A visionary and a gambler, internationally oriented but with a deep love for his former Upper Swabian homeland, a tough businessman but sympathetic to the needy, a cunning workaholic, in love with million-dollar projects but someone who balked at high wages for stars, a patriarch and generous philanthropist: Carl Laemmle's personality was multifaceted indeed. "Uncle Carl" gave many relatives, friends, and acquaintances from Germany a wide range of jobs at Universal in Hollywood. This family man did not, however, go on to create a dynasty (Photo: Carl Laemmle with his extended family, 1928).

Hollywood means superstars – thanks to Carl Laemmle. He not only seized on the idea of naming the previously all but unknown actors in his films – he also intentionally turned them into celebrities. Thanks to rumors about an abduction and her supposed death, Florence Lawrence became America's first movie star. Names like Mary Pickford, Lon Chaney, Boris Karloff, and Bela Lugosi quickly followed (photo: Mae West). Laemmle pushed his movies with ingenious advertising campaigns such as a cat casting for "The Black Cat." Nevertheless, many stars reached the pinnacles of their careers only after moving to other studios, because Laemmle was not prepared to pay the rapidly rising wages. The ghosts that he summoned...

After the US entry into the war in 1917, Carl Laemmle played his part in portraying the Germans as barbaric Huns in propaganda films. The making of "All Quiet on the Western Front" in 1930 was thus also conceived as a gesture of reconciliation toward Germany. It completely failed in that respect. While moviegoers in the USA, Great Britain, and France sympathized with the portrayal of their wartime enemy, Laemmle was roundly hated for the film in Germany, above all in nationalist circles. At the same time, however, this masterpiece produced by his son represented the crowning achievement of Carl Laemmle's career: It became a box-office hit and Laemmle received an Oscar for it.

After a few successes and failures as a business man, Carl Laemmle recognized the potential for a new area of the film industry: In 1906, he acquired the first Nickelodeon Theater in Chicago. In order to be able to show more films in his theaters, he began producing them himself. He wrested his success from the grip of a powerful opponent: the world-renowned inventor Thomas Alva Edison. Laemmle's struggle with the monopoly "Motion Pictures Patent Company," which was demanding licensing fees to use Edison's patents on cameras and projectors, played out in 289 lawsuits – and violently so: Laemmle's film crews were forced to temporarily flee to Cuba because of it in 1910/11 (photo: magazine headline about the filming efforts). Edison comes to hate him, and his insults are documented in numerous letters.

By the mid-1920's, the film industry had become impossible to predict: The making of movies with sound, technical advancement, and ever more opulent productions began eating up more and more capital – which was becoming ever harder to garner during a time of global economic crisis. Although Universal had losses running into the many millions of dollars, successful films saved the company. In 1936, Carl Laemmle gambled his shares in the company on short-term credit – and lost. When he was unable to repay the loan to an investor on time, he was forced to sell (photo: Laemmle's farewell message). However, the sum of around four million dollars made him a rich man.

Carl Laemmle came from a simple Jewish family and never forgot his roots. In the 1920's, he had liturgical music performed by the cantor of the Laupheim Synagogue recorded in Berlin. In the US, he was in contact with Jewish associations. He recognized the impending threat for European Jews early on, and issued warnings about Hitler as early as 1932. After the end of his tenure as president of Universal in 1936, Laemmle dedicated his time, energy, and connections to the task of enabling as many Jews as possible to emigrate from Germany. The number of affidavits (affidavit of support, photo) he issued was nevertheless too high for the US authorities. So Laemmle persuaded others to sign the papers. He died on September 24, 1939 in Beverly Hills.