Nicholas Schenck: Difference between revisions
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{{ | {{Short description|American film studio executive (1880–1969)}} | ||
{{for|the screenwriter|Nick Schenk}} | {{for|the screenwriter|Nick Schenk}} | ||
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2025}} | |||
{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
| name = Nicholas Schenck | | name = Nicholas Schenck | ||
| image = | | image = Nicholas Schenck (cropped).jpg | ||
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| relatives = [[Joseph M. Schenck]] (brother)<br>[[Ruth Selwyn]] (sister-in-law)<br>[[Fred M. Wilcox (director)|Fred M. Wilcox]] (brother-in-law) | | relatives = [[Joseph M. Schenck]] (brother)<br />[[Ruth Selwyn]] (sister-in-law)<br />[[Fred M. Wilcox (director)|Fred M. Wilcox]] (brother-in-law) | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Nicholas M. Schenck''' (14 | '''Nicholas M. Schenck''' (November 14, 1880,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/40/?name=Nicholas_Schenck&birth=1880&birth_x=0-0-0&count=50&name_x=1_1|title=Ancestry.com|last=Naturalization papers|website=[[Ancestry.com]] }}</ref> [[Rybinsk]], Russia – March 4, 1969, [[Florida]], U.S.) was a Russian-American [[Studio executive|film studio executive]] and [[businessman]]. | ||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
===Early life=== | ===Early life=== | ||
One of seven children, Schenck was born to a [[Jewish]] household<ref>[http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3691/1/Letters Jewish Standard Letters], jstandard.com; accessed October 10, 2021.</ref> in [[Rybinsk]], a town on the [[Volga River]] in the [[Yaroslavl Governorate]] of [[Russian Empire|Tsarist Russia]]. With his parents, he and his brothers, George and [[Joseph Schenck|Joseph]], emigrated to the United States in 1892<ref name=":0" /> where they settled in a [[tenement]] on New York's [[Lower East Side]]. Subsequently, he relocated to [[Harlem]], the population of which at that time consisted primarily of Jewish and Italian immigrants. | One of seven children, Schenck was born to a [[Jewish]] household<ref>[http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3691/1/Letters Jewish Standard Letters] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080124091933/http://www.jstandard.com/articles/3691/1/Letters |date=January 24, 2008 }}, jstandard.com; accessed October 10, 2021.</ref> in [[Rybinsk]], a town on the [[Volga River]] in the [[Yaroslavl Governorate]] of [[Russian Empire|Tsarist Russia]]. With his parents, he and his brothers, George and [[Joseph Schenck|Joseph]], emigrated to the United States in 1892<ref name=":0" /> where they settled in a [[tenement]] on New York's [[Lower East Side]]. Subsequently, he relocated to [[Harlem]], the population of which at that time consisted primarily of Jewish and Italian immigrants. | ||
Upon his arrival in the United States, he and his older brother [[Joseph Schenck|Joseph]] worked as a team running errands and selling newspapers while studying at the New York College of Pharmacy at night.<ref name=varobit/> | Upon his arrival in the United States, he and his older brother [[Joseph Schenck|Joseph]] worked as a team running errands and selling newspapers while studying at the New York College of Pharmacy at night.<ref name=varobit /> | ||
They subsequently began working in a drugstore in the [[Bowery]]. Within two years they had saved up enough money to buy out the drugstore's owner and opened another store on [[Third Avenue]] at [[110th Street (Manhattan)|110th Street]]<ref name=varobit/> and began casting about for other business ventures. | They subsequently began working in a drugstore in the [[Bowery]]. Within two years they had saved up enough money to buy out the drugstore's owner and opened another store on [[Third Avenue]] at [[110th Street (Manhattan)|110th Street]]<ref name=varobit /> and began casting about for other business ventures. | ||
===Career=== | ===Career=== | ||
