Mervyn Leroy Biography (1900-1987)

Born October 15, 1900, in San Francisco, CA; died of Alzheimer's disease, September 13, 1987, in Beverly Hills, CA; son of Harry and Edna (maiden name, Armer) LeRoy; married Kathryn Spiegel, 1946. Career: Director, producer,actor, and screenwriter. Awards, Honors: Academy Award nomination, best picture, 1940, for The Wizard of Oz; Academy Award nomination, bestdirector, 1942, for Random Harvest; Honorary Academy Award, 1946, forThe House I Live In(with Frank Ross); Victoire du Cinema Francais Award, 1954; Cecil B. DeMille Award, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, 1957;Academy Award, Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, 1976.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Director, producer, actor, screenwriter
Birth Details: October 15, 1900; San Francisco, California, United States
Death Details: September 13, 1987; Beverly Hills, California, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Work
Director, Unless Noted Otherwise
No Place to Go, 1927
Naughty Baby, 1928
Flying Romeos, 1928
Harold Teen, 1928
Oh Kay!, 1928
Broadway Babies, 1929
Hot Stuff, 1929
Little Johnny Jones, 1929
Top Speed, 1930
Little Caesar, 1930
Playing Around, 1930
Show Girl in Hollywood, 1930
Numbered Men, 1930
Too Young to Marry (also known as Broken Dishes), 1931
Tonight or Never, 1931
Local Boy Makes Good, 1931
Gentleman's Fate, 1931
Five Star Final, 1931
Broadminded, 1931
Two Seconds, 1932
High Pressure, 1932
The Heart of New York, 1932
Big City Blue, 1932
Three on a Match, 1932
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (also known as I Am a Fugitive and I Am a Fugitive from the Chain Gang), 1932
The World Changes, 1933
Tugboat Annie, 1933
Hard to Handle, 1933
Elmer the Great, 1933
Gold Diggers of 1933 (also known as High Life), 1933
Sweet Adeline, 1934
Hi, Nellie!, 1934
Heat Lightening, 1934
Happiness Ahead, 1934
Oil for the Lamps of China, 1935
I Found Stella Parish, 1935
Page Miss Glory, 1935
Three Men on a Horse, 1936
Anthony Adverse, 1936
They Won't Forget, 1937
The King and the Chorus Girl (also known as Romance is Sacred), 1937
Fools for Scandal, 1938
Waterloo Bridge, 1940
Escape (also known as When the Door Opened), 1940
Johnny Eager, 1941
Blossoms in the Dust, 1941
Unholy Partners, 1941
Random Harvest, 1942

Madame Curie, 1943
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, 1944
The House I Live In, 1945
Without Reservations (also known as Thanks God, I'll Take It from Here), 1946
Homecoming, 1948
East Side, West Side, 1949
Any Number Can Play, 1949
Little Women, 1949
Quo Vadis?, 1951
Million Dollar Mermaid (also known as The One Piece Bathing Suit), 1952
Lovely to Look At, 1952
Latin Lovers, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1953
Rose Marie, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1954
Strange Lady in Town, Warner Bros., 1955
Mister Roberts, Warner Bros., 1955
Toward the Unknown (also known as Brink of Hell), Warner Bros., 1956
The Bad Seed, Warner Bros., 1956
Home Before Dark, Warner Bros., 1958
No Time for Sergeants, Warner Bros., 1958
The FBI Story, Warner Bros., 1959
Wake Me When It's Over, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960
A Majority of One, Warner Bros., 1961
The Devil at 4 O'clock, Columbia, 1961
Gypsy, Warner Bros., 1962
Mary, Mary, Warner Bros., 1963
Moment to Moment, Universal, 1966
(Uncredited) Associate director, The Green Berets, Warner Bros., 1968
Producer
They Won't Forget, 1937
Mr. Dodd Takes the Air, 1937
Marry the Girl, 1937
The King and the Chorus Girl (also known as Romance is Sacred), 1937
Fools for Scandal, 1938
Dramatic School, 1938
The Wizard of Oz, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939
Stand Up and Fight, 1939
At the Circus (also known as The Marx Brothers at the Circus), 1939
The House I Live In, 1945
Little Women, 1949
Rose Marie, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1954
Strange Lady in Town, Warner Bros., 1955
The Bad Seed, Warner Bros., 1956
Toward the Unknown (also known as Brink of Hell), Warner Bros., 1956
No Time for Sergeants, Warner Bros., 1958
Home Before Dark, Warner Bros., 1958
The FBI Story, Warner Bros., 1959
Wake Me When It's Over, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1960
The Devil at 4 O'clock, Columbia, 1961
A Majority of One, Warner Bros., 1961
Gypsy, Warner Bros., 1962
Mary, Mary, Warner Bros., 1963
Moment to Moment, Universal, 1966
Other Film Work
Comedy construction, Sally, 1925
Comedy construction, Irene, 1926
Comedy construction, Orchids and Ermine, 1927
(Uncredited) Studio advisor, The Green Berets, 1968
Film Appearances
George Nelson, jockey, Little Johnny Jones, 1923
The bellboy, Going Up, 1923
Jack Rawlins, The Call of the Canyon, 1923
Carl Fisher, Broadway After Dark, 1924
Duke (the jockey) The Chorus Lady, 1924
(Uncredited) Himself, You Can't Fool a Camera, 1941
(Uncredited) Man briefly dining with "Kit," Without Reservations (also known as Thanks God, I'll Take It From Here), 1946
Television Appearances
Specials
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic, CBS, 1990
WRITINGS
Screenplays
Ella Cinders, 1926
Books
It Takes More than Talent, 1953
Mervyn LeRoy: Take One, 1974

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

Film Comment, March 1996, p. 74, p. 77.*

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