Joseph M. Schenck

Joseph M. Schenck

Birth : 1876-12-25, Yaroslav, Russian Empire

Death : 1961-10-22

History

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Joseph Michael Schenck (/ˈskɛŋk/; December 25, 1876 – October 22, 1961) was a Russian-born American film studio executive. Schenck was born to a Jewish family in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia. He and his family – including younger brother Nicholas – emigrated to New York City in July 1892 under the name Ossip Schenker. Recognizing the potential, in 1909 the Schenck brothers purchased Palisades Amusement Park and afterward became participants in the fledgling motion picture industry in partnership with Marcus Loew, operating a chain of movie theaters. In 1916, through his involvement in the film business, Joseph Schenck met and married Norma Talmadge, a top young star with Vitagraph Studios. He would be the first of her three husbands, but she was his only wife. Schenck supervised, controlled and nurtured her career in alliance with her mother. In 1917 the couple formed the Norma Talmadge Film Corporation, which became a lucrative enterprise. They divorced in 1934; Schenck then built a home in Palm Springs, California. After parting ways with his brother, Joseph Schenck moved to the West Coast where the future of the film industry seemed to lie. Within a few years Schenck was made the second president of the new United Artists. In 1933 he partnered with Darryl F. Zanuck to create Twentieth Century Pictures that merged with Fox Film Corporation in 1935. As chairman of the new 20th Century Fox, he was one of the most powerful and influential people in the film business. Caught in a payoff scheme to buy peace with the militant unions, he was convicted of income tax evasion and spent time in prison before being granted a presidential pardon. Following his release, he returned to 20th Century Fox where he became infatuated with the unknown Marilyn Monroe, and played a key role in launching her career. One of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in 1952 he was given a special Academy Award in recognition of his contribution to the development of the film industry. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6757 Hollywood Blvd. Schenck retired in 1957 and shortly afterward suffered a stroke, from which he never fully recovered. He died in Los Angeles in 1961 at the age of 84, and was interred in Maimonides Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

