Famous Jews in History: Louis B. Mayer (1884–1957)

Louis B. Mayer was born Lazar Meir in 1884, into a poor Jewish family in Eastern Europe. His family faced restrictions and discrimination, like many Jews at the time.

As a child, he moved with his family to North America, arriving in the United States in the early 1900s. They were very poor, so Mayer left school young and worked to support them.

Despite the opportunities in America, Jews still faced discrimination and were often shut out of industries like banking, law, and large corporations.

But because the movie industry was so new, it wasn't yet closed off to Jews. Jewish immigrants saw this opportunity, entered the space and shaped what it became.

At 23, Mayer took a risk and bought a small, struggling, run-down theatre.

He turned it around. Then bought another.

He moved from showing films, to distributing them, to producing them.

Step by step, he built his way into this new industry as it was forming.

Eventually, he became head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, one of the first and most powerful studios in Hollywood. 

Mayer created a legacy that helped define Hollywood.

Learn more: Virtual Jewish Library - Louis B. Mayer