Jack Cumming
Biography
Jack Cummings was a Canadian-American film producer and director who became one of the leading producers at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). He was born on February 16, 1905, and died on April 28, 1989.
The nephew of MGM chief Louis B. Mayer, Cummings joined the studio in the 1920s as an office boy and worked his way through various departments. He became a staff producer in 1934 and gained recognition with the lavish musical Born to Dance (1936).
Cummings went on to produce many successful MGM films, including Kiss Me Kate (1953), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956), Three Little Words (1950), Interrupted Melody (1955), and The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954). Seven Brides for Seven Brothers earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
After leaving MGM, he worked as an independent producer with Twentieth Century-Fox, producing films such as The Blue Angel (1959) and Can-Can (1960). He returned to MGM in 1964 to produce the Elvis Presley musical Viva Las Vegas.
Despite being Louis B. Mayer's nephew, Cummings developed a reputation as a knowledgeable and demanding producer who had worked his way through many aspects of filmmaking. He was particularly respected for his understanding of musicals, comedy, production, and studio filmmaking.
