September 14, 1936: Irving Thalberg Dies

Irving Thalberg (left) and Norma Shearer

September 14, 1936: Irving Thalberg dies of pneumonia at his home in Santa Monica, California, outside Los Angeles. "The Boy Genius of Hollywood" was only 37 years old.

Irving Grant Thalberg was born on May 30, 1899 in Brooklyn. He had a congenital heart disease that doctors said would kill him before he reached the age of 30. After graduating from high school, he worked as a store clerk during the day and to gain some job skills took a night class in typing. He then found work as a secretary with Universal Studios' New York office, and was later made studio manager for their Los Angeles facility. There, he oversaw production of a hundred films during his three years with the company.

He partnered with Louis B. Mayer's new studio and, after it merged with two other studios, helped create Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He was made head of production of MGM in 1925, at 26, helping it become the most successful studio in Hollywood.

He produced 400 films, most of which bore his imprint and innovations, including story conferences with writers, sneak previews to gain early feedback, and extensive re-shooting of scenes to improve the film. In addition, he introduced horror films to audiences, and coauthored the Production Code, guidelines for morality followed by all studios. He synthesized and merged the world of stage drama and literary classics with Hollywood films.

Thalberg created numerous new stars and groomed their screen images, from all over the world. MGM's slogan "More Stars Than There Are In Heaven." Among them were Lon Chaney, Ramon Novarro, Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Spencer Tracy, Luise Rainer, and the Canadian actress he married in 1927, Norma Shearer. They had a son, Irving Jr., in 1930; and a daughter, Katharine, in 1935.

But he was working himself ragged, overtaxing his heart. His leading screenwriter, Al Lewin, had proposed doing a film based on a soon-to-be published book, Gone with the Wind. He wouldn't do it, saying, "Look, I have just made Mutiny on the Bounty and The Good Earth. And now you're asking me to burn Atlanta? No! Absolutely not! No more epics for me now. Just give me a little drawing-room drama. I'm tired. I'm just too tired." And he told Mayer, "No Civil War picture ever made a nickel."

He did not live to be proven wrong: He was soon diagnosed with pneumonia, and he died at his home on September 14, 1936. It took until December 1939 to make Gone with the Wind, and it became the biggest film in history.

The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, given out periodically by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1937, has been awarded to producers whose body of work reflected consistently high-quality films.

Shearer continued to act until 1942, and then married her children's ski instructor. She lived until 1983. Irving Thalberg Jr. became a philosophy author and professor, and died of cancer in 1987. He had 3 children. Katharine Thalberg moved to the ski resort town of Aspen, Colorado, opened a store there, married the Mayor, and lived until 2006. Between them, Irving Jr. and Katharine had 6 children.

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September 14, 1936 was a Monday. These baseball games were played:

* To make travel easier, the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Browns agreed to move their September 14 game back, making for a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis the day before. The Yankees swept, 10-7 and 3-1. Kemp Wicker won the opener, in relief of Lefty Gomez. Johnny Murphy, normally a reliever, went the distance in the nightcap. Over the 2 games, Lou Gehrig went 3-for-7 with 2 home runs, 2 walks, and 3 RBIs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio went 5-for-9 with 3 home runs, a walk, and 6 RBIs.

* The Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Athletics did the same thing, moving their September 14 game back for a doubleheader at League Park in Cleveland the day before. The Indians swept, 5-2 and 5-4. In the opener, Bob Feller set an American League record with 17 strikeouts. He also walked 9 batters. But he allowed only 2 runs on 2 hits, and went the distance. So it was a very strong performance. It was his 11th major league appearance. He was 17 years and 315 days old.

* The New York Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 7-5 at the Polo Grounds. Mel Ott went 1-for-1... with 3 walks. Carl Hubbell had to come in and pitch the last 5 innings in relief, but, despite giving up a home run to opposing pitcher Ed Heusser, advanced to 24-6 on the season. It was the 14th of what would end up as 24 consecutive decisions won by "King Carl" over the 1936 and '37 regular seasons, although he lost a game in the 1936 World Series.

* The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1 at Ebbets Field.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Bees, 6-0 at National League Park in Boston. Paul Derringer pitched a 5-hit shutout. This was the 1st of 5 seasons in which the former Boston Braves changed the name of their team and Braves Field, in order to wipe out the memory of their 115-loss season of 1935. It didn't catch on, and they changed back in 1941.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-4 and 6-5 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. The Phils led the nightcap 5-0 after 5 innings, but the Bucs came back, and forced extra innings. In the top of the 10th inning, Paul Waner singled Woody Jensen home with the winning run.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Boston Red Sox, 1-0 at Navin Field in Detroit. The ballpark was renamed Briggs Stadium in 1938, and Tiger Stadium in 1961. Tommy Bridges allowed 8 hits, but kept the shutout. Hank Greenberg was injured, and did not play for Detroit. Jimmie Foxx went 1-for-2 with 2 walks for Boston.

* The Chicago White Sox swept the Washington Senators, 5-4 and 11-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Clint Brown singled Jackie Hayes home with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning of the opener.