Irving Grant Thalberg, called the ‘boy wonder of Hollywood’ for his management of MGM Studios, died September 14, 1936. He was 37.

Thalberg was born May 30, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. Born with a congenital heart defect, he wasn’t expected to live past his 30th birthday. As result, he did not go to college after graduating high school. He eventually found a job working as a secretary for the New York office of Universal Studios.

By age 21, Universal President Carl Laemmle had re-located Thalberg to Hollywood and had made him the manager of Universal Studios.

In 1925, Louis B. Mayer, the president of MGM Studios, hired Thalberg as his vice president, reporting only to Mayer. Thalberg proved to be a genius at getting things done efficiently. He implemented a new policy of allowing producers and directors to shoot several takes of movie film in order to achieve the best result.

Thalberg married actress Normer Shearer in 1927, about the same time he began producing films for MGM. Thalberg’s success with films like The Big House and Trader Horn were a financial boon for MGM. He won an Oscar for his 1932 production of Grand Hotel.

Tarzan the Ape Man, starring Johnny Weissmuller in the title role, was another Thalberg production. The movie was a huge success that spawned 13 more Tarzan films.

Thalberg’s health began to deteriorate in 1932. He suffered a heart attack and had to spend several months recuperating.

While Thalberg was away, Mayer took away many of his responsibilities, but Thalberg continued to turn out successful movies, including 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty which won him another Oscar for Best Picture.

Thalberg was planning to form his own production company in 1936, but died of complications of pneumonia on September 14, 1936 in Santa Monica, California.

His last movie, The Good Earth, was the first film that listed Thalberg as the producer. During his lifetime, he thought it self-serving to give himself credit.

In 1937 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences established the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award, which is given each year to the most deserving producer.