Paul Bern
| Paul Bern | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Paul Levy December 3, 1889 Wandsbek, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany (now Hamburg, Germany) |
| Died | September 5, 1932 (aged 42) Beverly Hills, California |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wound |
| Resting place | Inglewood Park Cemetery |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, director, producer |
| Years active | 1919–1932 |
| Spouse(s) | Jean Harlow (m. 1932–32) |
Paul Bern (born Paul Levy; December 3, 1889 – September 5, 1932) was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for MGM, where he became the assistant to Irving Thalberg. He helped to launch the career of Jean Harlow, whom he married in July 1932; two months later, he was found dead of a gunshot wound, leaving what appeared to be a suicide note. Various alternate theories of his death have been proposed. Film producer Samuel Marx believed that he was killed by his ex-common law wife Dorothy Millette, who jumped to her death from a ferry days afterwards.
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, possibly as a threat to keep her beloved son from marrying.
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 theater 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 and then a producer on the MGM lot in his own right.
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