Biography for
David O. Selznick More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

10 May 1902, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Date of Death

22 June 1965, Hollywood, California, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name

David Selznick

Height

6' 1" (1.85 m)

Mini Biography

David O. Selznick was a son of the silent movie producer Lewis J. Selznick. David studied at Columbia University until his father lost his fortune in the 1920s. David started work as an MGM script reader, shortly followed by becoming an assistant to Harry Rapf. He left MGM to work at Paramount then RKO. He was back at MGM in 1933 after marrying Irene Mayer Selznick the daughter of Louis B. Mayer. In 1936, he finally set up his own production company, Selznick International. Three directors and fifteen scriptwriters later, Gone with the Wind (1939) was released.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Crook

Spouse

Jennifer Jones	(13 July 1949 - 22 June 1965) (his death) 1 child
Irene Mayer Selznick	(29 April 1930 - 21 January 1949) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

Son of producer Lewis J. Selznick.

Brother of agent Myron Selznick.

David and Irene Mayer Selznick had two sons, L. Jeffrey Selznick and Daniel Selznick.

On May 11, 1976, Selznick's 22-year-old daughter Mary Jennifer (by his second wife Jennifer Jones) killed herself by jumping from the tallest building in Westwood (Los Angeles) while her psychotherapist was away on vacation. It was two days after Mother's Day and one day after what would have been her father's 74th birthday. Jennifer Jones subsequently became a therapist herself.

He abandoned his career at MGM after marrying Irene Mayer Selznick, the daughter of MGM studio chief Louis B. Mayer, and moved to RKO. He eventually returned to MGM after the loss of production genius Irving Thalberg. This led to the famous observation that "The son-in-law also rises", a play on words of the Ernest Hemingway novel "The Sun Also Rises".

Despite being considerably taller and bulkier than director George Cukor, Selznick bore a striking resemblance to him. He would later collaborate with Cukor on Gone with the Wind (1939), from which Cukor was eventually fired by Selznick. Nevertheless, the two remained friends for the rest of their lives.

In order to fulfill his picture obligation to United Artists, Selznick brought over Alfred Hitchcock from Europe to produce/direct Selznick's UA projects while he devoted the bulk of his time to Gone with the Wind (1939).

Responsible for casting four actresses in roles that made them stars: Katharine Hepburn in A Bill of Divorcement (1932), Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939), Joan Fontaine in Rebecca (1940) and Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette (1943).

According to the 2005 book "Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer" by Scott Eyman, Selznick sold his interest in Gone with the Wind (1939) to former Selnick International chairman John Hay Whitney ("Jock") for a mere $200,000. This was undoubtedly the worst deal Selznick ever made, as the classic film has and always will continue to generate enormous revenue through theatrical reissues, TV broadcasts, and home video release.

Is portrayed by Ron Berglas in RKO 281 (1999) (TV) and by Tony Curtis in The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980) (TV).

Selznick was famed for his long, detailed and incredibly involved -- and, to many of the people who received them, maddening -- memos sent to many different people during the production of a film, not just the director or writer but cameramen, editors, and pretty much anyone who had anything to do with the picture. A publicist on one of his films once got a Western Union telegram from Selznick that ended up being more than 30 feet long and finished up with, "I have just received a phone call that pretty much clears up this matter. Therefore you can disregard this wire." These famed memos are the subject of an entire book "Memo From David Selznick" edited by Rudy Behlmer. According to Behlmer, Selznick dictated his every thought to secretaries from 1916-1965 in memos that filled 2,000 file boxes.

Is the only producer winner back-to-back of the Academy Award for Best Picture for Gone with the Wind (1939) and Rebecca (1940).

The "O" in his middle name, though it has a period after it, doesn't stand for anything. He added it because he felt it gave flair to his name.

Profiled in in J.A. Aberdeen's "Hollywood Renegades: The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers". Palos Verdes Estates, CA: Cobblestone Entertainment

In 1935, Greta Garbo signed a contract with MGM saying only Irving Thalberg and Selznick could supervise her pictures. After the surprise success of Anna Karenina (1935) with Garbo, David O. Selznick announced that he was leaving MGM to start his own company. Garbo begged him to stay at MGM, saying he could solely produce her pictures. Selznick turned down her offer, saying he had bigger ambitions. It is interesting to note that she only acted in four other films after that: Camille (1936), Conquest (1937), Ninotchka (1939), and Two-Faced Woman (1941), and only two were box-office successes. MGM modified the contract after Thalberg's surprise death in 1936, and Garbo was reportedly furious by this decision.

When Selznick announced he was starting his own production company, Irving Thalberg called him to ask If he had any financing yet. Selznick replied, "Not a nickel." Thalberg, usually quite careful with money, said, "Well, me and Norma [wife Norma Shearer] would like to give you $250,000 to get on your feet." Thalberg thus became the first financier of Selznick Enterprises.

By the late 1940s Selznick International was making very few movies and became a talent agency by default, deriving needed income by loaning out its contract stars to other studios.

In 1936, he paid author Margaret Mitchell $50,000 for the movie rights to her novel "Gone With the Wind". Later, after Gone with the Wind (1939) became a blockbuster film, he realized he had underpaid Mitchell and gave her an additional $50,000.

Uncle of Joyce Selznick.

Cousin of Patricia A. Selznick.

Cousin of Brian Selznick.

Hated the "baby doll" eye brow look that was made popular by Max Factor and sported by the majority of Hollywood actresses during the 1930s. He insisted that two of his contract players Vivien Leigh and Ingrid Bergman, sport a more natural look.

Was responsible for bringing Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman over to the United States by signing her to a long term contract to Selznick Pictures, Inc.

Signed Gene Kelly to his first Hollywood contract after seeing him star in "Pal Joey" on Broadway. He sold Kelly's contact to MGM before he could find a suitable film role for him.

Personal Quotes

"The way I see it, my function is to be responsible for everything."

"The difference between me and other producers is that I am interested in the thousands and thousands of details that go into the making of a film. It is the sum total of all these things that either makes a great picture or destroys it".

"I have never gone after honors instead of dollars. But I have understood the relationship between the two."

"Very few people have mastered the art of enjoying their wealth. I have mastered the art, and therefore spend time enjoying myself."

"I don't want to be normal. Who wants to be normal?" "Once photographed, life here is ended." "It's somehow symbolic of Hollywood that Tara was just a facade, with no rooms inside." "There might have been good movies if there had been no movie industry."

"I have no middle name...I had an uncle, whom I greatly disliked, who was also named David Selznick, so in order to to avoid any growing confusion between the two of us, I decided to take a middle initial and went through the alphabet to find one that seemed to give me the best punctuation and decided on 'O'."

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