Lasky, one of the first pioneers of the Hollywood film industry and its first genuine 'mogul', was not only a consummate showman and entrepreneur, but a jack-of-all-trades. Born in San Francisco in September 1880, the son of a shoe salesman, he attended high school in San Jose and held down his first job at seventeen as a reporter for the San Francisco Post. He supplemented his scant income by moonlighting as a cornettist at local theatres. In 1899, he became infected with the prevailing gold fever and joined the rush to Alaska. He found no gold, but instead lost his own money. The next ten years saw him playing his cornet in Honolulu as the only white musician in the Royal Hawaiian Band, and then forming a vaudeville double act with his sister Blanche, touring on the East Coast and in Europe. By 1911, Lasky had established himself in New York. Already corpulent, balding, and wearing his trademark rimless glasses, looking every inch the promoter, Lasky started to produce musicals and comedy sketches for vaudeville. He also set up his own nightclub in New York, but it turned out a financial fiasco to the tune of $100,000. Having befriended the actor and writer Cecil B. DeMille, Lasky then decided to make his fortune in the burgeoning film industry. In this article, we will talk about Jesse L. Lasky's Biography including Net Worth, Age, Birthday, Height, Weight, Family, Children etc.
Jesse L. Lasky Biography
In 1913, along with DeMille and his brother-in-law Samuel Goldfish (later to become Samuel Goldwyn), Lasky established the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company with a starting capital of $26,500. His first feature was to be an epic western, The Squaw Man (1914), acquired for the then-princely sum of $15,000. It was to be filmed not at the regular facilities at Ft. Lee, New Jersey, but - for added realism - on location out west. Once arrived at their destination, Flagstaff, Arizona, Lasky and his companions found themselves in the middle of an old-fashioned range war between cattlemen and sheepmen. They wisely decided to keep on going and ended up in the small Californian town of Hollywood, where they rented a barn at the corner of Vine and Selma Street for $75 a month.
Production on the first ever feature shot in Hollywood began with one barn, one truck and a single camera (operated by Oscar Apfel) in January 1914. 'The Squaw Man' was a huge financial success, enabling Lasky to contract several new stars, including Blanche Sweet, Wallace Reid and Ina Claire. In 1915, he scooped his competitors again, by signing popular opera diva Geraldine Farrar to a three-picture deal for a fee of $20,000, a house (complete with servants), a chauffeur-driven limousine and a private railway carriage for her trip from, and back to, the Big Apple. At this time, the company counted among its regular roster, five directors, five cinematographers and some eighty contract players. All output was released through the Paramount Pictures Corporation, which had been formed by Adolph Zukor in partnership with Lasky, Goldfish and West Coast theatre proprietor W.W. Hodkinson. In 1916, Lasky merged with Zukor's Famous Players to become Famous Players Lasky (re-formed as Paramount in 1927), serving as vice president in charge of production under Zukor . In this capacity, he imprinted his artistic vision on much of the studio's output during the silent era, signing Rudolph Valentino for The Sheik (1921), discovering Maurice Chevalier in 1929, and so on. His input was also reflected in Paramount's overall predilection for adventure films and romances with a continental flavour. Paramount emerged from the silent era as the pre-eminent studio in Hollywood with the most cosmopolitan roster of stars and directors. Lasky himself became enormously wealthy, amassing a fortune estimated somewhere between $12 and $20 million - and losing it all during the Wall Street Crash.
Under pressure from the IRS and back-stabbed by his own personal assistant, Lasky was eventually ousted from his executive position at Paramount in 1932. Unsettled, he worked as an independent producer for Fox, then Warner Brothers and RKO. There was also a short-lived partnership with Mary Pickford in 1935, and, between 1938 and 1940, he produced his own radio talent show, 'Gateway to Hollywood'. During his final creative spell at Warners, he produced three seminal motion pictures: Sergeant York (1941), The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944) and Rhapsody in Blue (1945). For the last few years of his life, he was virtually unemployed. In 1957, Lasky finally returned to Paramount to work on a project which was to settle his dept with the IRS. He never completed it, dying in January 1958, almost forgotten by the industry he helped to create.
