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An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood
Alternate cover for ISBN10: 0385265573 / ISBN13: 9780385265577
503 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1988
280 people are currently reading
2863 people want to read
About the author
Neal Gabler
13 books170 followersNeal Gabler is a distinguished author, cultural historian and television commentator who has been called “one of America’s most important public intellectuals.” His first book, An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood, won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History and the Theatre Library Association Award for the best book on television, radio or film. On the centenary of the first public exhibition of motion pictures in America, a special panel of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named it one of the one hundred outstanding books on the American film industry. His second book, Winchell: Gossip, Power and the Culture of Celebrity, was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and was named the non-fiction book of the year by Time Magazine. His third book, Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality, is currently being used in college courses across the country to examine the convergence of reality and entertainment. His fourth book, Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination, a New York Times best-seller, was named the biography of the year by USA Today and won Mr. Gabler his second Los Angeles Times Book Prize. It was also the runner-up for the prestigious Kraszna-Krausz Book Award in England. His new book, Barbra Streisand: Redefining Beauty, Femininity and Power, was published by Yale Univ Press this past April as part of its Jewish Lives series.
Mr. Gabler was graduated with high distinction and highest honors from the University of Michigan and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He holds advanced degrees in film and American Culture. He has also taught at the University of Michigan, where he won an outstanding teaching award, and at the Pennsylvania State University. Leaving academe, he was selected to replace departing co-hosts Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on the public television movie review program, “Sneak Previews.” He has also been the host of the American Movie Classics cable television network, of “Reel to Real” on the History Channel, and of “Reel Thirteen” on WNET, the public television station in New York, for which he won an Emmy.
Mr. Gabler is a contributing editor at Playboy and a regular contributor to the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and Reuters Opinion, and his essays and articles have appeared in Atlantic, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, The Nation, The New Republic, Men’s Journal, George, Time, TV Guide, Variety and many other publications. In 2014, he won the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award from the Los Angeles Press Club. He has also been a contributor to the Fox News Channel and served as a panelist on the weekly media review program “Fox News Watch” from 2002 to 2007. One television critic called him a “megawatt brain…whose take on media coverage was fiercely individualistic, profound and original.” He has made appearances on “The Today Show,” “CBS Morning News,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Charlie Rose” and the PBS “NewsHour.” And this year he is contributing a weekly column to billmoyers.com on the election and the media
Mr. Gabler has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Shorenstein Fellowship at Harvard University, a Freedom Forum Fellowship, and was a Woodrow Wilson Public Policy Scholar. He has also been the chief non-fiction judge of the National Book Awards and a judge of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. He is currently a senior fellow at the Norman Lear Center for the Study of Society and Entertainment at the University of Southern California and is a Visiting Professor in the MFA Literature and Writing program at SUNY Stony Brook. He was also the 2013 recipient of the Patrick Henry Writing Fellowship at Washington College. His older daughter Laurel was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford where she received her doctorate in Public Health. She is currently matriculating at Harvard Medical School. His younger daughter Tanne taught in the World Teach program in American Samoa, was an A
Mr. Gabler was graduated with high distinction and highest honors from the University of Michigan and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He holds advanced degrees in film and American Culture. He has also taught at the University of Michigan, where he won an outstanding teaching award, and at the Pennsylvania State University. Leaving academe, he was selected to replace departing co-hosts Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on the public television movie review program, “Sneak Previews.” He has also been the host of the American Movie Classics cable television network, of “Reel to Real” on the History Channel, and of “Reel Thirteen” on WNET, the public television station in New York, for which he won an Emmy.
Mr. Gabler is a contributing editor at Playboy and a regular contributor to the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and Reuters Opinion, and his essays and articles have appeared in Atlantic, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, The Nation, The New Republic, Men’s Journal, George, Time, TV Guide, Variety and many other publications. In 2014, he won the National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award from the Los Angeles Press Club. He has also been a contributor to the Fox News Channel and served as a panelist on the weekly media review program “Fox News Watch” from 2002 to 2007. One television critic called him a “megawatt brain…whose take on media coverage was fiercely individualistic, profound and original.” He has made appearances on “The Today Show,” “CBS Morning News,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Charlie Rose” and the PBS “NewsHour.” And this year he is contributing a weekly column to billmoyers.com on the election and the media
Mr. Gabler has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Shorenstein Fellowship at Harvard University, a Freedom Forum Fellowship, and was a Woodrow Wilson Public Policy Scholar. He has also been the chief non-fiction judge of the National Book Awards and a judge of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. He is currently a senior fellow at the Norman Lear Center for the Study of Society and Entertainment at the University of Southern California and is a Visiting Professor in the MFA Literature and Writing program at SUNY Stony Brook. He was also the 2013 recipient of the Patrick Henry Writing Fellowship at Washington College. His older daughter Laurel was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford where she received her doctorate in Public Health. She is currently matriculating at Harvard Medical School. His younger daughter Tanne taught in the World Teach program in American Samoa, was an A
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
December 13, 2008
Not that it was bad but I was disappointed in this book. The subjects that interested me the most, the majority of movies made then portraying characters that represented how the Jews viewed themselves in American society, the schisms between the more established Jews who had immigrated from Germany and the ones from eastern European countries, the muscling in and manipulation of Hollywood by Jewish political groups like the ADL and AJC, and the gradual evolution of Hollywood into a tool of global social engineering, were barely touched on. If you are more interested in personality profiles of the early Hollywood movie moguls then this book is right up your alley though.
