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Hollywood Legends
She Damn Near Ran the Studio: The Extraordinary Lives of Ida R. Koverman
Best known as the woman who “ran MGM,” Ida R. Koverman (1876–1954) served as talent scout, mentor, executive secretary, and confidant to American movie mogul Louis B. Mayer for twenty-five years. She Damn Near Ran the Studio: The Extraordinary Lives of Ida R. Koverman is the first full account of Koverman’s life and the true story of how she became a formidable politico and a creative powerhouse during Hollywood’s Golden Era.
For nearly a century, Koverman’s legacy has largely rested on a mythical narrative while her more fascinating true-life story has remained an enduring mystery―until now. This story begins with Koverman’s early years in Ohio and the sensational national scandal that forced her escape to New York where she created a new identity and became a leader among a community of women. Her second incarnation came in California where she established herself as a hardcore political operative challenging the state’s progressive impulse. During the Roaring Twenties, she was a key architect of the Southland’s conservative female-centric partisan network that refashioned the course of state and national politics and put Herbert Hoover in the White House. As “the political boss of Los Angeles County,” she was the premiere matchmaker in the courtship between Hollywood and national partisan politics, which, as Mayer’s executive secretary, was epitomized by her third incarnation as “one of the most formidable women in Hollywood,” whose unparalleled power emanated from her unique perch inside the executive suite of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Free to adapt her managerial skills and political know-how on behalf of the studio, she quickly drew upon her artistic sensibilities as a talent scout, expanding MGM’s catalog of stars and her own influence on American popular culture. Recognized as “one of the invisible power centers in both MGM and the city of Los Angeles,” she nurtured the city’s burgeoning performing arts by fostering music and musicians and the public financing of them. As the “lioness” of MGM royalty, Ida Koverman was not just a naturalized citizen of the Hollywood kingdom; at times during her long reign, she “damn near ran the studio.”
For nearly a century, Koverman’s legacy has largely rested on a mythical narrative while her more fascinating true-life story has remained an enduring mystery―until now. This story begins with Koverman’s early years in Ohio and the sensational national scandal that forced her escape to New York where she created a new identity and became a leader among a community of women. Her second incarnation came in California where she established herself as a hardcore political operative challenging the state’s progressive impulse. During the Roaring Twenties, she was a key architect of the Southland’s conservative female-centric partisan network that refashioned the course of state and national politics and put Herbert Hoover in the White House. As “the political boss of Los Angeles County,” she was the premiere matchmaker in the courtship between Hollywood and national partisan politics, which, as Mayer’s executive secretary, was epitomized by her third incarnation as “one of the most formidable women in Hollywood,” whose unparalleled power emanated from her unique perch inside the executive suite of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Free to adapt her managerial skills and political know-how on behalf of the studio, she quickly drew upon her artistic sensibilities as a talent scout, expanding MGM’s catalog of stars and her own influence on American popular culture. Recognized as “one of the invisible power centers in both MGM and the city of Los Angeles,” she nurtured the city’s burgeoning performing arts by fostering music and musicians and the public financing of them. As the “lioness” of MGM royalty, Ida Koverman was not just a naturalized citizen of the Hollywood kingdom; at times during her long reign, she “damn near ran the studio.”
- GenresBiography
352 pages, Hardcover
Published October 19, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 15, 2021
Great book, terrible subject.
Braitman's book is thorough, well-researched and engaging. But the writing is overwhelmed by its subject who is frustrating at best. When I heard there was a book about a woman behind the scenes at MGM who was very influential, I was thrilled. But unfortunately Ida Koverman was an enabler, especially when it came to her boss Louis B. Mayer, in a very toxic male-dominated system. I thought the book would be more about Koverman's movie career but that part of her life doesn't start until 120 pages in.
My full review: https://www.outofthepastblog.com/2021...
Braitman's book is thorough, well-researched and engaging. But the writing is overwhelmed by its subject who is frustrating at best. When I heard there was a book about a woman behind the scenes at MGM who was very influential, I was thrilled. But unfortunately Ida Koverman was an enabler, especially when it came to her boss Louis B. Mayer, in a very toxic male-dominated system. I thought the book would be more about Koverman's movie career but that part of her life doesn't start until 120 pages in.
My full review: https://www.outofthepastblog.com/2021...
July 11, 2021
This book was a great disappointment. For anyone buying this book from the UK will find the first half of this book to be a waste of time,since it deals with an early scandal and her alignment in the Republican party.
The authors assertion that Lover man is not born out by her account of her time at MGM.For example the claim with regard to Robert Taylor is difficult to reconcile with the fact that in the biography of Taylor she is mentioned once,as responsible for thinking up his screen name.
She was told to stop interfering by Mayer when she protested about the pills being administered to Judy Garland.
The author has the irritating habit of trying to impose her opinions over those of previous authors.
There is a lot of conjecture in the book and the word"maybe" is commonly used.
As a member of the right wing organisation during the Hollywood with hunt,she was probably responsible for more people losing their jobs than those she promoted.
The authors assertion that Lover man is not born out by her account of her time at MGM.For example the claim with regard to Robert Taylor is difficult to reconcile with the fact that in the biography of Taylor she is mentioned once,as responsible for thinking up his screen name.
She was told to stop interfering by Mayer when she protested about the pills being administered to Judy Garland.
The author has the irritating habit of trying to impose her opinions over those of previous authors.
There is a lot of conjecture in the book and the word"maybe" is commonly used.
As a member of the right wing organisation during the Hollywood with hunt,she was probably responsible for more people losing their jobs than those she promoted.
February 22, 2022
What a great book for anyone who loves reading about the business and backrooms of Hollywood cinema. Part political history, part movie history, this book presents a very ambitious and readable journey through the life of Ida Koverman, someone I had never heard of before reading this detailed and well documented biography. Most of all, it presents the story of a strong and intelligent woman working in a male dominated industry, and succeeding there. The book does not overlook the human side of Koverman's life, giving the reader the picture of someone whose life must have been very hard to uncover. The book is history and Hollywood rolled up in a biography well worth reading. [I read it in the Kindle Edtion.]
April 28, 2024
A well-researched, but poorly written biography of Ida Koverman, the powerful executive secretary to MGM's Louis B Mayer.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews