Lewis J. Selznick

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Lewis J. Selznick (May 2, 1870 - January 25, 1933) was a film producer.

Born Lewis Zeleznik to an impoverished Jewish family in Kiev in what is now the Ukraine, as a young boy he emigrated to London, UK. He eventually moved to the United States, settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he worked as a jeweler.

Fascinated with the fledgling motion picture business, and recognizing a business opportunity with great potential, he made his way to New York City where he joined a film production company. In 1914 he founded World Pictures Corporation, a film distribution company in Fort Lee, New Jersey. He soon merged with the Peerless Pictures Studios and the Shubert Brothers, Shubert Pictures Co. Selznick's company became very successful, in 1915 hiring Sidney Olcott away from Kalem Studios plus the French director Maurice Tourneur away from the American arm of the giant, Pathé. By 1916, personality conflicts with his partners saw him ousted from the firm by the Board of Directors.

Lewis Selznick continued in film on the East Coast until 1920 when he moved to Hollywood, California where he teamed up with Adolph Zukor and Jesse L. Lasky. However, within a few years his company, Lewis J. Selznick Production, Inc., experienced severe financial and went bankrupt in 1925. He retired from the business and died in Los Angeles, California in 1933.

With his wife of thirty-seven years, Florence Sachs, Lewis J. Selznick had four children. His son Myron Selznick (1898-1944) would work as a producer and studio executive until establishing a successful talent agency. His other son, David O. Selznick (1902-1965), became one of Hollywood's greatest filmmakers.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Lewis J. Selznick has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6412 Hollywood Blvd.