U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for Wednesday, Aug. 17: Famous Movie Producers

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 -- Following is the daily “Profile America” feature for Aug. 17 from the U.S. Census Bureau:

Profile America: Wednesday, August 17th. Two of the country’s most influential movie producers were born in August. Today marks the birth of Samuel Goldwyn the “G” in MGM, who came from an impoverished background in Poland to be a major figure in motion picture production for almost 50 years. He was one of the first to make music a key part of his movies. One of his contemporaries was Cecil B. DeMille, whose birthday was August 12th. He produced more than 70 movies, many noted for their lavish scale, such as “The Ten Commandments” and “Cleopatra.” In 1913, when Goldwyn and DeMille collaborated on one of the first feature-length movies, called “The Squaw Man,” Americans spent less than 200-million dollars going to the movies. Today, that figure is close to 10-billion dollars a year. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at http://www.census.gov

Sources: Chase’s Calendar of Events 2005, p. 429/420 Statistical Abstract of the United States 2004-2005, t. 1229 http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-04.html Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970, p. 401

------

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments ready to air on a monthly CD or on Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under the “Newsroom” button). For further information, contact Rick Reed at 301-763-2812, fax at 301-457-3670, or e-mail at rreed@census.gov.

Contact Information

Rick Reed or Tom Edwards

Media Contacts

U.S. Census Bureau

Contact via E-mail