[[File:Movie Industry pledges cooperation with the government. Washington, D.C., June 25. At a conference with President Roosevelt today, a group of motion picture company executives, led by Will LCCN2016877943.jpg|thumb|alt=At the White House, Front row, left to right: Barney Balaban, Paramount; Harry Cohn, Columbia Pictures; Nicholas M. Schenck, Loew's; Will H. Hays, and Leo Spitz, RKO. Back row, left to right: Sidney Kent, 20th Century Fox; N.J. Blumberg, Universal; and Albert Warner, Warner Bros., in 1938|At the White House, front row, left to right: [[Barney Balaban]], Paramount; [[Harry Cohn]], Columbia Pictures; Nicholas M. Schenck, Loew's; [[Will H. Hays]]; [[Leo Spitz]], RKO. Back row, left to right: Sidney Kent, 20th Century Fox; N.J. Blumberg, Universal; [[Albert Warner]], Warner Bros., in 1938]] | [[File:Movie Industry pledges cooperation with the government. Washington, D.C., June 25. At a conference with President Roosevelt today, a group of motion picture company executives, led by Will LCCN2016877943.jpg|thumb|alt=At the White House, Front row, left to right: Barney Balaban, Paramount; Harry Cohn, Columbia Pictures; Nicholas M. Schenck, Loew's; Will H. Hays, and Leo Spitz, RKO. Back row, left to right: Sidney Kent, 20th Century Fox; N.J. Blumberg, Universal; and Albert Warner, Warner Bros., in 1938|At the White House, front row, left to right: [[Barney Balaban]], Paramount; [[Harry Cohn]], Columbia Pictures; Nicholas M. Schenck, Loew's; [[Will H. Hays]]; [[Leo Spitz]], RKO. Back row, left to right: Sidney Kent, 20th Century Fox; N.J. Blumberg, Universal; [[Albert Warner]], Warner Bros., in 1938]] | ||
One summer day, the Schencks took a trolley ride to [[Fort George Amusement Park]], in uptown [[Manhattan]], and noticed that thousands of people were milling around idly waiting for the return trains. The brothers rented a beer concession and also provided some vaudeville entertainment. It was at this time that the Schencks made the acquaintance of [[Marcus Loew]], a theater operator. Loew persuaded them to buy two film theaters and the brothers started to work with Loew in the theater business.<ref name=varobit/> Between approximately 1907 and 1919, they reinvested in real estate for [[Nickelodeon movie theater| | One summer day, the Schencks took a trolley ride to [[Fort George Amusement Park]], in uptown [[Manhattan]], and noticed that thousands of people were milling around idly waiting for the return trains. The brothers rented a beer concession and also provided some vaudeville entertainment. It was at this time that the Schencks made the acquaintance of [[Marcus Loew]], a theater operator. Loew persuaded them to buy two film theaters and the brothers started to work with Loew in the theater business.<ref name=varobit /> Between approximately 1907 and 1919, they reinvested in real estate for [[Nickelodeon movie theater|nickelodeons]], [[vaudeville]], and eventually [[motion pictures]]. | ||
In 1910, the Schencks' theaters were grouped into Loew's Consolidated Enterprises.<ref name=varobit/> Loew, having noted the brothers' success, advanced them capital, permitting them to purchase [[Palisades Amusement Park]] in [[Bergen County, New Jersey]], directly across the river from Manhattan, in 1910. It remained in operation until 1971, although the brothers sold their interest in 1934.{{cn|date=October 2021}} | In 1910, the Schencks' theaters were grouped into Loew's Consolidated Enterprises.<ref name=varobit /> Loew, having noted the brothers' success, advanced them capital, permitting them to purchase [[Palisades Amusement Park]] in [[Bergen County, New Jersey]], directly across the river from Manhattan, in 1910. It remained in operation until 1971, although the brothers sold their interest in 1934.{{cn|date=October 2021}} | ||
Schenck eventually became Loew's right-hand man, helping him manage what rapidly grew into a vast theater chain. In 1919, Schenck was named as vice president and general manager of [[Loew's Inc.]]<ref name=varobit/> | Schenck eventually became Loew's right-hand man, helping him manage what rapidly grew into a vast theater chain. In 1919, Schenck was named as vice president and general manager of [[Loew's Inc.]]<ref name=varobit /> | ||
Joseph relocated to Hollywood, eventually becoming president of [[United Artists Corporation]]. He helped shepherd Loew's acquisition of [[Metro Pictures Corporation|Metro Pictures]] in 1920 and [[Goldwyn Pictures Corporation|Goldwyn Pictures]] in 1924 to keep the theaters supplied with product.<ref name=varobit/> | Joseph relocated to Hollywood, eventually becoming president of [[United Artists Corporation]]. He helped shepherd Loew's acquisition of [[Metro Pictures Corporation|Metro Pictures]] in 1920 and [[Goldwyn Pictures Corporation|Goldwyn Pictures]] in 1924 to keep the theaters supplied with product.<ref name=varobit /> | ||
