1882-1949
Producer, studio executive and promoter Harry Rapf was born on this day in New York City. He started out in vaudeville, working to put together traveling acts and promoting them. He first got his start in the film industry in 1917 as an early example of what became known as a "presenter." His first presentation was (as far as anyone knows) The Argyle Case. The film was also partially produced by his own company, Harry Rapf Productions, and was directed by Ralph Ince. The first film for which he receives a direct producer credit for (though he should had one all along with any film his production company was involved in getting made) was To-Day in 1917. He quickly became one of the most important inside movers and shakers in the budding Hollywood studio system, but quietly and practically. He was one of the first top executives in the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1924 on. He was a personal favorite of Louis B. Mayer; and was a much lower profile executive than a Irving Thalberg. He created the comic duo (one that most have never heard of) of Dane & Arthur in the late 1920's and he was one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). He also managed to help steer productions through very, very hard times in the 1930's during the depression. He would continue to produce films right up until his death, in fact. In 1929, he was a heavy producer and promoter of films featuring full sound and early technicolor two color process. The last silent film that he produced with the Norma Shearer After Midnight in 1927. All of the films he produced in 1929 had either the color process and full or partial sound--most has both, including the once missing and recovered short Manhattan Serenade. His The Broadway Melody was nominated for 3 Oscar awards (the brand new award given by the Academy he helped found) and won Best Picture. In the 1930's, he produced in nearly all genres. For example, he was a producer on Tod Browning controversial 1932 film Freaks, albeit as a "stealth producer." By the 1940's, his production work slowed considerably; by the mid 1940's he wasn't producing at all. He had suffered a near fatal heart attack in 1939 which was responsible for the slow down. He produced just one film in 1946. His final film production was the Van Johnson film Scene Of The Crime 1949, the film was released after his death. Rapf passed away from another heart attack on the 6th of February in Los Angeles. He is interred Home of Peace Memorial Park in East Los Angeles. Rapf was the father of producer Matthew Rapf and writer Maurice Rapf.
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