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{{Moresources|date=October 2021}}
{{short description|Film pioneer, owner of Loew's/M-G-M}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Marcus Loew
| image = Marcus Loew USA.png
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1870|5|7}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1927|9|5|1870|5|7}}
| death_place = [[Glen Cove, New York|Glen Cove]], New York, U.S.
| years_active =
| nationality = Austrian-American
| residence =
| education =
| alma mater =
| title = President
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor = [[Nicholas Schenck]]
| boards =
| salary =
| networth =
| occupation = Film exhibitor
| known for = Founder of [[Loews Inc.]]
| spouse = Carrie Loew
| children = 2
}}
'''Marcus Loew''' (May 7, 1870 – September 5, 1927) was an American [[business magnate]] and a pioneer of the [[motion picture]] industry who formed [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loew's Theatres]] and the [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] film studio (MGM).

==Life and career==
Loew was born in New York City, into a poor [[Jew]]ish family, who had emigrated to [[New York City]] a few years previously from Austria and Germany.<ref>Caso, Frank. [http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=88 "Marcus Loew."] In ''Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present'', vol. 4, edited by Jeffrey Fear. German Historical Institute. Last modified January 28, 2014.</ref> He was forced by circumstances to work at a very young age and had little formal education. Nevertheless, beginning with a small investment of money saved from menial jobs, he bought into the [[penny arcade]] business. Shortly after, in partnership with [[Adolph Zukor]] and others, he founded the successful but short-lived [[Automatic Vaudeville Company]] which established a chain of arcades across several cities. After the company dissolved in 1904 Loew converted his share of the business into [[Nickelodeon (movie theater)|nickelodeon]]s and over time he turned Loew's Theatres into a leading chain of vaudeville and [[movie theater]]s in the United States.

By 1905, Marcus Loew was on his own and his success eventually necessitated that he secure a steady flow of product for his theaters. In 1904, he founded the People's Vaudeville Company, a theater chain which showcased one-reel films as well as live variety shows. In 1910, the company had considerably expanded and was renamed Loew's Consolidated Enterprises. His associates included [[Adolph Zukor]], [[Joseph Schenck]], and [[Nicholas Schenck]]. In addition to theaters, Loew and the Schencks expanded the [[Fort George Amusement Park]] in upper Manhattan.

[[Image:1914 MarcusLoew his 42ndSt office NYC.png|thumb|left|Marcus Loew in his office, ca.1914]]
By 1913, Loew operated a large number of theaters in New York City including the [[American Music Hall]], Avenue A Theatre, Avenue B Theatre, [[Broadway Theatre (41st Street)|Broadway Theatre]] (41st St.), Circle Theatre, and the Columbia Theatre in Brooklyn. Other Loew-operated theaters were the Delancey St. Theatre, Greeley Sq. Theatre, [[Herald Square Theatre]], Liberty Theatre, Brooklyn, Lincoln Sq. Theatre, National Theatre (149th St.), Plaza Theatre, 7th Ave. Theatre (124th St.), Shubert Theatre, Brooklyn, and the Yorkville Theatre.<ref name="TheatricalGuide">Cahn-Leighton Theatrical Guide, 1913-1914</ref> Outside of New York, he managed the Columbia Theatres of both [[Columbia Theatre (Washington, D.C.)| Washington, D.C.]],<ref>{{cite book |first=Robert K. |last=Headley |title=Motion Picture Exhibition in Washington, D.C. |location=Jefferson |publisher=McFarland & Co. |year=1999 |isbn=1-4766-0851-2 |page=250 |quote=... as he began to expand his movie empire. In October 1919, Loew and Walter Brownley of Washington purchased the Columbia and two buildings on 12th Street for half a million dollars. The Columbia was one of the big moneymakers among ... }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/7369|title = Loew's Columbia Theatre in Washington, DC - Cinema Treasures}}</ref> and [[Columbia Theatre (Boston)|Boston]] and Philadelphia’s [[Metropolitan Opera House (Philadelphia)| Metropolitan Opera House]].<ref name="TheatricalGuide"/>