Loew soon realized he needed someone in Hollywood to run his studio interests. Schenck seemed the obvious choice, but Loew concluded that he needed Schenck in New York to help run the theaters. He bought a studio headed by independent producer [[Louis B. Mayer]] in 1924, merging the Loew's Hollywood interests into [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] with Mayer as studio chief. For reasons that remain unknown, Mayer and Schenck disliked each other intensely; Mayer reportedly called Schenck "Mr. Skunk" in private.<ref>{{cite book|title=MGM: When the Lion Roars|last=Háy|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Háy (author)|year=1991|publisher=Turner Publications|isbn=978-1-878685-04-9|url=https://archive.org/details/mgmwhenlionroars0000hayp|url-access=registration}}</ref> It was the start of a testy relationship that would last for almost four decades. | Loew soon realized he needed someone in Hollywood to run his studio interests. Schenck seemed the obvious choice, but Loew concluded that he needed Schenck in New York to help run the theaters. He bought a studio headed by independent producer [[Louis B. Mayer]] in 1924, merging the Loew's Hollywood interests into [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] with Mayer as studio chief. For reasons that remain unknown, Mayer and Schenck disliked each other intensely; Mayer reportedly called Schenck "Mr. Skunk" in private.<ref>{{cite book|title=MGM: When the Lion Roars|last=Háy|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Háy (author)|year=1991|publisher=Turner Publications|isbn=978-1-878685-04-9|url=https://archive.org/details/mgmwhenlionroars0000hayp|url-access=registration}}</ref> It was the start of a testy relationship that would last for almost four decades. | ||
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By the middle of the decade, the price of MGM shares was sagging and stockholders were growing restive. On December 14, 1955, [[Arthur M. Loew]], the son of Marcus Loew, succeeded Nicholas Schenck as the company's president, although Schenck remained chairman of the board. The following year, when Arthur Loew resigned for health reasons, Schenck defied the other directors in the efforts to secure a new president. When [[Joseph R. Vogel]] became president, Schenck was named honorary chairman, but retired altogether later that same year. | By the middle of the decade, the price of MGM shares was sagging and stockholders were growing restive. On December 14, 1955, [[Arthur M. Loew]], the son of Marcus Loew, succeeded Nicholas Schenck as the company's president, although Schenck remained chairman of the board. The following year, when Arthur Loew resigned for health reasons, Schenck defied the other directors in the efforts to secure a new president. When [[Joseph R. Vogel]] became president, Schenck was named honorary chairman, but retired altogether later that same year. | ||
Nicholas Schenck divided his last years between his estates at [[Sands Point, New York|Sands Point]], [[Long Island]], and [[Miami Beach]]. The former, which he had purchased in 1942, consisted of a 20-acre (81,000 m<sup>2</sup>) property with a main house of 30 rooms, luxuriously appointed. It included a private movie theater and a 200-foot dock. | Nicholas Schenck divided his last years between his estates at [[Sands Point, New York|Sands Point]], [[Long Island]], and [[Miami Beach]]. The former, which he had purchased in 1942, consisted of a 20-acre (81,000 m<sup>2</sup>) property with a main house of 30 rooms, luxuriously appointed. It included a private movie theater and a 200-foot dock. | ||
===Personal life=== | ===Personal life=== | ||
Nicholas Schenck's first marriage ended in divorce. In 1927, he married socialite and former vaudeville entertainer [[Pansy Wilcox]] ( | Nicholas Schenck's first marriage ended in divorce. In 1927, he married socialite and former vaudeville entertainer [[Pansy Wilcox]] (1898–1987), whose brother was director [[Fred M. Wilcox (director)|Fred M. Wilcox]]. Her sister was actress Ruth Selwyn (1905–1954), wife of [[Edgar Selwyn]]. | ||
