born Jan. 17, 1867, Laupheim, Ger.
died Sept. 24, 1939, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.
German-born U.S. film producer.
After immigrating to the U.S. in 1884, he worked at various jobs in Chicago before opening a nickelodeon there in 1906 and becoming a leading film distributor. He founded the Independent Motion Picture Co. in 1909 and induced stars such as Universal Pictures , and in 1915 he opened its 230-acre studio in California. His employees included {{link=Thalberg, Irving Grant">Irving Thalberg and Harry Cohn . He is considered the father of the Hollywood star system. Financial setbacks forced him to sell the company in 1935.