FATHERS OF THE SILVER SCREEN

In no leading American industry can one find more Jewish influence than in
motion pictures. A chronicler of its history has aptly written: "...Jewish
immigrants came from the shtetls and ghettos out to Hollywood. In this
magical place that had no relationship to any reality they had ever seen
before in their lives--or that anyone else had ever seen--they decided to
create their idea of an eastern aristocracy: the American dream, a Jewish
invention."
During filmdom's thirty or more formative years, the nation's
studios, theaters, talent agencies and distribution networks were almost
exclusively run by Jewish producers, executives and entrepreneurs. In spirit,
their founding of Hollywood was a hymn of gratitude to a vibrant and
accepting land to whose values and mythologies they were fully devoted.
They built an institution that would enthrall the world. Meet several who
helped make it so:

ADOLPH ZUKOR
(1873-1976) b. Ricse, Hungary Penny Arcades,
as they were called at the turn of the century, were
forerunners of today's movie houses. Zukor, who
previously worked as a furrier in New York and
Chicago, helped establish the concept in 1903.
Within nine years, he and his partner, Marcus
Loew, went on to build and control a national
chain of film theaters. But he foresaw greater
opportunity in lengthy, high quality screen productions. A breakthrough
came and a fortune was made when he imported the English-French film
Queen Elizabeth, starring Sarah Bernhardt. Among the first to exploit the
"star system," Zukor founded the Famous Players Company which
pioneered in bringing Broadway hits before the cameras, and produced The
Count ofMonte Cristo and The Prisoner of Zenda. He capped his career by
helping organize and preside over Paramount Pictures, then one the world's
largest film companies.
SAMUEL GOLDWYN
(1882-1974) b. Warsaw, Poland Nickelodeons,
another name for penny arcades, hopelessly
addicted the impoverished teen-ager--later a
successful glove factory owner who would become
one of the industry's reigning film executives. The
ansition came in 1913 when director Cecil B. de
Mille joined him in filming The Squaw Man,
possibly Hollywood's first feature-length movie.
For more than a half century, the increasingly powerful film producer with
almost unerring taste created such screen classics as: Street Scene,
Arrowsmith, Wuthering Heights, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Little
Foxes, Stella Dallas and The Best Years of Our Lives. The original partner
in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer later allied himself with United Artists and
introduced many popular actors and distinguished writers into the art.

HARRY COHN
(1891-1958) b. New York City He was said to
have a flair for alienating his actors, screenwriters
and directors, but Cohn succeeded in turning
Columbia pictures into one of Hollywood's most
profitable studios. The one-time vaudevillian and
fur salesman with relentless ambition entered the
studio turmoil of filmdom's early days as a New
York City movie distributor. He subsequently
headed west, formed Columbia in 1924 and began .production. The strong-
willed film magnate also had a flair for recognizing and grooming promising
talent; Rita Hayivorth and Kim Novak were but two. With Cohn at its helm,
Columbia issued many of -its historic screen gems, such as Lost Horizon,
Born Yesterday, From Here to Eternity, On the Waterfront and Bridge on
the River Kwai. •
- Saul Stadtmauer

"Jewish ingenuity and the American dream of freedom and opportunity
helped make the 20th Century the greatest in human history."
- Walter L. Field

Visit many more notable Jews at our website: www.dorledor.org

7/24

1998

COMMISSION FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF JEWISH HISTORY
Walter & Lea Field, Founders/Sponsors
Irwin S. Field, Co-chairperson
Harriet F. Siden, Co-chairperson

18 Detroit Jewish News

Nonstop To Israel

Organizers prepare third "hassle-free"
Miracle Mission to Israel next spring

HARRY KIRSBAUM
StaffWriter

F

ive-star hotels, the best tour
guides and absolutely "no
shlepping" are the selling -.
points of Miracle Mission III
next spring.
Already, over 420 people — or a
planeful — have signed up for the
April 18-28 journey to Israel, and
organizers expect to fill a second
plane. The $2,995 pricetag covers air-
fare, lodging, transportation and two
meals a day.
"It's the most hassle-free way to
visit Israel," said Ben Rosenthal, the
mission's chairman. "You check your
bags and get your boarding pass at the
Kahn Jewish Community Center on
Friday, take a carry-on bag aboard the
plane Sunday, and the bags follow you
to your hotel room Monday."
Emotions follow, too.
"Gathering at the hangar, seeing
two El Al jumbo jets ready for takeoff
and the Stars of
David on their tails
Climbers
— it gives you chills," on the
Rosenthal said. "It
Miracle
gives me chills, now."
Mission
The only time El
1995.
_Al flies direct from
Detroit is for the
Miracle Mission.
Monday's arrival in
Tel Aviv coincides
with Yom Hazikaron,
(Memorial Day),
which only partici-
pants of Miracle
Mission I witnessed.
The next day is
Yom Hiatzmaut,
(Independence Day),
and the mood goes
from solemn to joyous.
The third night's
party in Tiberias is
followed by a bus
tour through the
Galilee and a five-
night stay in
Jerusalem.
The first mission,
in 1993, attracted
1,284 travelers, but

the total dropped to 866 two years
later, as volunteer organizers said two
planeloads were all they could handle.
No mission was organized in 1997.
The price for 1999 is up $1,000
from the first mission and $500 from
the second one, in 1995. Both were
10-day excursions.
Howard Dembs, director of mar-
keting at the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, the primary
sponsor of the mission, attributed the
rise to a combination of land and air
fuel price increases, hotel rate hikes,
and "one less planeload equals a small-
er volume discount."
Dembs expects a "good mixture" of
first-timers and repeaters, but it is too
early to say how many of each there
will be.
There are already plans, however,
to create different itineraries for those
who have participated in previous
Miracle Missions, Rosenthal said.
All first-timers will visit the Museum
of the Diaspora, the Golan Heights, the