January 17, 2015
Almost all the major film studios were started by Jewish immigrants who rose to amazing power from the 1920s to the 1950s (when the corporations took over). They were able to do this partly because gentile elites looked down on the movies. A major thesis of the book is that these moguls who were immigrants and Jewish shaped America's self-image through their films, which in no way reflected their own lives. Think "It's a Wonderful Life," etc. And they exaggerated the portrayal of American life as a sort of over-compensation for what they thought were their own short-comings (as immigrants and non-Christians). Also, they were very fearful of governmental intervention in their industry (which came eventually), so they vigorously supported conservatives and Republicans (with a few exceptions).
An interesting book, but more than I really wanted to know about most of the moguls -- except for Irving Thalberg, Harry Cohn and Frank Capra (a director rather than a studio boss and a favorite of mine).
I was very interested, however, in the role of Jews in the film industry in Hollywood politics from the 1930s to the 1950s, when many Jews in the industry were active Communists or sympathizers. NOT the studio bosses, of course, so there was a huge division within the Jewish community in Hollywood between the conservative/reactionary bosses and screenwriters and other film making technicians. So another piece of the conservative motivations of the studio bosses was to combat the emerging and largely left-wing unions--led by other Jews.
Much of this came to a head with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee investigations of the film industry (19302-1950s). I was unaware just how much antisemitism motivated the investigations and how that complicated the reactions of the Hollywood players--both bosses and workers.
An interesting book, but more than I really wanted to know about most of the moguls -- except for Irving Thalberg, Harry Cohn and Frank Capra (a director rather than a studio boss and a favorite of mine).
I was very interested, however, in the role of Jews in the film industry in Hollywood politics from the 1930s to the 1950s, when many Jews in the industry were active Communists or sympathizers. NOT the studio bosses, of course, so there was a huge division within the Jewish community in Hollywood between the conservative/reactionary bosses and screenwriters and other film making technicians. So another piece of the conservative motivations of the studio bosses was to combat the emerging and largely left-wing unions--led by other Jews.
Much of this came to a head with the House UnAmerican Activities Committee investigations of the film industry (19302-1950s). I was unaware just how much antisemitism motivated the investigations and how that complicated the reactions of the Hollywood players--both bosses and workers.
December 21, 2007
Another book that reminds us how boring America would be without Jews.
August 17, 2019
Before every film was a bloated 200 million dollar franchise fest, movies were about people. And back in the halcyon days of moviemaking, studios and the films they produced took after those people. The first Hollywood moguls are the subject of An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood. Meticulously researched and well-paced, Neal Gabler’s book is a fantastic addition to any classic film lover’s library.
Gabler gives each of the studio founders an exhaustive opening chapter. He traces their routes from eastern Europe to America and their various ways into show business. Most started out by owning and operating theaters. Others got their entry through distribution. They all transitioned into making movies of their own because it made sense. There’s more money to be made when you own the product.
The movies they produced were largely reflective of the attitudes of the men in charge. Paramount founder Adolph Zukor was streetwise and tough but he aspired to be witty and urbane. So his movies were. The Warner Brothers were the outcasts so their films featured heroes who fit the bill. Louis B. Mayer was a grandiose, conservative purveyor of family values. Enter Andy Hardy. Harry Cohn and Columbia were located on Poverty Row in Hollywood. So Columbia’s films were a fight against the Depression and a tribute to the everyman. Basically, Frank Capra films. Gabler also gives significant time to Carl Laemmle, the benevolent founder of Universal, as well as RKO, the house that Sarnoff and Selznick built. William Fox and his namesake studio get their due as well.
The author does some of his best work discussing attitudes and lifestyles of the men. Gabler finds that these men, all Jewish, did their best to assimilate into upper-class WASP society. While the moguls didn’t actively hide their Judaism, they certainly didn’t advertise it either. Always sensitive to the stereotypes about Jews controlling Hollywood, they didn’t produce movies dealing with anti-semitism until the late 40s with Crossfire and Gentleman’s Agreement.
The book has a fairly exhaustive chapter about the Congressional investigation of Communism in Hollywood. While fascinating, it’s infuriating to read. If the bigotry of Congressman John Rankin or Representative J. Thomas Parnell doesn’t rankle you, the cowardly response of the industry will.
Overall this is an excellent book for classic film lovers or anyone with any interest in history. Neal Gabler, who’s also written a brilliant biography of Walt Disney, does masterful work here. He tends to write in long paragraphs but they’re never dull. Gabler states his arguments clearly and provides plenty of evidence. I’ve read this book four times now and I can state with certainty that there will be a fifth. Very well-done.
Gabler gives each of the studio founders an exhaustive opening chapter. He traces their routes from eastern Europe to America and their various ways into show business. Most started out by owning and operating theaters. Others got their entry through distribution. They all transitioned into making movies of their own because it made sense. There’s more money to be made when you own the product.
The movies they produced were largely reflective of the attitudes of the men in charge. Paramount founder Adolph Zukor was streetwise and tough but he aspired to be witty and urbane. So his movies were. The Warner Brothers were the outcasts so their films featured heroes who fit the bill. Louis B. Mayer was a grandiose, conservative purveyor of family values. Enter Andy Hardy. Harry Cohn and Columbia were located on Poverty Row in Hollywood. So Columbia’s films were a fight against the Depression and a tribute to the everyman. Basically, Frank Capra films. Gabler also gives significant time to Carl Laemmle, the benevolent founder of Universal, as well as RKO, the house that Sarnoff and Selznick built. William Fox and his namesake studio get their due as well.
The author does some of his best work discussing attitudes and lifestyles of the men. Gabler finds that these men, all Jewish, did their best to assimilate into upper-class WASP society. While the moguls didn’t actively hide their Judaism, they certainly didn’t advertise it either. Always sensitive to the stereotypes about Jews controlling Hollywood, they didn’t produce movies dealing with anti-semitism until the late 40s with Crossfire and Gentleman’s Agreement.
