Arthur Freed Biography

Fast Facts

• Was awarded the Irving G․ Thalberg Award for "creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production" in 1951
• Was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972
• Began his production career as an uncredited associate producer on "The Wizard of Oz" in 1939
• Started out as a pianist and song plugger in Chicago, where he met Minnie Marx, the mother of the Marx Brothers, and began touring with them as a singer and songwriter
• Best known as the producer and lyricist who helped shape the world of film musicals, with credits including "Show Boat," "An American in Paris," and "Singin' in the Rain․"
• Joined MGM Studios in the mid-1920s where he worked with composer Nacio Herb Brown on most of the songs in the studio's early musicals
• During his years at MGM, he built up a the "Freed Unit," his trusted cast and crew, with some of the most durable names in film musicals, including Vincente Minnelli, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, and Betty Comden
• Served as the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1963 to 1966, and appeared in several of the awards shows as a producer or presenter
• The success of "The Wizard of Oz" led him to produce a number of "backyard" musicals starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, including "Babes in Arms" and "Strike Up the Band․"
• Was an influential supporter of the "integrated" musical, where the songs became integral to the storyline instead of being a cheerful interruption