Arthur Freed

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Arthur Freed , actually Arthur Grossman (born September 9, 1894 in Charleston , South Carolina , † April 12, 1973 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American musical producer and songwriter. He produced numerous well-known musical films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .

Life

Arthur Freed grew up in Seattle. After graduating from school he worked as a pianist and song plugger for a Chicago music publisher. During this time he made the acquaintance of the Marx Brothers , whose vaudeville business he joined as a singer and composer. In 1921 he wrote the song " When Buddha Smiles " with Nacio Herb Brown ; his first big hit, " I Cried For You ", which he wrote with Gus Arnheim and Abe Lyman , was written in 1923.

After years of touring nightclubs and some engagements in Los Angeles, he was employed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the late 1920s . There he composed together with Nacio Herb Brown - he wrote the lyrics, Brown the music - the songs for a number of successful film musicals; 1929 written for The Broadway Melody , the hit " You Were Meant For Me " and " Broadway Melody " for The Hollywood Revue of 1929 " Singin 'in the Rain " and The Pagan (1929) " Pagan Love Song ". In the first half of the 1930s, Brown and Freed wrote more hits: " Temptation ", " All I Do Is Dream of You "; " You Are My Lucky Star " was created for the film musical Broadway-Melodie 1936 , " Good Morning " for music is our world .

Freed began his career as a producer with The Wizard of Oz from 1939. In the so-called Freed Unit , a subdivision at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for film musicals, Freed then acted as the producer of numerous successful musical films. He received an Oscar each for An American in Paris and Gigi . In 1952 Freed received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award .

In 1961 Freed left the MGM studios. From 1963 to 1966 he was President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and received an Honorary Oscar in 1968 for his services . In 1972 he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame .

In the 1980s, former child star Shirley Temple made public that she was molested by Arthur Freed in his office when she was 12. He had undressed in front of her, which made her laugh - without understanding what he wanted. He then threw her out of his office.

Filmography (selection)

literature

  • Fordin, Hugh "MGM's Greatest Musicals - the Arthur Freed Unit", New York 1996 (Original edition: "The world of entertainment! Hollywood's Greatest Musicals", New York, 1975)

Documentary film

  • Singin 'in the Rain - The most beautiful Hollywood musicals (Original title: Musicals Great Musicals - The Arthur Freed Unit at MGM ). American-British-French-Japanese documentary by David Thompson (1996). Color + b / w, 86 minutes [contained on Singin 'in the Rain. Special edition . 2 DVD set. Warner Home Video 2002]

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Condé Nast: The Art of the Creep: When Good Movies Happen to Bad People. Accessed December 2, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Freed, Arthur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Grossman, Arthur (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American musical producer and songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH September 9, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Charleston , South Carolina, USA
DATE OF DEATH April 12, 1973
Place of death Los Angeles , California