The book has a fairly exhaustive chapter about the Congressional investigation of Communism in Hollywood. While fascinating, it’s infuriating to read. If the bigotry of Congressman John Rankin or Representative J. Thomas Parnell doesn’t rankle you, the cowardly response of the industry will.
Overall this is an excellent book for classic film lovers or anyone with any interest in history. Neal Gabler, who’s also written a brilliant biography of Walt Disney, does masterful work here. He tends to write in long paragraphs but they’re never dull. Gabler states his arguments clearly and provides plenty of evidence. I’ve read this book four times now and I can state with certainty that there will be a fifth. Very well-done.
September 5, 2008
Fascinating book about how the common experiences of 1st generation Jewish immigrants, usually with absent or unsuccessful fathers, strove for success and assimilation, and approval from gentiles and previously assimilated Jews. Thesis is that they created a world they could control, onscreen and off and were afraid of doing anything to draw attention to their religion, fearing a backlash from gentiles and loss of power. Didn’t get along with next generation of Hollywood Jews—writers and actors recruited from left wing New York theater during the talkies. Thinks Communist Jews and the reactionary assimilationist studio heads are two sides of the same assimilationist coin—the Communists striving for a classless utopia and studio heads trying to become part of the establishment. He does make most of the execs seem pretty pathetic, however.
May 23, 2012
Hollywood was founded by a bunch of Jews who recognized the potential of the movies and were willing to use all their business acumen to exploit every facet of the industry. Their personalities, hopes and dreams became part of the American Culture through the movies they made. Even with all the power and money they had they were never accepted into mainstream society and were always looked down upon as interlopers. Gabler tells the story wonderfully. If you want to know how Jewish immigrant dreams became America's dreams read this book.
September 1, 2025
There are some things this book does extraordinarily well. Where it excels is in exploring the impulses and shortcomings of Jewish assimilation through the Hollywood Jews. Gabler does a great job explaining their psychology, aspirations, and why they defined themselves as they did in contrast to both Eastern elites and their Eastern European roots. The book is its strongest in its opening chapters where it makes the case that our vision of 20th century America was filtered through a group of men who desperately wanted to be part of the American people, and took great pains to paint a secular picture that would appeal to the greatest swath of the mainstream. It was good business, but it was also their sense of trying to mirror what they thought the country expected of them and would therefore protect them from the antisemitism encountered by their peers.
The crucible comes with the Red Scare, and Gabler argues that all attempts at assimilation, whether by the Hollywood Jews embracing conservative politics or by Jewish screenwriters embracing left-wing ideals, were ultimately futile in the face of systemic antisemitism. It was more important for the Hollywood Jews to throw their own people under the bus than risk losing power. But their power faded anyway and most of them died estranged from their families because they were mean-spirited bastards who took the resentments they had towards their fathers and visited them upon their children. They were always destined to lose their true love, the studios they built and the power those studios provided.
My big issue is how much Gabler has to either elide or stretch to make some of his points. There are times when a grand unified theory of Hollywood moguls can only work in the broadest stokes. Also, because he wants the Red Scare to serve as the story’s true bookend, he speeds past all the political, technological, social, and economic changes that killed the old Hollywood system. There’s less poetry in “and then television came along” and “youth culture emerged.”
Still, as a Jewish reader and lover of Hollywood history, I found it an above-average read and a worthwhile angle beyond a general overview of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
The crucible comes with the Red Scare, and Gabler argues that all attempts at assimilation, whether by the Hollywood Jews embracing conservative politics or by Jewish screenwriters embracing left-wing ideals, were ultimately futile in the face of systemic antisemitism. It was more important for the Hollywood Jews to throw their own people under the bus than risk losing power. But their power faded anyway and most of them died estranged from their families because they were mean-spirited bastards who took the resentments they had towards their fathers and visited them upon their children. They were always destined to lose their true love, the studios they built and the power those studios provided.
My big issue is how much Gabler has to either elide or stretch to make some of his points. There are times when a grand unified theory of Hollywood moguls can only work in the broadest stokes. Also, because he wants the Red Scare to serve as the story’s true bookend, he speeds past all the political, technological, social, and economic changes that killed the old Hollywood system. There’s less poetry in “and then television came along” and “youth culture emerged.”
Still, as a Jewish reader and lover of Hollywood history, I found it an above-average read and a worthwhile angle beyond a general overview of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
May 24, 2022
I was completely unaware of the early history of Hollywood, a deficiency which this book has corrected. Speaking for myself, I thought the 1930s and 1940s were the early days of Hollywood. But all the major players were firmly established by the early 1920s before sound was ever used in film.
This book is very methodical in telling the story of the early Jewish movie moguls, starting with Adolph Zukor (Paramount), then moving on to Carl Laemmle (Universal), William Fox, Louis B. Mayer (MGM), the Warner Brothers, and Harry Cohn (Columbia).
Gabler tells the stories of each of these moguls: where they came from, what life events shaped them, their motivations, and more. And he doesn't stop there. He also tells the stories of other major Hollywood players like Frank Capra, Irving Thalberg, Nick Schenk, Rabbi Magnin, Marcus Loew, and others I'm forgetting.
It's a fascinating history, although very complex, as you might expect with the number of years and people covered in the book.
Overall, this book is excellent and makes for good reading. Although I got bogged down in the second half of the chapter "Refugees and British Actors," which covers the communist witch hunts of the late 1940s that focused on Hollywood. The level of detail is important, but tedious.
Interestingly, most of the Jewish moguls were conservative, patriotic, and went out of their way to prove their Americanism. It was the second generation of Hollywood Jews who began to lean left and embrace communism. But during the late 1940s there was no uniform political ideology in Hollywood.
The final chapter is engrossing. It describes the changing of the guard as the original moguls find their power waning, their families falling apart, their studios taken from them. A stark reminder that youth, wealth, and power are fleeting.
