Jack Cummings

Biography

Jack Cummings (born 1905 in Saint John, New Brunswick, died 1989) was a film producer best known for his long run at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he became one of the studio's leading figures, particularly in musicals. He was the nephew of studio chief Louis B. Mayer, a family connection that shaped his career as much as his work did.

He started at MGM in the prop department at seventeen and held nearly every job on the lot before producing his first feature, The Winning Ticket, in 1935. His breakthrough came in 1936 with Born to Dance, a Cole Porter musical that established his reputation. He went on to work with the Marx Brothers, Red Skelton, Esther Williams and Fred Astaire, producing Kiss Me Kate and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the latter earning him an Academy Award nomination.

After Mayer was pushed out of MGM in 1951, Cummings stayed on for several years before becoming an independent producer tied to Twentieth Century-Fox, where Can-Can (1960) was his biggest commercial success. He returned to MGM in 1964 to make Viva Las Vegas with Elvis Presley, his final film for the studio. Today he is remembered as a capable producer of musicals, though for years his contribution was overshadowed by his uncle.

Key films

• Born to Dance (1936): the Cole Porter musical with Eleanor Powell that established him as a producer.
• Bathing Beauty (1944): Esther Williams's starring debut and one of MGM's major hits of the period.
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954): the film he was proudest of, directed by Stanley Donen and nominated for an Oscar.
• Interrupted Melody (1955): a biopic of singer Marjorie Lawrence, which took him around three years to develop.
• Viva Las Vegas (1964): his last film for MGM, starring Elvis Presley.