew===
Goldwyn's relatives include Fred Lebensold, an award-winning architect (best known as the designer of multiple concert halls in Canada and the United States). Fred was the son of Manya Lebensold, Sam's younger sister, who was murdered in the [[Holocaust]], despite the best efforts of her brothers Sam and Ben in 1939–40 to extricate her from the [[Warsaw Ghetto]].

==The Samuel Goldwyn Foundation==
Samuel Goldwyn's will created a multimillion-dollar [[Charitable organization|charitable foundation]] in his name. Among other endeavors, the Samuel Goldwyn Foundation funds the [[Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards]], provides construction funds for the [[Los Angeles Public Library|Frances Howard Goldwyn Hollywood Regional Library]], and provides ongoing funding for the [[Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital]].

==The Samuel Goldwyn Company==
{{main|The Samuel Goldwyn Company}}
Several years after the senior Goldwyn's death, his son, Samuel Jr., initiated an independent film and television distribution company dedicated to preserving the integrity of Goldwyn's ambitions and work. The company's assets were later acquired by [[Orion Pictures]], and in 1997, passed on to Orion's parent company, [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]. Several years later, the Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Family Trust and [[Warner Bros.]] acquired the rights to all the Goldwyn-produced films except ''[[The Hurricane (1937 film)|The Hurricane]]'', which was returned to the MGM subsidiary [[United Artists]].

==Goldwynisms==
Goldwyn was also known for his [[malapropism]]s, [[paradox]]es, and other [[speech error]]s called 'Goldwynisms' ("a humorous statement or phrase resulting from the use of incongruous or contradictory words, situations, idioms, etc."). For example, he was reported to have said, "I don't think anybody should write his autobiography until after he's dead."<ref>{{cite book| first= Arthur |last= Marx| authorlink= Arthur Marx| title= Goldwyn: The Man Behind the Myth| publisher= Bodley Head| year= 1976| chapter= Prologue| isbn= 9780370113258}}</ref> and "Include me out." However, Goldwynisms were the inventions of humorists and newspaper editors. While Goldwyn was entertained by the misquotations at first, he eventually became irritated by the cumulative depiction of himself as a man who frequently misspoke. Many famous "Goldwynisms" predate Goldwyn's career as circulated witticism.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zierold |first1=Norman |title=The Moguls |date=1969 |publisher=Coward McCann |location=New York |page=129}}</ref>

For example, the statement attributed to Goldwyn that "a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on" is a misreporting of someone else's quote praising the trustworthiness of a colleague: "His verbal contract is worth more than the paper it's written on". The identity of the colleague is variously reported as [[Joseph M. Schenck]]<ref>{{cite book| first1= Paul F. |last1= Boller| first2= John |last2= George| title= They Never Said It| year= 1990| page= 42| publisher= Oxford University Press | isbn= 9780199879168}}</ref> or [[Joseph L. Mankiewicz]].<ref>{{cite book| first= Carol |last= Easton| title= The Search for Sam Goldwyn| year= 1976| publisher= Morrow| page= | isbn= 9780688030070}}{{page needed|date=October 2021}}</ref> Goldwyn himself was reportedly aware of—and pleased by—the misattribution.

Upon being told that a book he had purchased for filming, ''[[The Well of Loneliness]]'', couldn't be filmed because it was about [[lesbian]]s, he reportedly replied: "That's all right, we'll make them [[Hungarians]]." The same story was told about the 1934 rights to ''[[The Children's Hour (play)|The Children's Hour]]'' with the response "That's okay; we'll turn them into [[Armenians]]."<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/18608 |title= ''These Three'' film profile| website= Turner Classic Movies| date= | access-date= June 2, 2018}}</ref>

In the [[Grateful Dead]]'s "[[Scarlet Begonias]]", the line "I ain't often right, but I've never been wrong" appears in the [[bridge (music)|bridge]]. This is similar to Goldwyn's "I'm willing to admit that I may not always be right, but I am never wrong."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/scarlet.html|title=The Annotated 'Scarlet Begonias' |work= ucsc.edu| access-date=June 2, 2018}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Sister project auto}}

* {{IMDb name}}
* {{Gutenberg author}}
* {{Librivox author}}
* [https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/sam-goldwyn-about-sam-goldwyn/697/ American Masters: Sam Goldwyn]
* [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2953 ''The American Presidency Project'']

{{Samuel Goldwyn}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Samuel Goldwyn
| list =
{{Cecil B. DeMille Award 1952–1975}}
{{Thalberg Award}}
{{Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award}}
}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldwyn, Samuel}}
[[Category:Goldwyn family|Samuel]]
[[Category:1882 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:American Ashkenazi Jews]]
[[Category:American film production company founders]]
[[Category:American film studio executives]]
[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from New York City]]
[[Category:Cecil B. DeMille Award Golden Globe winners]]
[[Category:Emigrants from Congress Poland to the United States]]
[[Category:Film people from Beverly Hills, California]]
[[Category:Film producers from California]]
[[Category:Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award winners]]
[[Category:Jewish American film people]]
[[Category:People from Warsaw Governorate]]
[[Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients]]
[[Category:Producers who won the Best Picture Academy Award]]

Samuel Goldwyn - Revision history

imported>NotBartEhrman: /* Goldwynisms */