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Many of the early Hollywood moguls had a reputation for something. And most of the time, it wasn't something positive. Today's mogul is no exception. William Fox was many, many things....but he was allegedly known to "holler the loudest". Oy vey...
1879 - 1952
IMDb: William Fox - IMDb
Wilhelm Fuchs (HA! No wonder he changed it) was born in Hungary to Jewish parents. When he was an infant, his parents brought him to New York City and had an additional 12 children - but only 6 of those survived. His father was not responsible or hard-working, so young Wilhelm was somewhat forced to start working as a child, selling stove blacking from door-to-door and candy to people walking in Central Park. By age 11, he had quit school to work full time.
By age 13, Wilhelm had lied about his age enough to land himself a job as a foreman at a clothing firm. The complete opposite of his shiftless father, young Wilhelm became a very hard worker, obsessed with earning more and more. By the time he was 20, he had saved enough to invest in his own small company in the budding ready-to-wear clothing industry. After just 2 years, he claimed to have saved $50,000!
Well, like most of the moguls, Wilhelm (now William) also had ties with show business - he'd even performed comedy routines for a short time! No one is exactly sure how he acquired his first penny arcade in 1903, but soon he'd installed a movie theater on the second floor and business was booming. One of his slick business tricks was giving customers their change in pennies, and then routing their exit past the slot machines!
One theater was just the beginning, and William soon had over a dozen movie-vaudeville theaters throughout New York State. But soon William noticed that the main reason his theaters were doing so well was not the live vaudeville show - it was the movies that most people were coming to see! He sent out 10,000 survey cards to his audience, asking them what they liked best, and movies were the clear winner. In 1907, William opened his own film exchange.....setting his path to cross with Carl Laemmle...and...The Edison Trust.
If you may recall from earlier posts, Thomas Edison had set up a group of (rich white) men to basically control every aspect of filmmaking in the U.S. - and get their grubby hands into everyone's cash register in the process. They were formally known as the Motion Picture Patents Company, but informally known as The Trust. Well, William had his dealings with them, and refused to be pushed around. Eventually, he led the charge against Edison's tyranny, filing an antitrust lawsuit in 1912 - and the Trust began to crumble. Long live the underdogs!
ABOVE: William's first "movie star" was Theda Bara. For obvious reasons.
BELOW: The first California Fox Film studio
Amid all of the legal drama with Edison, William began to make his own films at his new studio in New Jersey, and within a couple of years he had acquired a studio in California as well. He claimed that the movies he'd been showing did not meet his quality standards, and in his words:
"What concerned me far more was to make a name that would stand for the finest in entertainment the world over."
Which is almost exactly what all of the Hollywood moguls said. Just saying.
William at the Hollywood studio with a group of actresses. (1920) *No, it is NOT Charlie Chaplin sans makeup. We checked it out.
Well, ol' William bought himself a massive estate that he named "Fox Hall", and immediately became the family patriarch, not only to his own wife and children but to his brothers and sisters, as well. Sort of an intentional slap in the face to his actual father. Just as Louis B. Mayer did, William dictated to his entire family what they could and couldn't do and how they could or couldn't act. If they disobeyed, they incurred his wrath - and of course, did not receive any money from him. This was very serious in his family, as all of the men were on his payroll, and the women weren't "allowed" to work.
William may have been raised by Jewish parents, but he did not continue in Judaism as an adult. Rather, he accumulated his own beliefs in numerology ("all good things come in threes"), and a divine master plan. He often referred to an event from his childhood as proof that God was controlling his path, when the butcher suddenly decided to extend his family's credit at the meat market. Years later, William financially supported the butcher, and always held to the belief that God knew he would be helping the butcher out later in life - which is why he believed God told the butcher to give William's family the meat. He also claimed to be able to enter a person's mind and read their thoughts. Sounds like a stable guy.
From 1925-1926, William acquired the U.S. rights to a sound system from German inventors. It became known as "Fox Movietone" and in 1927, Fox Film began making the weekly "Fox Movietone News" feature (which continued until 1963!). This system was more advanced than the sound system used by Warner Brothers, so although they were "first" to use sound, Fox's technology made theirs obsolete!
William (1933)
In 1927, Marcus Loew passed away, leaving an "open door of opportunity", so to speak. William decided this was a great time to expand, and worked with the new boss (Nicholas Schenck) to buy Marcus' share of MGM, without telling Irving Thalberg and Louis B. Mayer. Well, when they found out, they wouldn't stand for it, and slapped William with an antitrust lawsuit. And as if THAT wasn't bad enough...
In summer of 1929, William was badly hurt in an automobile accident. By the time he recovered, the notorious stock market Crash of '29 had hit him hard, and he lost his fortune as well as control of his company, theaters and studios. Fox Film Corporation became the well-known 20th Century Fox, which (ironically) William had no involvement with! Instead, he was launched into a lengthy, 7-year battle against bankruptcy. Towards the end of the case, he attempted to bribe a judge and committed perjury - which meant prison time. In 1943, William served 5 months and 17 days, after which he was released. Years later, President Truman issued him a pardon. Um...it's a little late, Harry....
In 1952, William passed away at age 73. His death was mostly unnoticed by the film industry, and no one from his Hollywood years attended his funeral. He was buried in Brooklyn, New York, and was survived by his wife Eva and their 2 daughters.
Like all of the moguls, William was far from perfect - but his hard work, courage and dedication is quite admirable. The ending of his story can be interpreted as a reminder to stay humble - because even the mighty can be struck down by life's storms. Also, it serves as a reminder...DON'T TRY TO BRIBE A JUDGE. JUST DON'T DO IT.
Watch his hit film "A Fool There Was" (1915) below!
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