8 Writers Michael Benson and Craig Singer chronicle the lives of Nicholas and Joseph Schenck, brothers whose ambition and enterprise made them legends in Hollywood. The Story of Hollywood is Synonymous With the Life Story of the Schenck Brothers By Luis Polanco What is it with brothers and enterprise? There is no shortage of stories about brothers who band together to form a business and succeed. These stories appeal to a few things in the American imagination — to enduring ideas about families succeeding together or the fact that blood is thicker than capital. A few famous examples come to mind. First off, in Roman mythology, there’s the story of Romulus and Remus, who founded Rome. In the U.S., there are the aviation pioneers, the Wright brothers. There are the brothers who founded superstore Walmart. There are the Warner brothers. And then there’s the Schenck brothers — Nicholas and Joseph — who were foundational to shaping twentiethcentury Hollywood and its future landscape. A recent book chronicles the Schenck brothers’ life story, which spreads across the realms of celebrity, entertainment, cinema, and real estate like a network of roots in the soil of the United States in the twentieth century. Michael Benson and Craig Singer’s Moguls: The Lives and Times of Hollywood Film Pioneers Nicholas and Joseph Schenck (304 pgs., Citadel, 2024, $28) presents a beguiling account of how the Schenck brothers gained power and notoriety in Hollywood, featuring a cast of some of the most important names in the industry, everyone from business magnate and motion picture pioneer Marcus Loew and studio head Louis B. Mayer to some of the most iconic talent from the century, including Fatty Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, and Marilyn Monroe, among many others. The book doubles as a biography of the brothers and a history of some of the most inspiring and scandalous events in the United States. Co-authors Benson and Singer bring their varied backgrounds to the book. Benson is the author of several nonfiction history and crime books, including Gangsters vs Nazis, and Betrayal in Blood. Singer is an Emmy-nominated director, producer, playwright, writer, and a former Disney executive. He directed and produced films such as Animal Room (1995) and A Good Night to Die (2003), among others. Their story is a story of humble beginnings and unhumble middles and endings. The Schenck family migrated from Russia to New York City in the early 1890s. Joseph (Joe), the older brother, and Nicholas (Nick), the younger brother, got their start in the entertainment biz working concessions at amusement parks before they partnered with Marcus Loew in movie theaters. From there, their future would see them hold “controlling interest in three major studios: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Twentieth Century-Fox, and United Artists (UA).” The two brothers couldn’t be any different — and yet this is also the trope of brothers who become titans of industry. One brother represents purity and hard work, while the other represents vice and excess. Such is the case with the Schenck brothers. Nick was the family man, while Joe was the “swinger.” Nick excelled at real estate and board meetings, while Joe was a people person who had a knack for spotting star talent. Nick was feared in Hollywood, while Joe was beloved there. Their differences in character found common ground in a similar taste for lavishness: Nick lived in a “Gatsby-like mansion — 30 rooms, 20 acres — on Long Island’s North Shore” (in New York), while Joe lived in “a nine-bedroom, ten-bathroom Italian Renaissance-style mansion known as Owlwood in the enclave of Holmby Hills overlooking Sunset Boulevard,” in Los Angeles. The Schenck brothers were not ones to walk away from scandal and controversy. Joe Schenck was friends with the silent film actor and comedian Roscoe Conkling “Fatty” Arbuckle, one of the most popular and highest-paid film stars of his time. In 1921, Arbuckle attended a party where he allegedly punctured the bladder of the actress Virginia Rappe, which resulted in her death. According to party witnesses, Arbuckle locked the actress in a room with him, and they heard screams. Consequently, rumors spread that Arbuckle had sexually assaulted Rappe, and Arbuckle was charged with manslaughter. The incident made newspaper headlines, and Arbuckle’s “name became a synonym for hideous sexual violence,” Benson and Singer write. Joe Schenck would pay close to $100,000 for Arbuckle’s legal defense team. In the 1940s, Joe Schenck was also in trouble about taxes. He allegedly made deductions to his income, hid gambling winnings, and was put on trial for “tax-deductible gifts” to up-and-coming starlets. The court trials concluded with: “Joe did four months and five days in the fed pen for tax evasion — one of his deductions involved a ménage à trois — but was quickly released after allowing the USO to use one of his houses in Palm Springs.” The United Service Organization (USO) was an agency that provided morale and recreation services to U.S. uniformed military personnel. And yet, despite how the brothers courted controversy and scandal, they are associated with some of the greatest milestone achievements in Hollywood. They co-created the Motion Picture Academy and the Oscars, and they created the blueprint for the Hollywood studio system. Co-authors Benson and Singer capture something true about the subjects of ragsto-riches tales. These stories are not always about men who make people proud. Sure, at times they exhibited strength and valor and courage. And at other times they exhibited weakness and corruption. Benson and Singer note: “The Schencks’ story is also a history of the twentieth-century in America: war, jazz, prohibition, sex, Great Depression, more war, organized crime, gambling, Red Scares, and blacklists.” VIDEOAGE June 2025 Book Review
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