One of the most distinguished of the old Hollywood movie moguls, Samuel Goldwyn probably rose the farthest of them all from the humblest of beginnings. Born Schmuel Gelbfisz in Warsaw, Poland, in 1879 (some sources say 1882), he grew up in a life of dire poverty. At age 16, he left home on foot, headed west, and ended up in England, where he lived for two years. He adopted the name Samuel Goldfish, worked, begged, and perhaps also stole to survive, and then got passage on a ship to Nova Scotia. He headed south to New York, again on foot, in 1898. He arrived without a penny to his name and got a job sweeping floors at a glove company, later becoming a glove maker's apprentice and also attending night school to further his education. Goldfish became a salesman for the company and was good enough to earn a five-figure annual income at the opening of the 20th century, extraordinary for a working man. [Note: Goldwyn's background with the glove company was referred to obliquely in a sight gag in one 1930s Max Fleischer cartoon, in which part of an underwater tableau includes a goldfish with a pushcart selling gloves]. In the process of living a middle-class American life, he developed one special cultural love and fixation — the movies, which were just becoming a vehicle for serious entertainment. In 1913, Goldfish and his brother-in-law, the vaudeville producer Jesse L. Lasky, went into business together, forming the Jesse Lasky Feature Photoplay Company; their debut release, …  » Read more