Mike Todd
Michael Todd (born Avrom Hirsch Goldbogen; June 22, 1907 – March 22, 1958) was an American theater and film producer, celebrated for his 1956 Around the World in 80 Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Actress Elizabeth Taylor was his third wife. Todd was the third of Taylor's seven husbands, and the only one whom Taylor did not divorce. Todd died in a private plane accident a year after their marriage. He was the driving force behind the development of the eponymous Todd-AO widescreen film format.
For other people with the same name, see Michael Todd (disambiguation).
Mike Todd
March 22, 1958 (aged 50)
Beth Aaron Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois
Producer
1933–1958
Evelyn Keyes (1953–1956)
2
Early life[edit]
Todd was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Chaim Goldbogen (an Orthodox rabbi), and Sophia Hellerman, both of whom were Polish Jewish immigrants. His year of birth has been reported variously as 1907, 1908, 1909 or 1911,[3] but 1907 is the generally accepted year.[1][2] He was one of nine children in a poor family, the youngest son, and his siblings nicknamed him "Tod" (pronounced "Toat" in German) to mimic his difficulty pronouncing the word "coat". It was from this that his name was derived.[4][5]
The family moved to Chicago, arriving on the day World War I ended.[5] Todd was expelled in the sixth grade for running a game of craps inside the school.[6] In high school, he produced the school play, The Mikado.[7] As Mike Todd, he would produce a jazz version of the musical on Broadway in 1939.[8]
Todd dropped out of high school, and worked as a shoe salesperson and store window decorator. One of his first jobs was as a soda jerk. When the drugstore went out of business, Todd had acquired enough medical knowledge from his work there to be hired at Chicago's Michael Reese Hospital as a type of "security guard" to stop visitors from bringing in food that was not on the patient's diet.[5]
Career[edit]
Construction[edit]
Todd began his career in the construction business, where he made, and subsequently lost, a fortune. He opened the College of Bricklaying of America, buying the materials on credit to teach bricklaying. The school was forced to close when the Bricklayers' Union did not view the college as an accepted place of study.[5] Todd and his brother, Frank, next opened their own construction company.[5]
His first flirtation with the film industry was when he served as a contractor to Hollywood studios, soundproofing production stages during the transition from silent pictures to sound.[7] The company he owned with his brother went bankrupt when its financial backing failed in the early days of the Great Depression. Not yet 21, Todd had lost over $1 million (equivalent to about $18,239,044 in today's funds). Todd married the former Bertha Freshman on February 14, 1927, and was the father of an infant son with no home for his family.[9] Todd's subsequent business career was volatile, and failed ventures left him bankrupt many times.[10][11]