This book is very methodical in telling the story of the early Jewish movie moguls, starting with Adolph Zukor (Paramount), then moving on to Carl Laemmle (Universal), William Fox, Louis B. Mayer (MGM), the Warner Brothers, and Harry Cohn (Columbia).
Gabler tells the stories of each of these moguls: where they came from, what life events shaped them, their motivations, and more. And he doesn't stop there. He also tells the stories of other major Hollywood players like Frank Capra, Irving Thalberg, Nick Schenk, Rabbi Magnin, Marcus Loew, and others I'm forgetting.
It's a fascinating history, although very complex, as you might expect with the number of years and people covered in the book.
Overall, this book is excellent and makes for good reading. Although I got bogged down in the second half of the chapter "Refugees and British Actors," which covers the communist witch hunts of the late 1940s that focused on Hollywood. The level of detail is important, but tedious.
Interestingly, most of the Jewish moguls were conservative, patriotic, and went out of their way to prove their Americanism. It was the second generation of Hollywood Jews who began to lean left and embrace communism. But during the late 1940s there was no uniform political ideology in Hollywood.
The final chapter is engrossing. It describes the changing of the guard as the original moguls find their power waning, their families falling apart, their studios taken from them. A stark reminder that youth, wealth, and power are fleeting.
July 14, 2014
An interesting read... I felt that the writer over-tightened virtually every action to the Jewish heritage of these moguls...But maybe he's right. Some of the legal issues that occurred during their long reign. needed a better short summary: I find myself making frequent trips to Wikipedia to find a more concise definition in several of the issues (cf: William Fox' attempt to control MGM). I also wish there had been more "Hollywood" in this core story about Hollywood; having grown up there and spent most of my career there I was expecting a bit more sizzle. In some interview with James Stewart, he rhapsodized about a whorehouse across the street from MGM. And where were the references to the fetishistic parties and orgies that the studio heads allegedly hosted for their theater owners and exhibitors? Where was the casting couch? Maybe that's a whole other book (probably). What he did capture admirably was the Hollywood social whirl: dozens of events where people's only purpose was to see and be seen and not form any close attachments. And the book's centerpiece and crowning achievement was its analysis of the HUAC investigations from the 1940s forward. Amazing that this sordid witch hunt could have the authority of the US Congress. But it is any better today?
July 11, 2012
Surprisingly engaging book about the founders of the great Hollywood Studios (MGM, Fox, Columbia, etc). These people (Zukor, Mayer, Warner, etc) were all immigrant Jews from Eastern Europe. They were strong-willed men who wanted to escape their past and assimilate into their vision of the American Dream. They gravitated to the movies because, early in the 1900s, movies were seen as low class. So an opportunity was opened to people who were willing to grab it. These men created monopolies: studios, theaters, actors, directors, writers, etc and became wealthy and powerful. Gabler describes each of these men and the trials they all went through to create the studios and then nurture and grow them. Gabler takes us through the run up to WWII, the hunt for communists and the ultimate end of the great studios. The end is tragic, which was really unexpected. The irony that Gabler knits throughout the book is that these immigrants chased their version of the American Dream which was captured in their movies. Our current understanding of the American Dream is very much informed by the movies these men produced.
January 18, 2014
An absolutely fascinating and insightful read, one of the finest books of film history I have ever read.
Neal Gabler traces the history and motivations of the 'founding fathers' of the American film industry; late 19th-century Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe, they found themselves rejected by the established American trades in the east and turned the originally disreputable business of moving pictures into one of the most influential and iconic insitutions of American life.
Dealing with the history of immigration, the life of the Jewish moguls in Hollywood, including their relationship to their religion, politics, their families and yearning for status, as well as the horrifically anti-semitic House Un-American Activites Committee hearings, Gabler brings to life the making of the American film industry.
Highly recommended!
Neal Gabler traces the history and motivations of the 'founding fathers' of the American film industry; late 19th-century Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe, they found themselves rejected by the established American trades in the east and turned the originally disreputable business of moving pictures into one of the most influential and iconic insitutions of American life.
Dealing with the history of immigration, the life of the Jewish moguls in Hollywood, including their relationship to their religion, politics, their families and yearning for status, as well as the horrifically anti-semitic House Un-American Activites Committee hearings, Gabler brings to life the making of the American film industry.
Highly recommended!
February 11, 2013
A superb history of the Jews in Hollywood by a noted film historian. Gabler explains that since emigrant Jews were barred from traditional industries -- like white shoe investment banking -- they were essentially forced to create their own business: Hollywood. They subsequently had their own country club, beautiful L.A. homes, polo teams, etc. Just a fascinating & beautifully researched chronicle. Highly recommended!
October 3, 2022
One could have even said that California was the social equivalent of the movies themselves, new and unformed, which really made the producers' emigration there a matter of an industry discovering the appropriate spot.
The outsider looking in who ends up telling the story to the masses while weaving in his own aspirations - only the Jews, as outsiders, could bring American values to the screen as they pined to be a part of that world. The West coast, still largely undeveloped, provided the best entry point with the lack of established institutions that required connections and WASP provenance, and the nascent novelty called "moving pictures" provided the means of entry, since the establishment looked down their noses at such cheap thrills for the unwashed masses. The writer's ultimate thesis seems to posit that perhaps, in building the great dream factory called Hollywood, these Eastern European Jewish émigrés lost something of themselves. I don't know if I would completely agree with that idea, though to a certain extent it may be true, but this fascinating read leaves a sense of admiration for what these men accomplished and the incredible legacy of their work. It's stunning what they created, and delightful to see these same themes bubble up in the movies of the Coen Brothers, especially "A Serious Man" and "Hail, Caesar" - no doubt this book is an influence on their work.