To know his complete profile, check the following table.
| Name | : | Jesse L. Lasky |
| Birth Name/Full Name | : | Jesse Louis Lasky |
| Nickname (s) | : | - |
| Other Name (s) | : | Jesse Lasky |
| Gender | : | Male |
| Date of Birth | : | September 13, 1880 |
| Birthplace | : | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Citizenship | : | American |
| Height | : | - m |
| Weight | : | - kg |
| Profession (s) | : | Additional Crew , Producer |
You may like:
Jesse L. Lasky Age in 2023 and Birthday Info
In this section, we will add Jesse L. Lasky's birthday-related information. Jesse L. Lasky was born in San Francisco, California, USA on September 13, 1880.He died on in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (heart attack). Check the below table for more information.
| Date of Birth | : | September 13, 1880 |
| Birth Place | : | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Country | : | United States |
| Date of Death | : | 1958-1-13 |
| Death Place | : | Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (heart attack) |
| Aged | : | 78 years |
| Next Birthday | : | 13 September, 2024 |
| Horoscope(Zodic Sign) | : | Virgo |
Jesse L. Lasky Height and Weight
Now we are going to add Jesse L. Lasky's Height (In Meter, Centi Meter, and Feet-Inches) and Weight (In Kilogram and Pounds). As weight changes frequently, we may not have the current weight of Jesse L. Lasky.
| Height in Meter | : | - m. |
| Height in Centimeter | : | - cm. |
| Height in Feet-inches | : | - |
| Weight in Kilogram | : | - kg |
| Weight in Pounds | : | - lb |
Jesse L. Lasky Family (Spouse, Children, Parents, Siblings, Relatives)
In this section, we will add Jesse L. Lasky's complete family information including his martial status, husbandorwife, children, parents, relatives, and siblings.
| Marital Status | : | Married |
| Spouse (s) | : | Bessie Ida Ginsberg (10 December 1909 - 13 January 1958) (his death) (3 children) |
| Children (s) | : | - |
| Parents (Father and Mother) | : | - |
| Relatives | : | - |
Jesse L. Lasky Social Accounts (Facebbok, Instagram, Twitter, Website)
In this section, we will add Jesse L. Lasky's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and personal website.
| : | Jesse L. Lasky Facebook | |
| : | Jesse L. Lasky Instagram | |
| : | Jesse L. Lasky Twitter | |
| Personal Website | : | Jesse L. Lasky Webiste |
Jesse L. Lasky Net Worth in 2023
Are you curious to know what was the net worth of Jesse L. Lasky at time when he died. The net worth of Jesse L. Lasky was $1-4 million. We do not guarantee the net worth of Jesse L. Lasky is the exact amount. This is based on several sources on the internet.
Jesse L. Lasky Facts and Trivia
Here is the list of top facts about Jesse L. Lasky.
- Cousin of director Mervyn LeRoy.
- Father of Jesse Lasky Jr. and Betty Lasky.
- Studio boss of Paramount Pictures.
- One of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
- In April 1911, Lasky and business partner Henry B. Harris opened a New York version of the Folies Bergère in Times Square. Five months later, Mae West made her Broadway debut there. In 1932, West signed with Lasky's motion picture company, Paramount Pictures.
- In 1932, he resigned from Paramount Pictures. By 1933, Paramount Publix, the parent company of Paramount Pictures was forced into bankruptcy, and placed into receivership.
- In 1933, Lasky became partners with Mary Pickford to produce films, but within several years, she dissolved their business relationship. Lasky then found work as a producer until 1945 when he formed his own production company.
- He was posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6433 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
- Following his death, he was interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, adjacent to Paramount Pictures, in Los Angeles, California.
- The day when Jesse L. Lasky was born was Monday.
FAQ
Below you can find the most frequently asked questions about Jesse L. Lasky in the context of this article.
What was the Net Worth of Jesse L. Lasky?
Where is the birthplace of Jesse L. Lasky?
How old was Jesse L. Lasky?
How tall was Jesse L. Lasky?
was Jesse L. Lasky married?
Conclusion
The information on this page about Jesse L. Lasky's Net worth, Age, Height, Family, etc is based on Wikipedia, IMDB, Forbes, and other trusted online sources. If you notice anything wrong, contact us. Hope you enjoyed the article. Do not hesitate to share your thoughts in the comment section.
