Robert Z. Leonard

His first marriage was to the actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter, Mae Murray, in 1918. Murray was known for her volatile temperament and the marriage came to an end in 1925.

He married actress, Gertrude Olmstead, in 1926 and remained together until his death.

Robert Z. Leonard died on August 27, 1968, at the age of 78.

Robert Zigler Leonard was born on October 7, 1889, in Chicago, Illinois.

As a young man, he decided to study law and enrolled at the University of Colorado. He soon realized that the legal profession held no interest for him and started exploring alternative occupations.

His family moved to Hollywood in 1907 where the fledgling film industry was gradually taking roots. Excited by the prospects offered by the emerging industry, he ventured into filmdom and began his acting career.

Some of his early films were: ‘The Courtship of Miles Standish’ (1910), ‘The Sea Urchin’ (1913), and ‘Shon the Piper’ (1913).

By this time he was gaining an interest in getting behind the camera and made his directorial debut with the 1913 drama ‘A Woman’s Folly.’

In 1914, he made a series of comedy shorts in which he also starred—‘The Boob’s Honeymoon’, ‘The Sherlock Boob’, and ‘The Boob’s Nemesis’, among others.

He directed several movies during the late 1910s including ‘Secret Love’ (1916), ‘The Bride's Awakening’ (1918), ‘Danger, Go Slow’ (1918), and ‘The Miracle of Love’ (1919).

Robert Z. Leonard received much acclaim for directing the Norma Shearer starrer ‘The Divorcee’, based on the novel ‘Ex-Wife’ by Ursula Parrott. The film, which portrayed the female protagonist as a sexually independent woman was a critical as well as commercial success.

Best known for his sophisticated musicals, he directed the musical ‘The Great Ziegfeld’ which starred William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld, Jr. With highly elaborate costumes, dances and sets, the film was acclaimed as the greatest musical biography to be made in Hollywood and still remains a standard in musical film making.