The outsider looking in who ends up telling the story to the masses while weaving in his own aspirations - only the Jews, as outsiders, could bring American values to the screen as they pined to be a part of that world. The West coast, still largely undeveloped, provided the best entry point with the lack of established institutions that required connections and WASP provenance, and the nascent novelty called "moving pictures" provided the means of entry, since the establishment looked down their noses at such cheap thrills for the unwashed masses. The writer's ultimate thesis seems to posit that perhaps, in building the great dream factory called Hollywood, these Eastern European Jewish émigrés lost something of themselves. I don't know if I would completely agree with that idea, though to a certain extent it may be true, but this fascinating read leaves a sense of admiration for what these men accomplished and the incredible legacy of their work. It's stunning what they created, and delightful to see these same themes bubble up in the movies of the Coen Brothers, especially "A Serious Man" and "Hail, Caesar" - no doubt this book is an influence on their work.
May 25, 2025
Livro essencial pra quem gosta de cinema e quer entender a formação de tudo isso que tá aí hoje. Trabalho de pesquisa impressionante.
March 27, 2019
I hate to make any criticism of this very long and deeply researched history. Let's just say that I wished for more context and less detail. And that the book was written in 1988 so the lens offered by the "#MeToo" movement is absent.
Here is some of what I learned:
The studio heads featured (Carl Lammle of Paramount, Harry Cohn of Columbia, the Warners of Warner Brothers, Louis Mayer of MGM) were all first or second generation Americans.
They typically got into movie production in a roundabout way: they began by owning nickelodeons or small theaters, expanded into distribution, then got into producing movies because they needed good content to sell to their audiences. Same path as Netflix.
Movie theaters were only semi-respectable in the early part of the 20th century. To broaden the appeal, owners constructed the elaborately decorated "movie palaces" to attract the middle class.
They got into movies because discrimination prevented them from entering the well established businesses owned by earlier WASP immigrants. Interestingly, the author doesn't engage in the schadenfreude observation that the over proud WASPs missed a good bet: a wildly successful business that required living in the climate paradise of Southern California. So the Elysian Fields were open to these crude but hardworking parvenus.
They worked hard and played hard and became very rich and typically had distant relationships with their wives and children.
But they never lost that wish to be accepted by "mainstream" Americans, and that fear that they were not quite "American". My Canadian immigrant mother had that same fear.
And late in life they continued to use the racial slurs they'd heard as children. Although they were Jewish, they insulted each other with that dreadful word "kike".
Walt Disney, whose animated fairy tales brought such joy to my childhood, makes the briefest of appearances: only long enough to establish that he was an anti-Semite.
Here is some of what I learned:
The studio heads featured (Carl Lammle of Paramount, Harry Cohn of Columbia, the Warners of Warner Brothers, Louis Mayer of MGM) were all first or second generation Americans.
They typically got into movie production in a roundabout way: they began by owning nickelodeons or small theaters, expanded into distribution, then got into producing movies because they needed good content to sell to their audiences. Same path as Netflix.
Movie theaters were only semi-respectable in the early part of the 20th century. To broaden the appeal, owners constructed the elaborately decorated "movie palaces" to attract the middle class.
They got into movies because discrimination prevented them from entering the well established businesses owned by earlier WASP immigrants. Interestingly, the author doesn't engage in the schadenfreude observation that the over proud WASPs missed a good bet: a wildly successful business that required living in the climate paradise of Southern California. So the Elysian Fields were open to these crude but hardworking parvenus.
They worked hard and played hard and became very rich and typically had distant relationships with their wives and children.
But they never lost that wish to be accepted by "mainstream" Americans, and that fear that they were not quite "American". My Canadian immigrant mother had that same fear.
And late in life they continued to use the racial slurs they'd heard as children. Although they were Jewish, they insulted each other with that dreadful word "kike".
Walt Disney, whose animated fairy tales brought such joy to my childhood, makes the briefest of appearances: only long enough to establish that he was an anti-Semite.
June 3, 2011
Despite the dubious subtitle, this is really a social history of the early days of Hollywood, when it was a business with little or social status and consequently of little interest to the WASPs who ran American business and the dramatic arts. The colourful entrepreneurs who set up the great studios which dominated the industry until 1960, such as Louis B. Mayer, Jack Warner and Adolph Zukor, are presented here as barrow-boy types, with an eye for a business opportunity in an open field (literally, as Hollywood was just an orange grove then). As the book says, none of the moguls was particularly devout, and several tried to distance themselves from their religious heritage as far as possible (especially Mayer, the king of the moguls), so the main factor behind their 'empire' was outsider-status, rather than jewishness per se, and a burning desire to make good and climb the social ladder (especially true of Mayer). The book is elegantly written and full of anecdotes about the great buccaneers of the time, and especially good on Harry Cohn, of Columbia, probably the nastiest man in Hollywood. This is the perfect complement, and almost and antidote, to the grim economics of The Genius of the System.
August 29, 2013
This book is so great that I am actually reading it for the second time. The first time I read it for content; now I am reading it for style.
It is the story of the sons of Jewish immigrants who created the great production machines of the Hollywood studio era -- Mayer, Cohn, Zucker, the Warner Brothers. These men have so many similarities that differentiating them from one another presents a daunting task, but Gabler rises to it brilliantly. A must-read book for anyone who's interested in the history of film, but more than that -- for anyone who's interested in the history of American culture.
It is the story of the sons of Jewish immigrants who created the great production machines of the Hollywood studio era -- Mayer, Cohn, Zucker, the Warner Brothers. These men have so many similarities that differentiating them from one another presents a daunting task, but Gabler rises to it brilliantly. A must-read book for anyone who's interested in the history of film, but more than that -- for anyone who's interested in the history of American culture.
