Mayer moved to New York and opened a talent agency; and in 1924, Louis B. Mayer merged his business with others and began Metro Golden Mayer, becoming a respected and feared Hollywood mogul.

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Louis B. Mayer moved with his Russian-Jewish immigrant family to Chelsea as a young adolescent in 1904.  Mayer’s father had failed at the metal salvage or junk, business in Canada, and Mayer dropped out of school at age 12 to help support the family.

 

Mayer joined other peddlers traveling Chelsea streets, collecting scrap metal, and selling it to the junk yards on 2nd St.  A lover of vaudeville, Mayer eventually partnered with the Broadway Theater owner, Nathan Gordon, to buy a dilapidated theater in Haverhill, MA, which they called the “Garlic Box,” because it catered to poor Italian immigrants.

 

Soon, they were the largest theater owners in New England; in 1916, Mayer moved to New York and opened a talent agency; and in 1924, Louis B. Mayer merged his business with others and began Metro Golden Mayer, becoming a respected and feared Hollywood mogul.