April 17, 1924: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Is Founded

April 17, 1924: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. is founded in Los Angeles, by Marcus Loew, owner of Metro Pictures and the Loew's theater chain; Samuel Goldwyn owner of Goldwyn Pictures; and Louis B. Mayer, owner of Louis B. Mayer Pictures. "MGM" came to practically define the American film industry – in ways both wonderful and not-so-wonderful.

Goldwyn brought his Leo the Lion logo, and his slogan, the Latin "Ars Gratia Artis," meaning "Art for Art's Sake," with him from his previous studio. Howard Dietz, Goldwyn's chief publicist, created the logo and the slogan for Goldwyn Pictures in 1916. Why a lion? It was the mascot of Dietz' Alma Mater, Columbia University. (Maybe he should have worked for Columbia Pictures.)

The 1st MGM film, released on June 23, 1924, was Revelation, starring Viola Dana as a dancer whose fortunes change when a painting of her becomes famous. Like all motion pictures of the time, it was silent, and filmed in black & white.

Marcus Loew did not live to enjoy the studio's great successes. He never even saw a full-length talking picture: He died of a heart attack, only 57 years old, on September 5, 1927, a month before Warner Brothers premiered The Jazz Singer. Three months later, on January 5, 1928, MGM released its first sound film, an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, but with a happy ending. The title was changed to simply Love, so it could be billed as "John Gilbert and Greta Garbo in Love."

(The film had been released the year before, silent, but a voice track was added for the re-release. It would be 1930 before Anna Christie was released, Garbo's 1st official talking picture, with the slogan, "GARBO TALKS!" She did so many serious, even tragic roles that, in 1939, when she did her 1st comedy, Ninotchka, it was advertised with "GARBO LAUGHS!")

The advent of sound films also meant a recording of the lion roaring, which has been adapted a few times. Starting in the 1930s, MGM's slogan became "More stars than there are in Heaven." Dietz wrote that slogan, too. The studio became known for big splashy musicals, especially once color arrived, including The Wizard of Oz in 1939.

Of course, those stars were kept under tight control, including having "morality clauses" in their contracts, to avoid the many scandals of the silent era. Wizard of Oz star Judy Garland was an especially tragic case: They starved her to keep her weight down, and also gave her diet pills. Then they gave her amphetamines to keep her awake and working late. Apparently, child labor laws, and child endangerment laws, did not apply on the MGM lot.

The studio also became known for film series, including 6 Tarzan films from 1932 to 1942, 6 Thin Man films from 1934 to 1947, 16 Andy Hardy films starring Mickey Rooney (and sometimes co-starring Garland) from 1937 to 1958, 9 Dr. Kildare films from 1938 to 1942, and 6 Lassie films from 1943 to 1949. They've also made 5 different versions of Ben-Hur, and MGM's "Golden Age" is said to span from the 1926 silent version until the 1959 color version that won a then-record 11 Academy Awards.

In 1956, MGM sold the Loew's theater chain. In 1980, it acquired the bankrupt United Artists, giving it the rights to, among other things, the James Bond, Pink Panther and Rocky franchises. Through April 17, 2022, MGM's 6 highest-grossing films are Bond films; and 15 of its top 22 are either Bond films or Rocky films. (UPDATE: With the release of Creed III in 2023, make it 16 of its top 23.)

Louis B. Mayer died in 1957, aged 73. Samuel Goldwyn lived until 1974, though his age was in dispute: He claimed to have been 91, but records suggest he may have been as much as 94. Howard Dietz lived on until 1983, at 86.

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April 17, 1924 was a Thursday. These baseball games were played that day:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox, 9-1 at Fenway Park in Boston. Alex Ferguson -- not the later manager of English soccer team Manchester United -- went the distance for the win, outpitching Waite Hoyt.

Babe Ruth went 1-for-4. Lou Gehrig was still a prospect at this point, and did not play in this season until August 31. Also a prospect was Earle Combs, a 24-year-old center fielder from Kentucky, who made his major league debut the day before, collecting a pinch-hit single. Combs went on to be the earliest-playing Yankee center fielder in the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Joe DiMaggio was elected earlier.)

* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Robins (as the Dodgers were known when Wilbert Robinson managed them from 1914 to 1931), 3-2 at the Polo Grounds. George "High Pockets" Kelly singled Henry "Heinie" Groh home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning. Wayland Dean outpitched Charles "Dazzy" Vance, both of whom went the distance.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Washington Senators, 4-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 6-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. George Sisler went 2-for-5.

* The Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates were rained out at Redland Field in Cincinnati. (The ballpark was later renamed Crosley Field.) The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on May 4. The Reds swept, 2-0 and 5-4. Adolfo "Dolf" Luque, one of the earliest Hispanic players, a Cuban so light-skinned that he was counted as "white" and thus allowed to play in the major leagues, allowed 7 hits in the 1st game, but pitched a shutout.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Rogers Hornsby went 1-for-4.

* The Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers were rained out at Navin Field in Detroit. (The ballpark was later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium.) The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 19. The Indians won the opener, 16-5. The Tigers won the nightcap, 3-2, when Lu Blue doubled Bob "Fats" Fothergill home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th. Between the 2 games, Ty Cobb went 1-for-8 with a walk, and Tris Speaker went 2-for-8 with 2 walks and an RBI. Each was his respective team's manager by this point.

* And the Boston Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies were rained out at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The game was made up as part of a doubleheader on June 23. The Phils swept, 7-3 and 11-7.