Profile

Joseph M. Schenck

Movies

As You Like It
Producer
Film version of Shakespeare's comedy of a young woman who disguises herself as a man to win the attention of the one she loves.
The Prisoner of Shark Island
Presenter
After healing the leg of the murderer John Wilkes Booth, responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, perpetrated on April 14, 1865, during a performance at Ford's Theatre in Washington; Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, considered part of the atrocious conspiracy, is sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to the sinister Shark Island Prison.
L'homme des Folies Bergère
Producer
Alternate-language French version of Folies Bergère de Paris (1935).
The Band Concert
Producer
Mickey is trying to lead a concert of The William Tell Overture, but he's continually disrupted by ice cream vendor Donald, who uses a seemingly endless supply of flutes to play Turkey in the Straw instead. After Donald gives up, a bee comes along and causes his own havoc. The band then reaches the Storm sequence, and the weather also starts to pick up; a tornado comes along, but they keep playing.
The Affairs of Cellini
Presenter
The 16th-century sculptor woos the Duchess of Florence despite the duke.
Born to Be Bad
Executive Producer
Letty, a young woman who ended up pregnant, unmarried and on the streets at fifteen is bitter and determined that her child will not grow up to be taken advantage of. Letty teaches her child to lie, steal, cheat and anything else he'll need to be street smart.
The Last Gentleman
Producer
In New England circa 1933, a niece is reported missing and presumed dead and Cabot Barr (George Arliss) summons his relatives to the family estate for a memorial service. Once there, Barr taunts each one, claiming their only interest in him is his money, and sends them away when the report about the niece proves to be false. Only niece Marjorie, who has ridiculed one of his pet eccentricities, seems to be the object of any sentimental affection.
Ye Olden Days
Producer
The princess is to wed the Prince against her wishes. When she refuses, the king locks her in the tower. Minstrel Mickey sees her and rescues her, making a rope from the clothes of lady-in-waiting Clarabell. The king spots them and prepares to chop off Mickey's head until Minnie intercedes. The king calls for a joust. Mickey wins and they live happily ever after.
Mickey's Mellerdrammer
Producer
Mickey Mouse and his friends stage their own production of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Mickey's Pal Pluto
Producer
Pluto rescues a bag of kittens from the river. He feels rejected, then, as Mickey ignores him and blames him for damage the kittens do. His angel and devil sides argue with him. Pluto gets thrown outside. The kittens also find their way outside, and fall into the well, where Pluto's angel side wins out as he rescues them once again and is finally recognized as a hero.
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum
Executive Producer
A New York tramp falls in love with the mayor's amnesiac girlfriend after rescuing her from a suicide attempt.
The Mad Doctor
Producer
A dark and stormy night. Pluto is spirited away to the spooky mansion of an evil genius for a mad transplant scheme to put his head on the body of a chicken. Mickey gives chase, but find himself threatened severely by the house and its denizens.
Building a Building
Producer
Mickey's a shovel operator and laborer at a construction site; Minnie is delivering box lunches; Pete is the foreman. Mickey pays more attention to Minnie than to his work, and keeps having accidents (mostly involving the blueprints Pete is holding). Pete steals Mickey's lunch, so Minnie offers him one on the house. While he's eating, Pete kidnaps Minnie; Mickey fights him, but the tide turns when Minnie dumps a load of hot rivets into Pete's pants...
Rain
Executive Producer
Due to a possible cholera epidemic onboard, passengers on a ship are forced to disembark at Pago Pago, a small village on a Pacific island where it incessantly rains. Among the stranded passengers are Sadie Thompson, a prostitute, and Alfred Davidson, a fanatic missionary who will try to redeem her.
The Bat Whispers
Producer
Infamous burglar "The Bat" commits a daring jewelry theft despite heavy police presence. Soon after, a bank theft occurs, which may be the work of the criminal as well. Meanwhile, Cornelia Van Gorder has various people arrive at her old mansion, including her niece, Dale, a bank employee, and police detective Anderson. When guests start turning up dead, Cornelia begins to suspect that The Bat may be lurking around the estate.
Du Barry, Woman of Passion
Producer
Jeannette Vaubernier, an impulsive shopgirl en route to deliver a hat, dreams of luxury and position as she saunters through the woods, and attracted by a pool of water, she disrobes and plunges in. Cosse de Brissac, a handsome private in the King's Guards, comes to her rescue and they become sweethearts. Meanwhile, Jean Du Barry, a shrewd roué, takes note of her at the millinery shop and tricks her into staying at La Gourda's, where she soon becomes a favorite among the men.
Abraham Lincoln
Producer
A biopic dramatizing Abraham Lincoln's life through a series of vignettes depicting its defining chapters: his romance with Ann Rutledge; his early years as a country lawyer; his marriage to Mary Todd; his debates with Stephen A. Douglas; the election of 1860; his presidency during the Civil War; and his assassination in Ford’s Theater in 1865.
One Romantic Night
Producer
A princess is forced to choose between a charming tutor and a rakish prince.
Be Yourself!
Executive Producer
Ethnic comedy of a nightclub entertainer trying to train a boxer.
New York Nights
Producer
