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Carl Laemmle, Jr.

 
Actor: Carl Laemmle, Jr.
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Apr 28, 1908 in Chicago, Illinois
  • Died: 1979
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '30s
  • Major Genres: Drama, Romance
  • Career Highlights: The Bride of Frankenstein, Frankenstein, Dracula
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Biography

Carl Laemmle, Jr. began his career as producer and production executive while he was still a teen when his famous father -- the entrepreneurial founder of the Independent Motion Picture Company of America (aka. IMP) which eventually merged with other smaller companies to become Universal Studios -- hired him to supervise short films. When he was 21, Laemmle Jr. was promoted to Universal's production chief. One of his first moves was to call for the production of higher quality films. One of the first he produced, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), won an Oscar. Soon Universal was releasing a number of highly acclaimed films. It also began producing it's famous cycle of horror movies like Frankenstein, Dracula (both 1931), and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Unfortunately, to produce such high-quality films, much money must be spent. His financial extravagance caused difficulty for Universal during the Depression and he had to resign. He then went on to make independent productions in 1936, but none were terribly successful. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Carl Laemmle, Jr.
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Carl Laemmle, Jr.

Carl Laemmle holding the Oscar trophy he won in 1930 for producing All Quiet on the Western Front.
Born Julius Laemmle
April 28, 1908(1908-04-28)
Chicago, Illinois
Died September 24, 1979 (aged 71)
Los Angeles, California
Years active 1926 - 1936

Carl Laemmle Jr. (28 April 1908 – 24 September 1979) was in charge of production at Universal Studios from about 1928 to 1936. He was the son of Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures. Laemmle, called “Junior”, by his friends and family, developed a reputation for spending too much money at the studios on several films that did not earn back their cost. During his tenure, Universal had great success with All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Dracula (1931), Waterloo Bridge (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Old Dark House (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), Imitation of Life (1934) (a film which Laemmle Jr. did not personally produce), and Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

However, by the end of 1935, the studio had spent so much and had had so many flops that J. Cheever Cowdin proposed to buy out the Laemmles. The great success, financially and critically, of the 1936 film Show Boat, based on the famous stage musical, was not enough to correct the downslide, and the two Laemmles, father and son, were both forced out of the company. Neither of them worked on another film again, despite the fact that Carl, Jr. lived another forty-three years. Charles R. Rogers became the new head of production at Universal.

Laemmle, Jr., died from a stroke at the age of 71. He was entombed in the Chapel Mausoleum at Home of Peace Cemetery.

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