Loew found himself faced with a serious dilemma: his merged companies lacked a central managerial command structure. Loew preferred to remain in New York overseeing the growing chain of Loew's Theatres. Film production had been gravitating toward southern California since 1913. By 1917 he oversaw a number of enterprises: Borough Theatre Co., Empress Amusement Corp., Fort George Amusement Co., Glendive Amusement Corp., Greeley Square Amusement Co., Loew's Consolidated Enterprise, Loew's Theatrical Enterprises, Mascot Amusement Co., Natonia Amusement Co., People's Vaudeville Co.<ref>Directory of directors in the city of New York, 1917-1918</ref> In 1919, Loew reorganized the company under the name Loew's, Inc.<ref>Poor's and Moody's manual, 1921</ref>

In 1920, Loew purchased [[Metro Pictures|Metro Pictures Corporation]]. A few years later, he acquired a controlling interest in the financially troubled [[Goldwyn Picture Corporation]] which at that point was controlled by theater impresario [[Lee Shubert]]. Goldwyn Pictures owned the "[[Leo the Lion (MGM)|Leo the Lion]]" trademark and studio property in [[Culver City, California]]. But without its founder [[Samuel Goldwyn]], the Goldwyn studio lacked strong management. With Loew's vice president [[Nicholas Schenck]] needed in New York City to help manage the large [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] movie theater operations, Loew had to find a qualified executive to take charge of this new [[Los Angeles]] entity.

Loew recalled meeting a film producer named [[Louis B. Mayer]] who had been operating a successful, if modest, studio in east Los Angeles. Mayer had been making low budget melodramas for a number of years, marketing them primarily to women. Since he rented most of his equipment and hired most of his stars on a per-picture basis, Loew wasn't after Mayer's brick and mortar business; he wanted Mayer and his Chief of Production, the former [[Universal Studios|Universal Pictures]] executive, [[Irving Thalberg]]. Nicholas Schenck was dispatched to finalize the deal that ultimately resulted in the formation of Metro-Goldwyn Pictures in April 1924 with Mayer as the studio head and Thalberg chief of production.

Mayer's company folded into Metro Goldwyn with two notable additions: Mayer Pictures' contracts with key [[director (film)|director]]s such as [[Fred Niblo]] and [[John M. Stahl]], and up-and-coming actress [[Norma Shearer]], later married to Thalberg. Mayer would eventually be rewarded by having his name added to the company. Loews Inc. would act as MGM's financier and retain controlling interest for decades.

Though MGM was immediately successful, Loew died in 1927 of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] at the age of 57 at his country home in [[Glen Cove, New York]]. Reporting his death, [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] called him "the most beloved man of all show business of all time".<ref name=Obit>{{cite news|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title=Marcus Loew Wept For|date=September 7, 1927|page=1|url=https://archive.org/stream/variety87-1927-09/Variety87-1927-09#page/n0/mode/1up|access-date=May 26, 2018}}</ref> He was interred in the Maimonides Cemetery in [[Brooklyn]].<ref>[https://www.jta.org/1927/09/11/archive/simple-rites-mark-late-marcus-loews-funeral Jewish Telegraphic Agency]</ref>

For his very significant contribution to the development of the motion picture industry, Marcus Loew has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 1617 Vine Street.

==Personal life==
He and his wife Carrie had twin sons, [[David L. Loew]] (1897–1973) and [[Arthur Loew Sr|Arthur Marcus Loew Sr]] (1897–1977).<ref name=Obit/> Arthur married Mildred Zukor, daughter of [[Adolph Zukor]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ingham|first1=John N.|title=Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders, Volume 4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzI79XfsOIwC&pg=PA1702 |year=1983|publisher=Greenwood|page=1702|isbn=978-0313239106}}</ref> and became president of MGM. Their son, [[Arthur Loew Jr.]] (1925–1995), was an actor, producer and writer.<ref>{{IMDb name|0517332|name=Arthur Loew Jr.}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Sobel |author-link=Robert Sobel |title=The Entrepreneurs: Explorations Within the American Business Tradition |location=New York |publisher=Weybright & Talley |year=1974 |chapter=Marcus Loew: An Artist in Spite of Himself |pages=[https://archive.org/details/entrepreneursexp00sobe/page/247 247–288] |isbn=0-679-40064-8 |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/entrepreneursexp00sobe/page/247 }}

==External links==
{{commons category|Marcus Loew}}
*{{IMDb name|0517343}}
*{{FAG|8126}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loew, Marcus}}
[[Category:1870 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:American Jews]]
[[Category:American film studio executives]]
[[Category:American film production company founders]]
[[Category:American people of Austrian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from New York City]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives]]
[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Loews Cineplex Entertainment]]
[[Category:Film producers from New York (state)]]

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