Show girl Jill Deverne is married to song writer Fred Deverne, and everyone is involved in the Broadway night life and endless parties. Jill is being pursued by a gangster, and she leaves her husband after he spends the night with a floozie. Jill ends up as the gangster's moll, but she soon gets tired of the lifestyle.
Eternal Love
Producer
In the Swiss Alps of the early 19th century, a couple forced into loveless marriages struggle to find happiness with one another.
Alibi
Presenter
Chick Williams, a prohibition gangster, rejoins his mob soon after being released from prison. When a policeman is murdered during a robbery, he falls under suspicion. The gangster took Joan, a policeman's daughter, to the theater, sneaked out during the intermission to commit the crime, then used her to support his alibi. The detective squad employs its most sophisticated and barbaric techniques, including planting an undercover agent in the gang, to bring him to justice.
Die Lady von der Straße
Producer
Karl, a German diplomat in Paris, discovers that his fiancee, Diane, has been cheating on him. He tells her that he would rather marry a "girl of the streets" than her. Outraged, Diane decides to grant hi his wish, and enlists the services of a Spanish singer/dancer from a disreputable nightclub to pose as a sophisticated, convent-educated singer, and surreptitiously arranges for her to meet Karl.
The Woman Disputed
Producer
An adventuress in love with an Austrian agrees to become the mistress of a Russian officer in exchange for the release of Austrian hostages.
Tempest
Executive Producer
In the final days of Czarist Russia, a peasant is raised from the ranks to Lieutenant. The other officers, aristocrats all, resent him, and make his life difficult. He falls in love with a princess, who spurns him. When he is caught in her room, he is stripped of his rank and thrown into prison. Then comes the Red Terror, and the tables are turned.
Steamboat Bill, Jr.
Executive Producer
The just out of college effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was little.
College
Producer
Brilliant in his studies and dismissive of athletics, Ronald finishes high school at the top of his class. But in college his uptight attitude doesn't win him any points with his sports-loving classmates, and pretty coed Mary ignores him in favor of brutish jock Jeff. Hoping to impress Mary, Ronald makes a buffoon of himself at every sport imaginable.
Camille
Producer
Based on the 1852 novel and play La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils.
The General
Producer
During America’s Civil War, Union spies steal engineer Johnnie Gray's beloved locomotive, 'The General'—with Johnnie's lady love aboard an attached boxcar—and he single-handedly must do all in his power to both get The General back and to rescue Annabelle.
Battling Butler
Executive Producer
Meek millionaire Alfred Butler goes on a camping excursion with his faithful servant. Once in the wilderness, Alfred ignores outdoor activities in favor of trying to woo a charming mountain girl, who wants nothing to do with her spoiled suitor. Trying to impress the girl, Alfred masquerades as boxing star "Battling" Butler.
The Duchess of Buffalo
Producer
An American dancer on a tour of pre-Boleshevik Russia falls for a young army officer, and the feeling is mutual. However, the officer's father is the Grand Duke of Russia, and he has designs on the girl himself--not letting a minor detail like his already being married bother him--and refuses to let his son marry her.
Go West
Producer
With little luck at keeping a job in the city a New Yorker tries work in the country and eventually finds his way leading a herd of cattle to the West Coast.
Her Sister from Paris
Producer
Helen has a twin sister, who is a famous actress named "La Perry". Helen and her sister decide to trick Helen's husband to prove his love.
Seven Chances
Producer
Struggling stockbroker Jimmie Shannon learns that, if he gets married by 7 p.m. on his 27th birthday -- which is today -- he'll inherit $7 million from an eccentric relative.
The Navigator
Executive Producer
The wealthy and impulsive Rollo Treadway decides to propose to his beautiful socialite neighbor, Betsy O'Brien. Although Betsy turns Rollo down, he still opts to go on the cruise that he intended as their honeymoon. When circumstances find both Rollo and Betsy on the wrong ship, they end up having adventures on the high seas.
Sherlock Jr.
Producer
A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.
Our Hospitality
Producer
A young man falls for a young woman on his trip home; unbeknownst to him, her family has vowed to kill every member of his.
Three Ages
Presenter
The rituals of courtship, romantic rivalry and love play out three times as a man vies with a villain for the girl. In the Stone Age, the rivalry is set off by dinosaurs, a turtle used as a ouija board, and a round of golf with stones. In ancient Rome, the men display their brawn through a chariot race, using dogs instead of horses. In contemporary times, the man finds himself overcome by modernity, including a very fragile car.
Three Ages
Producer
The rituals of courtship, romantic rivalry and love play out three times as a man vies with a villain for the girl. In the Stone Age, the rivalry is set off by dinosaurs, a turtle used as a ouija board, and a round of golf with stones. In ancient Rome, the men display their brawn through a chariot race, using dogs instead of horses. In contemporary times, the man finds himself overcome by modernity, including a very fragile car.
Ashes of Vengeance
Producer
This historical piece, set in the Huguenot days of France, is Norma Talmadge's 37th feature film and the longest to date at two hours. The plot involves a man forced into servitude who falls in love with the sister of his persecutor. It was Ms. Talmadge's fourth involvement with director, Frank Lloyd and the cast included future star, Wallace Beery.
The Love Nest
Producer
