ALICIA MAYER In-Person
Q&A PRESENTATION ON MGM & LOUIS B. MAYER
In Celebration of the Culver City Centennial
Everyone who has any connection to Culver City, or who has ever seen a movie, knows the name of “Mayer.” Louis B. Mayer was the legendary head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the studio with “more stars than there are in heaven.” He gave the world stars like Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, and Norma Shearer, along with more fabled actors, producers, directors, and designers, while making MGM the home to some of the famous films in history, “Gone With the Wind”, “The Wizard of Oz”, and “Singin’ in the Rain” among them. And he did all of this in Culver City.
Mayer’s sister, Ida Mayer Cummings, devoted her life to Jewish causes and was such a powerhouse fundraiser in Los Angeles that Bob Hope once quipped Ida was, “the only woman I know who can grab a man by the lapels through the telephone!”
As the family historian, ALICIA MAYER (great-grandniece of Mayer) has taken on the responsibility of maintaining the Louis B. Mayer legacy and is the custodian of hundreds of photos and documents relating to the Cummings and Mayer families. In this special Culver City Centennial event on August 6, 2017, at 2pm in the Culver City Veteran’s Auditorium, Alicia will share never before seen photos, memorabilia and insights into MGM and one of Hollywood’s – and Culver City’s – first families.
The history of the Mayer and Cummings families is as rich as the stories being told and films being made at MGM. Mayer and his sister Ida Mayer Cummings made their indelible marks on Los Angeles and later saw cinema become the family business through the likes of Jack Cummings (“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers”, “Kiss Me Kate”, “Three Little Words”), Sol Baer Fielding (“Bright Road”, “Jeopardy”, “Trooper Hook”), Mitzi Cummings (MGM writer and Photoplay columnist), Ruth Rowland (interstitial and MGM writer) and Roy Rowland (“Our Vines Have Tender Grapes”, “The 5,000 Fingers of Mr T”, “Meet Me in Las Vegas”).
Rene Mayer Selznick, Louis B. Mayer’s youngest daughter and a successful theater producer in her own right, was the first producer of “A Streetcar Named Desire, launching Marlon Brando’s career. And what about the name of Selznick? Sound familiar? Irene married film producer David O. Selznick and they had two sons, L. Jeffrey Selznick and Daniel Mayer Selznick. Jeffrey is known for being a champion of film restoration through the Louis B. Mayer Foundation and in association with Eastman House. Daniel is an award-winning film and theater producer, writer and columnist. The David O. Selznick legacy continues to this day in Culver City with The Culver Studios.
Follow the yellow brick road to Culver City on August 6th and join in the celebration of Culver City’s Centennial with a behind-the-scenes, intimate look, into the history of MGM, Louis B. Mayer and Culver City!
Mark your calendars now for this very special event! Get your tickets now or go to http://culvercity100.org/events/yellow-brick-road-alicia-mayer/ for more information!
