Louis B. Mayer

Why does the world think actors are special? They just play pretend for a living. Doctors cure diseases, scientists unravel nature's mysteries, politicians... OK, let's forget about politicians...

You can thank Louis B. Mayer. The second M of MGM was a pioneering Hollywood mogul responsible for much of cinema's early development into an all-conquering medium. Among Mayer's contributions was his self-described "star system": he made regular people into stars.

Greta Garbo, Hedy Lamarr, Joan Crawford, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Taylor... That's just scratching the surface. Mayer build them up from humble beginnings, put them front and center, and made the world worship at their altar. It's safe to say that without Mayer, we wouldn't treat actors with the reverence we do today.

Well, better actors than politicians...