Leo McCarey Biography

Fast Facts

• Received his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for contributions to Motion Pictures in 1960
• Entered the movie business in 1920 as an assistant director to Tod Browning after working as a criminal defense attorney for a short period
• Quote: "I love when people laugh, I love when they cry, I like a story to say something, and I hope the audience feels happier leaving the theatre than when it came in․"
• Was involved in almost 200 movies, many of them comedies
• Created the comedy team of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy when he cast them together while working for Hal Roach Studios and helped them develop their onscreen personas
• French director Jean Renoir stated that McCarey understood people more thoroughly than the other directors working in Hollywood
• In 1944, he had the highest reported income in the United States