May 18, 2018
Very interesting read providing background into the major players responsible for the growth of the motion picture industry and its evolvement. It was a little difficult to follow at times because it jumped around quite a bit, but it was still a fascinating story with lots of behind-the-scenes history of the personalities involved, how stars were treated back when they were under contract with the various studios, and the struggle these Jewish men had amongst themselves as well as their ongoing attempts to assimilate and be accepted as an equal in a gentile culture and society that looked down on them despite their wealth and success.
November 7, 2020
For anyone who is deeply curious about what's behind the Hollywood curtain, this is a must-read book. An Empire of Their Own is a rich tome documenting the sheer inspiration and complexities of Hollywood.
What I liked most is how Neal Gabler delved into the lives of the Hollywood moguls. By understanding their struggles and motivations, we truly appreciate the foundation of the image we appreciate - even denigrate - today.
This is a beautifully written piece that I highly recommend for those eager to learn the realities of Hollywood and its creators.
What I liked most is how Neal Gabler delved into the lives of the Hollywood moguls. By understanding their struggles and motivations, we truly appreciate the foundation of the image we appreciate - even denigrate - today.
This is a beautifully written piece that I highly recommend for those eager to learn the realities of Hollywood and its creators.
July 23, 2012
A history of the development of the major Hollywood studios & the movie industry itself, framed in the angle of how nearly all of the moguls were Jewish immigrants from Russia & East Europe. Shut out of other parts of the business world by old prejudices (well, maybe not old considering some of the headlines in today's world) they started their own industry, one that has become synonymous with American culture. Well written & a good read.
October 9, 2023
This book won awards but does not stand the test of time. It is hard to avoid the sexism; women are presented as objects and described as “attractive.” Many of the stories seem apocryphal. I didn’t buy the main argument that the Jews were trying to fit in. If one is trying to fit in, why create a whole new industry and city? I think these men were trying to succeed financially and creatively in a brand new industry.
June 26, 2017
If you're at all interested in the history of movies, this is highly recommended. The background bios of section one got a little too detailed for me, I found my interest waning, so I skipped to section two and found myself fascinated at the day-to-day lives of the moguls. Oh, to see LA in the 20s and 30s!
March 4, 2015
Want to learn about the history of hollywood and a great over view of how hollywood became the west coast glamor.
August 6, 2015
The history of Hollywood and American entertainment is a little like the history of finance. If it weren't for Jews, neither would exist as we know it.
May 2, 2025
Isn’t it anti-Semitic to say the Jews run Hollywood?
November 21, 2025
Jews invented the American dream
The Jewish domination of gentiles in the early years of Hollywood is due to the diligent and business savviness of Jewish immigrants. The opportunities were open to everyone, but they used their skills wisely. This is an illustration of making the American dream come true. They began with small businesses, nickelodeons or film distribution and gradually moved into production. They built the studio system that defined Hollywood for decades, creating stars, genres, and the modern movie business model. Most Hollywood’s early movie studios were established between 1910 and 1930. The key figures were Adolph Zukor, founded Paramount Pictures; Carl Laemmle, founded Universal Pictures; William Fox, founded Fox Film Corporation (which later became 20th Century Fox); Louis B. Mayer, co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM Studios); Samuel Goldwyn, co-founded Goldwyn Pictures, which later merged into MGM; Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, founded Warner Bros; and Harry Cohn, co-founded Columbia Pictures. They turned a new technology (motion pictures) into a mass entertainment industry; created the glamorous Hollywood image that spread American culture worldwide; and established Los Angeles as the film capital due to its good weather and distance from Edison’s patent enforcement teams on the East Coast.
Once F. Scott Fitzgerald whined that Hollywood is "a Jewish holiday, and a gentile’s tragedy." He was wrong! The real tragedy was the challenges Jews faced. Their dominance became a target for vicious anti-Semites-from fire-and-brimstone evangelicals who demanded the movies' liberation from "the hands of the devil." For once the luck was on Jewish side, there were none of the impediments imposed by loftier professions and more firmly entrenched businesses to keep Jews and other undesirables out. Financial barriers were lower too. In fact, one could open a theater for less than four hundred dollars. Additionally, if new immigrant Jews were proscribed from entering the real corridors of gentility and status in America, the movies offered an ingenious option.
The rich and pretentious Jews in Hollywood were perhaps the greatest misfortune that ever fell on the Jewish immigrants. Because they became the fountain of anti-Semitism. A Jew bee Americanized only in direct proportion to his becoming de-Judaized. Yearning to become an American required him to renounce everything Jewish about him. That made his whole religion conform to an elite Protestantism. Rabbi Inoye, who conducted Sabbath services for the elites at Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles lamented that immigrant Jews assimilated into American protestant culture without guilt, but for people who had been shaped out of fear and atonement, it was precisely what the Hollywood Jews were required of their God. The book discusses how petty Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures was. He jettisoned Judaism as he jettisoned anything he found disadvantageous. He never went to a synagogue. It was a kind of defiance for him. He exhibited active contempt toward it as if it were something repellent.
The history of the movies made by each studio in the early years is quite interesting. Frank Capra, one of the greatest directors of Hollywood had an uneasy working relationship with Columbia pictures. I strongly recommend this book to readers interested in the history of Hollywood and Jewish American history.
The Jewish domination of gentiles in the early years of Hollywood is due to the diligent and business savviness of Jewish immigrants. The opportunities were open to everyone, but they used their skills wisely. This is an illustration of making the American dream come true. They began with small businesses, nickelodeons or film distribution and gradually moved into production. They built the studio system that defined Hollywood for decades, creating stars, genres, and the modern movie business model. Most Hollywood’s early movie studios were established between 1910 and 1930. The key figures were Adolph Zukor, founded Paramount Pictures; Carl Laemmle, founded Universal Pictures; William Fox, founded Fox Film Corporation (which later became 20th Century Fox); Louis B. Mayer, co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM Studios); Samuel Goldwyn, co-founded Goldwyn Pictures, which later merged into MGM; Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, founded Warner Bros; and Harry Cohn, co-founded Columbia Pictures. They turned a new technology (motion pictures) into a mass entertainment industry; created the glamorous Hollywood image that spread American culture worldwide; and established Los Angeles as the film capital due to its good weather and distance from Edison’s patent enforcement teams on the East Coast.
