Age, Biography and Wiki
Mervyn LeRoy was born on 15 October, 1900 in San Francisco, California, USA, is a director,producer,actor. Discover Mervyn LeRoy's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 86 years old?
Popular As |
N/A |
Occupation |
director,producer,actor |
Age |
86 years old |
Zodiac Sign |
Libra |
Born |
15 October, 1900 |
Birthday |
15 October |
Birthplace |
San Francisco, California, USA |
Date of death |
13 September, 1987 |
Died Place |
Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA |
Nationality |
United States
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We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 15 October.
He is a member of famous Director with the age 86 years old group.
Mervyn LeRoy Height, Weight & Measurements
At 86 years old, Mervyn LeRoy height is 5' 7½" (1.71 m) .
Physical Status |
Height |
5' 7½" (1.71 m) |
Weight |
Not Available |
Body Measurements |
Not Available |
Eye Color |
Not Available |
Hair Color |
Not Available |
Who Is Mervyn LeRoy's Wife?
His wife is Katherine 'Kitty' Spiegel LeRoy (1 February 1946 - 13 September 1987) ( his death) ( 2 children), Doris Warner (2 January 1934 - 21 August 1945) ( divorced) ( 2 children), Edna Murphy (18 December 1927 - 30 June 1933) ( divorced)
Family |
Parents |
Not Available |
Wife |
Katherine 'Kitty' Spiegel LeRoy (1 February 1946 - 13 September 1987) ( his death) ( 2 children), Doris Warner (2 January 1934 - 21 August 1945) ( divorced) ( 2 children), Edna Murphy (18 December 1927 - 30 June 1933) ( divorced) |
Sibling |
Not Available |
Children |
Not Available |
Mervyn LeRoy Net Worth
His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Mervyn LeRoy worth at the age of 86 years old? Mervyn LeRoy’s income source is mostly from being a successful Director. He is from United States. We have estimated Mervyn LeRoy's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) | $13,200 |
Any Number Can Play (1949) | $68,100 |
Mervyn LeRoy Social Network
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Timeline
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945". Pages 651-657. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.
The great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906 was a tragedy for Mervyn LeRoy. While he and his father managed to survive, they lost everything they had. To make money, LeRoy sold newspapers and entered talent contests as a singer. When he entered vaudeville, his act was "LeRoy and Cooper--Two Kids and a Piano". After the act broke up he contacted his cousin, Jesse L. Lasky, and went to work in Hollywood. He worked in the costume department, the film lab and as a camera assistant before becoming a comedy gag writer and part-time actor in silent films.
His next step was as a director, and his first effort was No Place to Go (1927).
He scored an unqualified hit with Harold Teen (1928). Earning $1,000 per week by the end of that year, he was nicknamed "The Boy Wonder" of Warner Bros. , where his pictures were profitable lightweights. His motto, to paraphrase William Shakespeare, was "Good stories make good movies.
" LeRoy rounded out the decade assigned to more lightweights, such as Naughty Baby (1928) (his first talkie), Hot Stuff (1929), Little Johnny Jones (1929) and a primitive but rather inventive musical talkie, Broadway Babies (1929), all of which proved that he was equally adept at constructing a musical as any other genre he worked in. In the depths of the Depression there was considerable disagreement within the studio on whether audiences wanted escapism or stories addressing issues pertaining to the stark realities of the day. LeRoy sided with studio exec Darryl F.
This smash hit started the gangster craze and LeRoy gained a reputation as a top dramatic director (although his follow-up assignment was Show Girl in Hollywood (1930)).
During the 1930s several of his films dealt with social issues, usually through the eyes of the underdog, the best example of that being I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932). However, as one of Warner's war horses in its stable of contract directors, he was also assigned more digestible fare.
Zanuck's tilt toward realism and threw himself into his next assignment--Little Caesar (1931).
He followed his landmark gangster picture with Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), although it could be argued that it also contained a remarkable degree of social consciousness. Upon the death of Irving Thalberg LeRoy was picked as head of production at MGM.
He produced (and partly directed, without credit) that studio's classic The Wizard of Oz (1939), although it was not a classic at the box office when first released. Its poor reception convinced LeRoy to quit producing pictures and go back to directing them. He always had a good relationship with actors and had discovered a number of people who would go on to become major stars, such as Clark Gable (who was rejected for a role in "Little Caesar" by Jack L. Warner over LeRoy's objections), Loretta Young, Robert Mitchum and Lana Turner.
LeRoy turned out numerous hits for MGM in the 1940s, such as Johnny Eager (1941), Random Harvest (1942) and one of the best patriotic films of the period, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944).
The collapse of the studio system in the 1950s required him to re-assume a producer's role; along with other Hollywood players of the day, he formed his own production company, which set up camp at Warner Bros. , and he produced and directed a number of films for that studio based on successful stage plays. LeRoy had a reputation for taking on different types of films, and he seldom did the same type of picture twice, turning out comedies, dramas, fantasies and musicals.
He spent a year at RKO at the end of the war as a producer and director, but quickly returned to MGM, where he remained until 1954.
His output declined in the 1960s and he took a working retirement in 1965, disgruntled at the direction the film industry had taken.
He was sorely tempted to tackle Pierre Boulle's Planet of the Apes (1968), but declined, deciding that the requirement to put up his own money was too risky for a man in his mid-60s.
His last directorial effort was assisting old friend John Wayne for certain scenes in The Green Berets (1968).
He took a figurehead position at Mego International in the 1970s and talked of producing westerns, but nothing came of it. However, as talented and successful as LeRoy was as a director over his long career, and considering the number of classic films he was responsible for, the one thing he never managed to successfully get was an Oscar for Best Director.
Did not mention being married to actress Edna Murphy in his 1974 autobiography, even though they were married for almost six years.
Since 1980, the Mervyn Le Roy Handicap has been run at Hollywood Park. LeRoy was one of the organizers of the racetrack and its president until 1985.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 527-530. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
Father of Warner LeRoy, the restaurant impresario who created NYC's Maxwell's Plum and Tavern on the Green and who revamped the Russian Tea Room, and also created the amusement park Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. Warner married twice and had four children-- Bridget, Carolyn, Max and Jenny Oz LeRoy -- and died in 2001.
Profiled in "American Classic Screen Interviews" (Scarecrow Press). [2010]