In an attempt to forget his lost sweetheart, Buster takes a long trip at the sea when he's caught by pirates.
The Voice from the Minaret
Executive Producer
Lord Carlyle governs a province in India. Although he weds the beautiful Adrienne, he can't make her love him. And no wonder -- he's not only cruel, he's unfaithful. Adrienne leaves him and boards a ship with the intention of returning to England. But on the boat she meets Andrew Fabian, who is studying for the clergy. They fall in love, and he convinces her to accompany him on a pilgrimage to Damascus.
The Balloonatic
Producer
Buster and Phyllis endure a number of outdoor adventures trying to prove to each other their survival skills. The balloon which lands Buster in the wilderness proves useful later on as their canoe is about go over a waterfall.
Day Dreams
Producer
In order to impress the father of a girl he is keen on, Buster goes to the city in search of work. In his letters home he writes of his various jobs which her imagination expands into much nobler ones than those that he is actually attempting.
The Electric House
Producer
Botany major Buster mistakenly graduates in electrical engineering and is hired to wire a new home.
The Eternal Flame
Producer
A 1922 film directed by Frank Lloyd.
The Frozen North
Producer
This satirical parody of William S. Hart's melodramatic films finds Buster in the frozen north, "last stop on the subway." He uses a wanted poster as his partner in robbing a gambling house. When he thinks he spies his wife making love to another man he shoots them both only to learn it isn't his cabin after all.
The Blacksmith
Producer
Buster clowns around in a blacksmith's shop until he and the smithy get in a fight which sends the smithy to jail. Buster helps several customers with horses, then destroys a Rolls Royce while fixing the car parked next to it.
My Wife's Relations
Producer
Buster is falsely accused of breaking a window by a woman and is taken into a courtroom. Thinking that Buster and the woman are engaged, the judge mistakenly marries them and Buster is quickly taken home by the woman to meet her family. At first unwelcoming, the family begins to treat Buster nice when they come to believe that he is going to inherit a large sum of money.
Cops
Producer
Buster Keaton gets involved in a series of misunderstandings involving a horse and cart. Eventually he infuriates every cop in the city when he accidentally interrupts a police parade.
Smilin' Through
Executive Producer
The story is essentially the same as the popular Jane Cowl play, with Talmadge in the dual role of Kathleen and Moonyean. Kathleen, a young Irish woman, is in love with Kenneth Wayne but is prevented from marrying him by her guardian John Carteret. John is haunted by memories of his thwarted love for Kathleen's aunt, Moonyean.
The Paleface
Producer
A butterfly collector unwittingly wanders into an Indian encampment while chasing a butterfly, but the tribe has resolved to kill the first white man who enters their encampment because white oil tycoons are trying to force them from their land.
The Play House
Producer
After waking up from his wacky dream, a theater stage hand inadvertently causes havoc everywhere he works.
The Goat
Presenter
A series of adventures begins when Buster is mistaken for Dead Shot Dan, the evil bad guy.
The Goat
Producer
A series of adventures begins when Buster is mistaken for Dead Shot Dan, the evil bad guy.
The High Sign
Producer
Buster is thrown off a train near an amusement park. There he gets a job in a shooting gallery run by the Blinking Buzzards mob. Ordered to kill a businessman, he winds up protecting the man and his daughter by outfitting their home with trick devices.
The Haunted House
Producer
Buster Keaton is a bank teller who becomes involved with a hold-up, counterfeiters, and a theatrical troupe posing as spooks in a haunted house.
Neighbors
Presenter
The Romeo and Juliet story played out in a tenement neighborhood with Buster and Virginia's families hating each other over the fence separating their buildings.
Neighbors
Producer
The Romeo and Juliet story played out in a tenement neighborhood with Buster and Virginia's families hating each other over the fence separating their buildings.
The Scarecrow
Presenter
Buster competes with another farmhand for the love of the farmer's daughter.
Convict 13
Producer
A young golfer is mugged by an escaped convict and finds himself in a prison where he foils a jailbreak.
The Branded Woman
Producer
A 1920 film directed by Albert Parker.
One Week
Presenter
The story involves two newlyweds, Keaton and Seely, who receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding gift. The house can be built, supposedly, in "one week." A rejected suitor secretly re-numbers packing crates. The movie recounts Keaton's struggle to assemble the house according to this new "arrangement."
One Week
Producer
The story involves two newlyweds, Keaton and Seely, who receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding gift. The house can be built, supposedly, in "one week." A rejected suitor secretly re-numbers packing crates. The movie recounts Keaton's struggle to assemble the house according to this new "arrangement."
The Woman Gives
Producer
A 1920 film directed by Roy William Neill.
The Garage
Producer
Roscoe and Buster operate a combination garage and fire station. In the first half they destroy a car left for them to clean. In the second half they go off on a false alarm and return to find their own building on fire.
A Daughter of Two Worlds
Producer
She Loves and Lies
Producer
When Marie Callender is left a fortune by a wealthy old admirer on the condition that she marry the man she loves, Marie targets Ernest Lismore but is too shy to ask him to marry her. Instead, Marie disguises herself as an elderly woman of considerable wealth and offers to bail Ernest out of his impending bankruptcy in exchange for marriage, with the understanding that if Ernest ever falls in love with another woman she will grant him a divorce. Then Marie disguises herself as June Dayne in order to make her husband fall in love with her. She succeeds, and when Ernest confesses his love for another woman, Marie discards her disguise and Ernest discovers that the woman with whom he is in love is his own wife.
