Mervyn LeRoy

Known for DirectingBorn 1900-10-15Died 1987-09-13San Francisco, California, USA

Mervyn LeRoy was an American film director, producer, and sometime actor. LeRoy worked in costumes, processing labs and as a camera assistant until he became a gag writer and actor in silent films, including The Ten Commandments in 1923. LeRoy credits Ten Commandments director, Cecil B. DeMille, for inspiring him to become a director: "As the top director of the era, DeMille had been the magnet that had drawn me to his set as often as I could go." LeRoy also credits DeMille for teaching him the directing techniques required to make his own films. His first directing job was with First National Pictures on 1927's No Place to Go. LeRoy ended up working at Warner Bros. after they took control of First National. When his movies made lots of money without costing too much, he became well received in the movie business. He directed two key films which launched Edward G. Robinson into major stardom, the Oscar-nominated critique of tabloid journalism Five Star Final, and the classic gangster film Little Caesar, which made his mark. From that point forward, LeRoy would be responsible for a diverse variety of films as a director and producer. The following year's I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang was also nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Production as was his Anthony Adverse. In 1938 he was chosen as head of production at MGM, where he was responsible for the decision to make The Wizard of Oz. He was responsible for discovering Clark Gable, Loretta Young, Robert Mitchum, and Lana Turner. His 1941 film Blossoms in the Dust was nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Motion Picture. His first big hit as a director with MGM was 1942's Random Harvest which was their biggest of the season earning worldwide rentals of $8 million and for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Directing. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Motion Picture. He hit big again two years later with Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo with rentals of $6 million. In 1951, he scored his biggest hit with Quo Vadis earning worldwide rentals of $21 million as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. In the early 1950s, LeRoy directed such musicals as Lovely to Look At, Million Dollar Mermaid, Latin Lovers and Rose Marie. He returned to Warner Brothers in 1955, where he took over from John Ford as director on Mister Roberts, another big hit, which was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. He also directed films for Warners such as The Bad Seed, No Time for Sergeants, The FBI Story, and Gypsy. He received an honorary Oscar in 1946 for The House I Live In, "for tolerance short subject", and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1976. A total of eight movies Mervyn LeRoy directed or co-directed were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, one of the highest numbers among all directors.Read more

Movies & web series

Hot Stuff

Broadway After Dark

My American Wife

You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story

Flying Romeos

Going Up

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic

The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind

Too Young to Marry

The Making of the Wizard of Oz

No Place to Go

Little Johnny Jones

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang

Tonight Starring Jack Paar

Unholy Partners

The Wizard of Oz

No Time for Sergeants

Waterloo Bridge

Little Women

Escape

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Random Harvest

The Bad Seed

I Found Stella Parish

Tugboat Annie

Mister Roberts

Madame Curie

Quo Vadis

East Side, West Side

Home Before Dark

Oil for the Lamps of China

Gold Diggers of 1933

Heat Lightning

Homecoming

Ella Cinders

Any Number Can Play

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

The Ed Sullivan Show

Little Johnny Jones

The Great Sinner

Harold Teen

Oh Kay!

Wake Me When It's Over

The Chorus Lady

The Call of the Canyon

Hard to Handle

Little Caesar

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo