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Richard A. Rowland | |
|---|---|
 Rowland in 1920 | |
| Born | (1880-12-08)December 8, 1880 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 12, 1947(1947-05-12) (aged 66) New York City |
| Other names | R. A. Rowland |
| Occupations | Studio executive, film producer |
Richard A. Rowland (December 8, 1880 – May 12, 1947) was an Americanstudio executive and film producer.
Born inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rowland was the head ofMetro Pictures Corporation from 1915 to 1920, a studio he founded in 1915 along withLouis B. Mayer. Mayer left in 1918 to form his own studio. Metro did most of its productions in Los Angeles and in New York City, where it occasionally leased facilities inFort Lee, New Jersey. Among Metro's productions were:The Eternal Question (1916) withOlga Petrova,The Divorcée (1919) withEthel Barrymore, andWhat Will People Say? (1915) directed byAlice Guy-Blache.
In 1919, whenCharlie Chaplin,D.W. Griffith,Douglas Fairbanks, andMary Pickford formedUnited Artists to protect their work and control their careers, Rowland, then head of Metro Studios, famously remarked that "the lunatics have taken over the asylum".
In 1920, Rowland sold Metro toMarcus Loew, and subsequently became an executive atFox Film Corporation. Loew was acquiring studios to help supply product to his theater chain. A few years later, Loew merged Metro with recently acquiredGoldwyn Pictures Corporation to formMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Rowland played a key role in the setting of standards and improving the speed of movie projection to improve the quality of the experience as a member of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers, later theSociety of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).
Later in life, he was a professor atColumbia University, where he wrote several academic articles on the role that film played in modern culture. In one of his essays, titledAmerican Classic, he argues thatMarx Brothers films are classics that will stand the test of time.
Rowland died on May 12, 1947, in New York City. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Rowland has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame located at 1541Vine Street.
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | Pay Day | actor, as himself |
| 1928 | The Barker | Producer |
| 1929 | The Divine Lady | Executive producer |
| House of Horror | Producer | |
| Two Weeks Off | Producer | |
| 1936 | I'd Give My Life | Producer |
| Along Came Love | Producer | |
| 1941 | Cheers for Miss Bishop | Producer |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