The Hayseed
Producer
Buster manages the store while Roscoe delivers the mail, taking time out for hide-and-seek with Molly. The constable, also interested in Molly, steals $300 while being observed by Buster.
The Isle of Conquest
Producer
A 1919 film directed by Edward José.
Back Stage
Producer
Roscoe and Buster give a bullying Strongman the what-for, but after the performance troupe quits it's up to Fatty and Buster to keep the show going.
The Probation Wife
Producer
A 1919 film directed by Sidney Franklin.
The New Moon
Producer
When anarchist bombs disrupt the engagement ball of Princess Marie Pavlovna, her fiancé, Prince Michail Koloyar, helps her to escape in a carriage. Then Theo Kameneff, secretly in the pay of a foreign government, becomes dictator and, desiring the princess, issues an edict that all women between the ages of seventeen and thirty-two must register and become state property.
The Heart of Wetona
Producer
After the half-breed daughter of a Comanche chief falls for a young engineer who deserts her, she turns to a white Indian agent who marries her.
The Forbidden City
Producer
The daughter of a Chinese mandarin is sentenced to death for her secret marriage to an American. Their child, raised in the mandarin's palace, grows up and escapes to seek her father, now a high-ranking official in the Philippines.
The Cook
Producer
In an attempt at greater efficiency, the chef of a fancy oceanside restaurant and his assistant wreak havoc in the establishment. Adding to the complications is the arrival of a robber.
Her Only Way
Producer
The Westbrook family has been ruined financially, and when the daughter Lucille comes home from boarding school, she finds herself in a terrible dilemma -- she either must marry a rich man she does not love and save her family's fortune, or marry the man she loves and lose everything.
Good Night, Nurse!
Producer
Roscoe's wife, tired of his endless drunkenness, reads of an operation that cures alcoholism and has him admitted to No Hope Sanitarium to get the surgery. Roscoe, wanting out, eventually disguises himself as a nurse to effect his escape.
De Luxe Annie
Producer
A 1918 film directed by Roland West.
The Moonshine
Producer
A feud between the Owens and the Gillettes ends when the last remaining Gillette is killed, but new trouble erupts for the mountain folk with the arrival of a U.S. revenue agent and his assistant.
The Bell Boy
Producer
At the Elk's Head Hotel bellhops torment the lobby, each other and guests. The elevator is powered by a stubborn horse. A sham robbery turns into a real one. And there is a chase on a runaway trolley.
Out West
Producer
The story involves Arbuckle coming to the western town of Mad Dog Gulch after being thrown off a train and chased by Indians. He teams up with gambler/saloon owner Bill Bullhum, in trying to keep the evil Wild Bill Hickup away from Salvation Army girl, Salvation Sue. Fatty and Buster have a series of adventures trying to beat St. John, until they discover his one weakness: his ticklishness.
The Ghosts of Yesterday
Producer
After his wife/model has died of starvation with her portrait unfinished, an impoverished artist meets another woman with a striking resemblance to her. -from IMDB.
A Country Hero
Producer
Fatty plays a village blacksmith in “Jazzville,” an imaginary rural village. There is a rivalry between Fatty and Cy Klone, the garage owner, over the affections of a pretty schoolteacher. A city chap unites the two rivals when he tries to steal the girl. An annual village ball features amateur talent in vaudeville stunts with Keaton as a wriggling Fatima who charms a long black stocking from a cigar box like a snake. The film is presumed lost.
The Secret of the Storm Country
Producer
A 1917 film directed by Charles Miller.
Coney Island
Producer
Arbuckle escapes the watch of his domineering wife and heads for Coney Island. Keaton arrives that same day with his attractive, and rather easy, girlfriend, who is immediately stolen from him by St. John.
The Moth
Producer
A 1917 film directed by Edward José.
Oh, Doctor!
Producer
Roscoe is a doctor who falls in love with a pretty woman whose boyfriend, in turn, falls in love with Roscoe's wife's jewelry.
His Wedding Night
Producer
Al and Roscoe, employees at a gas station, are rivals for Alice. When Buster delivers a wedding gown for Alice and begins modeling it, he is mistaken for Alice and is kidnapped by Al.
The Rough House
Producer
Living under the same roof with his newly-wed wife and his mother-in-law, a careless Mr Rough sets the nuptial bedroom on fire, as the residence's cook tries to woo the maid who only has eyes for the charming delivery boy. As one thing leads to another, Mr Rough ends up preparing dinner for a pair of duplicitous guests, when, clearly, he should be staying out of the kitchen. Does Mrs Rough know the visitors' true intentions? But, above all, how will this disastrous dinner party at the Rough house end?
A Reckless Romeo
Producer
Roscoe flirts with a girl in the park. Later he takes his wife and mother-in-law to the movies only to see his flirtation showing on the screen.
Poppy
Producer
A 1917 film directed by Edward José
The Butcher Boy
Producer
Customers and clerks frolic in a general store. Roscoe walks out of the freezer wearing a fur coat, then does some clever cleaver tossing. In Buster's film debut he buys a pail of molasses.
The Law of Compensation
Producer
A 1917 film directed by Joseph A. Golden & Julius Steger
Panthea
Producer
A woman sacrifices everything for her husband's career.