Nicholas and Pansy had three daughters: [[Marti Stevens (actress)|Marti]], who acted under the name Marti Stevens, Joanne (born August 1, 1932) and Nicola (born December 13, 1933, in New York). Nicola married actor [[Helmut Dantine]]; they had three children. She acted under the name Niki Dantine.{{cn|date=October 2021}} | Nicholas and Pansy had three daughters: [[Marti Stevens (actress)|Marti]], who acted under the name Marti Stevens, Joanne (born August 1, 1932) and Nicola (born December 13, 1933, in New York). Nicola married actor [[Helmut Dantine]]; they had three children. She acted under the name Niki Dantine.{{cn|date=October 2021}} | ||
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{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
==External links== | == External links == | ||
{{cc}} | |||
*{{IMDb name|11876255|Nicholas M. Schenck}} | *{{IMDb name|11876255|Nicholas M. Schenck}} | ||
*{{IMDb name|1560621|Mrs. Nicholas M. Schenck (Pansy)}} | *{{IMDb name|1560621|Mrs. Nicholas M. Schenck (Pansy)}} | ||
Latest revision as of 08:52, 25 November 2025
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Nicholas M. Schenck (November 14, 1880,[1] Rybinsk, Russia – March 4, 1969, Florida, U.S.) was a Russian-American film studio executive and businessman.
Biography
Early life
One of seven children, Schenck was born to a Jewish household[2] in Rybinsk, a town on the Volga River in the Yaroslavl Governorate of Tsarist Russia. With his parents, he and his brothers, George and Joseph, emigrated to the United States in 1892[1] where they settled in a tenement on New York's Lower East Side. Subsequently, he relocated to Harlem, the population of which at that time consisted primarily of Jewish and Italian immigrants.
Upon his arrival in the United States, he and his older brother Joseph worked as a team running errands and selling newspapers while studying at the New York College of Pharmacy at night.[3]
They subsequently began working in a drugstore in the Bowery. Within two years they had saved up enough money to buy out the drugstore's owner and opened another store on Third Avenue at 110th Street[3] and began casting about for other business ventures.
Career
One summer day, the Schencks took a trolley ride to Fort George Amusement Park, in uptown Manhattan, and noticed that thousands of people were milling around idly waiting for the return trains. The brothers rented a beer concession and also provided some vaudeville entertainment. It was at this time that the Schencks made the acquaintance of Marcus Loew, a theater operator. Loew persuaded them to buy two film theaters and the brothers started to work with Loew in the theater business.[3] Between approximately 1907 and 1919, they reinvested in real estate for nickelodeons, vaudeville, and eventually motion pictures.
In 1910, the Schencks' theaters were grouped into Loew's Consolidated Enterprises.[3] Loew, having noted the brothers' success, advanced them capital, permitting them to purchase Palisades Amusement Park in Bergen County, New Jersey, directly across the river from Manhattan, in 1910. It remained in operation until 1971, although the brothers sold their interest in 1934.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Schenck eventually became Loew's right-hand man, helping him manage what rapidly grew into a vast theater chain. In 1919, Schenck was named as vice president and general manager of Loew's Inc.[3]
Joseph relocated to Hollywood, eventually becoming president of United Artists Corporation. He helped shepherd Loew's acquisition of Metro Pictures in 1920 and Goldwyn Pictures in 1924 to keep the theaters supplied with product.[3]
Loew soon realized he needed someone in Hollywood to run his studio interests. Schenck seemed the obvious choice, but Loew concluded that he needed Schenck in New York to help run the theaters. He bought a studio headed by independent producer Louis B. Mayer in 1924, merging the Loew's Hollywood interests into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with Mayer as studio chief. For reasons that remain unknown, Mayer and Schenck disliked each other intensely; Mayer reportedly called Schenck "Mr. Skunk" in private.[4] It was the start of a testy relationship that would last for almost four decades.
