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{{short description|American theatre producer}}{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2014}}

factoids

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.19901004mf=yes}}| death_place = New York City, U.S.| resting_place = Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery| education = Hollywood School for Girls| occupation = Theatrical producer| years_active = 1949–1961David O. Selznick1949|end=divorced}}| children = 2| parents = Louis B. MayerMargaret Shenberg Mayer}}Irene Gladys Selznick (née Mayer; April 2, 1907 – October 10, 1990) was an American socialite and theatrical producer.

Early life

Irene Gladys Mayer was born in Brooklyn, the younger of two sisters born to film producer Louis B. Mayer and his first wife, Margaret Shenberg Mayer.Her sister, Edith (1905–1987), was nicknamed "Edie."BOOK, Eyman, Scott, Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer, 2008, Simon and Schuster, 978-1-439-10791-1, 28–29, In March, 1930, Edith married William Goetz, who became the vice president of 20th Century Fox in 1941 and later became the head of production at Universal-International.Eyman 2008, p. 162.BOOK, Finler, Joel Waldo, The Hollywood Story, 2003, Wallflower Press, 1-903-36466-3, 54,weblink Selznick's paternal and maternal grandparents were Belarusian Jews who immigrated to Canada in the 1880s from Vilnius and Kaunas (then territories belonging to the Russian Empire).WEB, Wigan Marvin, Angela, Irene Mayer Selznick (1907-1909),weblink BOOK, Berg, A. Scott, Goldwyn: A Biography, 1998, Riverhead Trade, 1-573-22723-4, 9, The Mayer family initially lived in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and then moved to Hollywood in 1918. It was there that her father established Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, one of the more successful film studios of its time. She attended Hollywood School for Girls, a private school in Los Angeles.WEB, Pace, Eric, Irene Mayer Selznick Dies at 83; Producer of Broadway 'Streetcar',weblink The New York Times, October 11, 1990, She and her sister Edith both studied singing with Estelle Liebling, the voice teacher of Beverly Sills.THESIS, Estelle Liebling: An exploration of her pedagogical principles as an extension and elaboration of the Marchesi method, including a survey of her music and editing for coloratura soprano and other voices, Alandra, Dean Fowler, 1994, PhD, University of Arizona,

Marriage and career

File:Willebrandt and Mayer family at White House.jpg|Irene Mayer Selznick (second from right) with U.S. Assistant Attorney General Mabel Walker Willebrandt (right), her mother Margaret Shenberg Mayer (center), father Louis B. Mayer (second from left), and older sister Edith Mayer (left) at the thumb|right|290px Irene married producer David O. Selznick in 1930. Her husband came from an extremely dysfunctional but talented family, and he was one of the few men who stimulated her intellect. During the marriage, she acted as a hostess to the couple's Hollywood parties. The couple frequently socialized with Hollywood stars, including Ingrid Bergman, Janet Gaynor, and Katharine Hepburn.WEB, Irene Mayer Selznick's Album of Hollywood,weblink people.com, July 4, 1983, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160303230342weblink">weblink March 3, 2016, mdy-all, Selznick was also an executive at her husband's production company. Irene Selznick also did volunteer and charity work and worked as a probation officer for juveniles for Los Angeles County during World War II.WEB, Oliver, Myrna, Irene Mayer Selznick; Producer, Daughter of Movie Magnate,weblink Los Angeles Times, October 11, 1990, After separating from her husband in 1945, Irene Selznick moved to New York City, where she pursued her love of the theatre. In 1947, she worked with playwright Tennessee Williams and director Elia Kazan and produced her first play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which gave Marlon Brando his break-out role. The play's success brought her a great deal of respect, and she produced four more plays, among them 1955's The Chalk Garden for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She retired in 1961.Considered by her peers within the entertainment industry as one of the foremost historians of Hollywood and Broadway, Selznick published her autobiography, A Private View, in 1983.

Personal life

Mayer and Selznick had two sons, Lewis Jeffrey (1932–1997) and Daniel Selznick (born 1936), both of whom became film producers.BOOK, Bowers, Ronald L., The Selznick Players, 1976, A. S., 0-498-01375-8, 37, Daniel married Susan Warms Dryfoos, daughter of Orvil E. Dryfoos. "Susan Warms Dryfoos, Author, Wed To Daniel Mayer Selznick, a Producer", nytimes.com, October 9, 1989.However, David O. Selznick's constant philandering and frequent financial problems as a result of a gambling addiction led to their growing apart, which resulted in her leaving Selznick in 1945.JOURNAL, Koenig, Rhoda, He Lost It at the Movies, New York Magazine, November 9, 1992, 24, 44, 78,weblink New York Media, LLC, 0028-7369, Their divorce became final on January 22, 1949.BOOK, Green, Paul, Jennifer Jones: The Life and Films, 2011, McFarland, 978-0-786-46041-0, 105, She was a close friend of Katharine Hepburn for several decades, but distanced herself from her late in life.NEWS,weblink Bringing up Biographer, The New York Times, August 17, 2003, Gottlieb, Robert,

Death

Irene Mayer Selznick died on October 10, 1990, from complications from breast cancer at her apartment at The Pierre in Manhattan. Her remains were returned to California, where she was interred next to her mother in the Mausoleum, Hall of Graciousness, Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

Broadway productions

• A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)
• Bell, Book and Candle (1950)
• Flight Into Egypt (1952)
• The Chalk Garden (1955)
• The Complaisant Lover (1961)

Further reading

• BOOK, Selznick, Irene Mayer, A Private View, 1983, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 0-394-40192-1,
• Lafferty, Jennifer (2017) Movie Dynasty Princesses: Irene Mayer Selznick and Edith Mayer Goetz CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform {{ISBN|1973715252}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

• {{IMDb name|1245243}}
• {{IBDB name}}
• {{Find a Grave|6512}}

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