Paul Bern

From Wikipedia

Paul Bern (December 3, 1889 – September 5, 1932) was a

German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for MGM.

Bern was born Paul Levy in Wandsbek, which was then a town

in the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein (now a district of the city of

Hamburg). He was one of six children of Julius and Henriette (née Hirsch) Levy,

a Jewish couple. Julius worked as a clerk for a shipping company before opening

a candy store. In 1898, Julius decided to move the family to the United States

due to the rise of unemployment and anti-Jewish attitudes in Wandsbek. The

family eventually settled in New York City. Julius Levy died in 1908. In 1920,

Henriette Levy drowned herself.

Bern pursued a career in acting on the stage and studied at

the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He later adopted the stage name

"Paul Bern". Bern soon realized he had little aptitude for acting and

pursued other aspects of theatre production. He worked as a stage manager for a

time before moving to Hollywood in the early 1920s. He was initially a film

editor before he worked his way up to scenario writing and directing for United

Artists and Paramount Pictures. This led to his working full-time as a producer

at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the major studio of the time. Bern eventually became

the production assistant of Irving Thalberg.

The star-studded film Grand Hotel, released six days after

Bern's death, won the Best Picture Academy Award for 1931–32. Bern and Irving

Thalberg produced the film, although neither was listed in the film credits (in

the early 1930s MGM did not list their films' producers in their credits).

However, the award was presented solely to Thalberg, and Bern was excluded.

Bern met actress Jean Harlow shortly before the premiere of

Hell's Angels in 1930. Bern was instrumental in helping Harlow's career as he

was the only person who took her seriously as an actress. The two struck up a

friendship and eventually began dating. They announced their engagement in June

1932 and married on July 2, 1932.

Two months after marrying Jean Harlow, on September 5, Bern

was found dead from a gunshot to the head in their home on Easton Drive in

Beverly Hills, California. The coroner ruled his death a suicide.

Acting
2004	Checking Out: Grand Hotel	Actor	Self (archive footage)	59 Average
1993	Harlow: The Blonde Bombshell	Actor	Self (archive footage)	59 Average
Directing
1930	The Woman Racket	Directing	Director	58 Average
1925	Flower of Night	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1925	Grounds for Divorce	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1925	The Dressmaker from Paris	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1924	Open All Night	Directing	Director	59 Average
1922	Head Over Heels	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1921	Edgar, the Detective	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
1920	The North Wind's Malice	Directing	Director	N/A N/A
Writing
1935	China Seas	Writing	Story Consultant	59 Average
1927	The Dove	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1927	The Beloved Rogue	Writing	Screenplay	59 Average
1927	Three Hours	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1926	The Prince of Tempters	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1926	The Great Deception	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1924	Vanity's Price	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1924	Lily of the Dust	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1924	Men	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1924	The Marriage Circle	Writing	Writer	59 Average
1924	Name the Man	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1923	The Wanters	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1923	Lost and Found on a South Sea Island	Writing	Scenario Writer	N/A N/A
1923	The Christian	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1921	Suspicious Wives	Writing	Writer	N/A N/A
1919	Greater Than Love	Writing	Scenario Writer	N/A N/A
Production
1929	Square Shoulders	Production	Producer	N/A N/A
Editing
1922	A Blind Bargain	Editing	Editor	59 Average