In 1927, Marcus Loew died suddenly, leaving control of Loew's to Schenck. In 1929, William Fox, head of rival studio Fox Film Corporation, arranged to buy controlling interest from Schenck. When Mayer found out about the sale, he was outraged; although he was a Loew's vice president, he was not a shareholder and had no say in the deal. Mayer went to the Justice Department and, through his political connections, managed to get the deal stalled on antitrust grounds.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Shortly afterward, in the summer of 1929, Fox was seriously injured in a car accident. By the time he had recovered, the stock market crash had nearly wiped out his fortune. Schenck blamed Mayer for costing him millions, and this made an already icy relationship even worse. However, due to the stock market crash, the Loew's–Fox deal would have been dead even if the Justice Department had given the deal its blessing.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
By 1932, Schenck was running an entertainment empire that consisted of a thriving theater circuit and MGM. The conglomerate, which Schenck continued to manage closely from New York City, employed 12,000 people. Schenck, by demanding a tight production schedule, created tension with Mayer and Irving Thalberg, who was production chief until his early death in 1936. Nonetheless, thanks to Schenck's stringent management, MGM was successful, becoming the only film company that continued to pay dividends during the Great Depression.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Under Schenck's leadership, the studio produced a great quantity of films, and the studio system allowed it to retain a wide array of talent under its roof: Lon Chaney, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Clark Gable, Mickey Rooney, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Robert Taylor, the Jeanette MacDonald–Nelson Eddy team and many others. Schenck's adroit business sense made him a wealthy man. In 1927, he and Joseph were reported to be worth about $20 million (approximately $500 million in today's money, possibly more), with a combined yearly income of at least a million. By some estimates, Nicholas Schenck was the eighth richest individual in the United States during the 1930s.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
After World War II
Script error: No such module "Unsubst".Template:Template other Although Schenck's power and prestige were at their peak after World War II, times were changing, as television loomed on the horizon. Like many in the motion picture industry, however, Schenck adamantly refused to get involved with the new medium. In 1951, Louis B. Mayer had a falling out with Schenck over Dore Schary's position at MGM and Mayer was forced out of the studio.
By the middle of the decade, the price of MGM shares was sagging and stockholders were growing restive. On December 14, 1955, Arthur M. Loew, the son of Marcus Loew, succeeded Nicholas Schenck as the company's president, although Schenck remained chairman of the board. The following year, when Arthur Loew resigned for health reasons, Schenck defied the other directors in the efforts to secure a new president. When Joseph R. Vogel became president, Schenck was named honorary chairman, but retired altogether later that same year.
Nicholas Schenck divided his last years between his estates at Sands Point, Long Island, and Miami Beach. The former, which he had purchased in 1942, consisted of a 20-acre (81,000 m2) property with a main house of 30 rooms, luxuriously appointed. It included a private movie theater and a 200-foot dock.
Personal life
Nicholas Schenck's first marriage ended in divorce. In 1927, he married socialite and former vaudeville entertainer Pansy Wilcox (1898–1987), whose brother was director Fred M. Wilcox. Her sister was actress Ruth Selwyn (1905–1954), wife of Edgar Selwyn.
Nicholas and Pansy had three daughters: Marti, who acted under the name Marti Stevens, Joanne (born August 1, 1932) and Nicola (born December 13, 1933, in New York). Nicola married actor Helmut Dantine; they had three children. She acted under the name Niki Dantine.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Schenck owned and raced Thoroughbred horses. His filly Cobul, who raced under his wife's name, won the 1958 Astoria Stakes.
Death
Schenck died following a stroke in Florida in 1969.[3]
References
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External links
- Template:Trim/ Nicholas M. Schenck at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Template:Trim/ Mrs. Nicholas M. Schenck (Pansy) at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidataScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
- Pages with script errors
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- 1880 births
- 1969 deaths
- American amusement park businesspeople
- American film studio executives
- American racehorse owners and breeders
- American people of Russian-Jewish descent
- Film producers from New York (state)
- Businesspeople from Florida
- Businesspeople from New York City
- Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States
- People from Harlem
- People from Rybinsk
- Russian Jews
- People from Long Island
- People from Miami Beach, Florida
- Loews Cineplex Entertainment
- People from Sands Point, New York
- Film producers from Florida
- 20th-century American businesspeople