Paul Bern | |
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Born | Paul Levy December 3, 1889 |
Died | September 5, 1932 | (aged 42)
Cause of death | Suicide by gunshot wound[1] |
Resting place | Inglewood Park Cemetery |
Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, director, producer |
Years active | 1919–1932 |
Spouse | |
Partner | Dorothy Millette (1911–1920) |
Paul Bern (born Paul Levy; December 3, 1889 – September 5, 1932) was a German-born American film director, screenwriter and producer for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), where he became the assistant to producer Irving Thalberg. He helped launch the career of Jean Harlow, whom he married in July 1932; two months later, he was found dead of a gunshot wound, leaving what appeared to be a suicide note. Various alternative theories of his death have been proposed. MGM writer and film producer Samuel Marx believed that he was killed by his ex-common-law wife Dorothy Millette, who jumped to her death from a ferry two days afterward.