A 1924 Collier's Magazine article covering the early career of twenty five year-old Irving Thalberg (1899 – 1936): legendary Hollywood executive and movie producer, whose natural abilities in the Dream Factory catapulted his meteoric rise to greater power, leaving a long string of hits and well-admired film productions in his wake before pneumonia got the better of him twelve years after this article went to press. Thalberg's unique understanding of film and instinct for talent set him heads above his peers; through the years he has been the subject of a number of books and continues to be discussed to this day. Upon his passing it was widely recognized that there would never be another Thalberg and their never has been.
Like a lot of people who made a name for themselves in Hollywood, Thalberg was from Brooklyn, New York. Click here to read about some of the other Brooklynites who made it big in the movies.