Once F. Scott Fitzgerald whined that Hollywood is "a Jewish holiday, and a gentile’s tragedy." He was wrong! The real tragedy was the challenges Jews faced. Their dominance became a target for vicious anti-Semites-from fire-and-brimstone evangelicals who demanded the movies' liberation from "the hands of the devil." For once the luck was on Jewish side, there were none of the impediments imposed by loftier professions and more firmly entrenched businesses to keep Jews and other undesirables out. Financial barriers were lower too. In fact, one could open a theater for less than four hundred dollars. Additionally, if new immigrant Jews were proscribed from entering the real corridors of gentility and status in America, the movies offered an ingenious option.
The rich and pretentious Jews in Hollywood were perhaps the greatest misfortune that ever fell on the Jewish immigrants. Because they became the fountain of anti-Semitism. A Jew bee Americanized only in direct proportion to his becoming de-Judaized. Yearning to become an American required him to renounce everything Jewish about him. That made his whole religion conform to an elite Protestantism. Rabbi Inoye, who conducted Sabbath services for the elites at Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles lamented that immigrant Jews assimilated into American protestant culture without guilt, but for people who had been shaped out of fear and atonement, it was precisely what the Hollywood Jews were required of their God. The book discusses how petty Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures was. He jettisoned Judaism as he jettisoned anything he found disadvantageous. He never went to a synagogue. It was a kind of defiance for him. He exhibited active contempt toward it as if it were something repellent.
The history of the movies made by each studio in the early years is quite interesting. Frank Capra, one of the greatest directors of Hollywood had an uneasy working relationship with Columbia pictures. I strongly recommend this book to readers interested in the history of Hollywood and Jewish American history.
May 30, 2025
This is a really fascinating piece of film history, highlighting the Jewish immigrants who created Hollywood as we know it, how they navigated those identities and how the movies reflected their internal struggles. It's sad how these men have been sort of forgotten about and their companies bought by other entities. But I think Gabler presents a really compelling argument, that their mythology about the movies remains and that's something kind of amazing. I learned a lot and was impressed by the amount of research Gabler did for this book.
The book details the entire lives of "the Hollywood Jews," the men who founded the film studios of the golden age: MGM, the Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal and Columbia. It examines their drive to create and elevate films in this country through the lens of their identities as both Jews and immigrants. In the face of anti-semitism, they struggle to balance the line between holding onto their cultural upbringing vs. assimilation. A lot of their personal stories were moving and impactful to me, some more than others, of course. The movies of this time, Gabler argues, represent some of their own private struggles. From an identity standpoint, it was really interesting to see how each of the men navigated this differently.
I had no idea about Jewish contributions to the creation of the film industry. Prior to this, most of the public doubted anyone would sit through a film lasting more than a few minutes and film was viewed as a lesser type of entertainment—nothing like the glitz and glam we associate it with today. These men were visionaries in a way, able to see the potential of film before others and working to shape attitudes about it to elevate it within our culture, which Gabler argues was born from their need to also elevate themselves in their eyes of gentile society. Another argument Gabler makes is that each of the studios sort of took on its own identity, and that was partly a function of the men in charge, their personality and values. I had never given much thought to contrasting the type of movies that came out of one studio vs. another one, so it was very interesting to glean patterns from this. I feel like I learned a lot about film history and while there were moments that were overly psychoanalytic, it was overall, very interesting.
I also had no idea the role of anti-semitism in HUAC and the Hollywood blacklists during the anti-communism period of American history. It was interesting to see how each of the men, again, navigated this conflict differently, some feeling the need to defend their own positions and prove their American-ness, while others dismissed it more. Gabler also dived into how the Jewish community as a whole responded to this, and dynamics within the Jewish community specifically in Los Angeles, which was fascinating and unexpected. He highlights the cultural, political and generational divides within the Jewish community well.
I will say overall, I found some sections of the book more interesting than others and it does jump around a lot and you have to keep track of a good number of names. It felt pretty long. The communism part was interesting, but I did feel my attention flagging sometimes even though I wanted to be interested. Still, this is a great read if this is a topic of interest to you!
The book details the entire lives of "the Hollywood Jews," the men who founded the film studios of the golden age: MGM, the Warner Brothers, Paramount, Universal and Columbia. It examines their drive to create and elevate films in this country through the lens of their identities as both Jews and immigrants. In the face of anti-semitism, they struggle to balance the line between holding onto their cultural upbringing vs. assimilation. A lot of their personal stories were moving and impactful to me, some more than others, of course. The movies of this time, Gabler argues, represent some of their own private struggles. From an identity standpoint, it was really interesting to see how each of the men navigated this differently.
I had no idea about Jewish contributions to the creation of the film industry. Prior to this, most of the public doubted anyone would sit through a film lasting more than a few minutes and film was viewed as a lesser type of entertainment—nothing like the glitz and glam we associate it with today. These men were visionaries in a way, able to see the potential of film before others and working to shape attitudes about it to elevate it within our culture, which Gabler argues was born from their need to also elevate themselves in their eyes of gentile society. Another argument Gabler makes is that each of the studios sort of took on its own identity, and that was partly a function of the men in charge, their personality and values. I had never given much thought to contrasting the type of movies that came out of one studio vs. another one, so it was very interesting to glean patterns from this. I feel like I learned a lot about film history and while there were moments that were overly psychoanalytic, it was overall, very interesting.
I also had no idea the role of anti-semitism in HUAC and the Hollywood blacklists during the anti-communism period of American history. It was interesting to see how each of the men, again, navigated this conflict differently, some feeling the need to defend their own positions and prove their American-ness, while others dismissed it more. Gabler also dived into how the Jewish community as a whole responded to this, and dynamics within the Jewish community specifically in Los Angeles, which was fascinating and unexpected. He highlights the cultural, political and generational divides within the Jewish community well.
I will say overall, I found some sections of the book more interesting than others and it does jump around a lot and you have to keep track of a good number of names. It felt pretty long. The communism part was interesting, but I did feel my attention flagging sometimes even though I wanted to be interested. Still, this is a great read if this is a topic of interest to you!
August 18, 2022
I had a very difficult time with this book. While it purports to be about "How the Jews Invented Hollywood," in reality Gabler does a very poor job of illustrating how the Jewishness of the men who founded the major movie studios influenced them at all. In fact, through the first 150 or so pages, he fails to distinguish how their religion influences any more than the fact that they are immigrants. Gabler writes at length about how the moguls' economic circumstances influenced them; and even details how their early forays into business influenced them. But hardly at all about how their religion influenced them.
At one point, on page 53, he gives one good example of the difference between the Jews and the gentiles: "This was, in fact, one of the reasons Jews like Laemmle were able to gain a foothold. Big money, gentile money, viewed the movies suspiciously - economically, as a fad; morally, as potential embarrassments." That's a legitimate difference between the two religions - the Jews, struggling to make it in America saw the movies as a way to become successful businessmen while non-Jews looked at it with distaste. Unfortunately, Gabler doesn't go that deep into the arguments again until much later.
But while Gabler takes his time addressing the anti-Semitism that made finding financing more difficult and how the Jews had to turn to their own people - other Jews, to fund their expansions, he continually refers to the moguls - Mayer, Fox, Zukor, Laemmle, the Warners, et al - as the "Hollywood Jews" and the "movie Jews." He used those phrases continuously, to the point that it seems almost... anti-Semitic. Why not refer to them as the "Hollywood moguls?" That's what they were, and based on Gabler's writing, it's almost as if their Jewishness was besides the p0int.
I feel like Gabler sort of missed the point. Either the fact that these men were Jewish had significant impact on their careers or it didn't. Continually referring to their religion but rarely detailing how that made them different or gave them an advantage is disingenuous.
At one point, on page 53, he gives one good example of the difference between the Jews and the gentiles: "This was, in fact, one of the reasons Jews like Laemmle were able to gain a foothold. Big money, gentile money, viewed the movies suspiciously - economically, as a fad; morally, as potential embarrassments." That's a legitimate difference between the two religions - the Jews, struggling to make it in America saw the movies as a way to become successful businessmen while non-Jews looked at it with distaste. Unfortunately, Gabler doesn't go that deep into the arguments again until much later.
But while Gabler takes his time addressing the anti-Semitism that made finding financing more difficult and how the Jews had to turn to their own people - other Jews, to fund their expansions, he continually refers to the moguls - Mayer, Fox, Zukor, Laemmle, the Warners, et al - as the "Hollywood Jews" and the "movie Jews." He used those phrases continuously, to the point that it seems almost... anti-Semitic. Why not refer to them as the "Hollywood moguls?" That's what they were, and based on Gabler's writing, it's almost as if their Jewishness was besides the p0int.
I feel like Gabler sort of missed the point. Either the fact that these men were Jewish had significant impact on their careers or it didn't. Continually referring to their religion but rarely detailing how that made them different or gave them an advantage is disingenuous.
February 5, 2024
This history of the Jewish men who founded the movie studios and ruled golden age Hollywood often suffers for taking on too much material and ignoring the interesting detail in favor of the exposition. The thesis is that the moguls, outsiders and immigrants, created the world inside the movies out of their dreams of the new world. But I don't know that there's enough here about the ways movies were actually made or enough analysis of the movies themselves to prove the point. It feels cursory. There is a lot that is absent that many movie fans will miss - in addition to discussion of most movies, most stars are also unaccounted for. There's very little Hollywood Babylon here (instead we get some long chapters about fairly boring Hollywood rabbis with little proof of the importance of these characters to their communities). When Gabler does drill into a topic - the HUAC hearings, most notably, it is enlightening. Gabler reveals how the studio heads threw the blacklisted talent - also largely Jewish - under the bus out of a mixture of knee-jerk capitalism and a fear that the gentile powers could always swoop in and end remove their reign in a nouveau pogrom. The dynamic is well drawn and almost puts the moguls in a sympathetic light.
March 11, 2018
Un ensayo muy exhaustivo, que parece más bien una crónica por las continuas alusiones a anécdotas, tanto que puede resultar un poco abrumador la cantidad de nombres que aparecen. No obstante la mayor parte del libro me pareció tener material de sobra para gionizar varios biopics memorables, a la altura de La Red Social o Steve Jobs. Aunque todas esas historias venden una idea extremadamente capitalista que siempre hay que matizar.
No puedo dejar pasar por alto el hecho de que la edición tenga tantas erratas. Por una parte son errores de traducción al repasar en exceso, y por otro un error de edición al no supervisar adecuadamente. Digo esto porque no son errores aislados, son numerosos por todo el libro y siendo el precio considerable apreciaría un trabajo que se ajuste a ese valor. Es por eso que le pongo 3 estrellas.
No puedo dejar pasar por alto el hecho de que la edición tenga tantas erratas. Por una parte son errores de traducción al repasar en exceso, y por otro un error de edición al no supervisar adecuadamente. Digo esto porque no son errores aislados, son numerosos por todo el libro y siendo el precio considerable apreciaría un trabajo que se ajuste a ese valor. Es por eso que le pongo 3 estrellas.
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