Hollywood Genealogy

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Jack Cummings

Male 1905 - 1989  (84 years)


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  • Name Jack Cummings  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11] 
    Born 16 Feb 1905  Saint John, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11] 
    Gender Male 
    Also Known As Jack Spencer Cummings  [11] 
    Also Known As Jack Spencer Komiensky  [1, 5] 
    Also Known As Jack Spencer Kominsky  [11] 
    Also Known As Jacob S. Cummings  [5, 6] 
    Also Known As John Spencer Cummings  [7, 8] 
    Arrival 15 Jul 1915  Newport, Orleans, Vermont, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [11, 12] 
    Immigration 15 Jul 1915  USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [11, 12] 
    Census 16 Jan 1920  Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [12] 
    Occupation 16 Apr 1926  [11] 
    assistant motion picture director 
    Residence 16 Apr 1926  Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [11] 
    Census 5 Apr 1930  Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [13] 
    Occupation 5 Apr 1930  [13] 
    supervisor for a motion pictures company 
    Residence 1 Apr 1935  Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [14] 
    Census 9 May 1940  Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [14] 
    Occupation 9 May 1940  [14] 
    producer of motion pictures 
    Property 9 May 1940  [14] 
    owned his home at this time 
    Occupation 16 Oct 1940  [7] 
    employee of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios 
    Residence 16 Oct 1940  Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [7] 
    Died 28 Apr 1989  Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10] 
    Buried 1 May 1989  Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, Los Angeles, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 10] 
    Person ID I29  Mayer Genealogy
    Last Modified 27 Jul 2020 

    Father Louis S. Komiensky,   b. 1876,   d. 13 Dec 1933, Saint John, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 57 years) 
    Mother Ida Mayer,   b. 15 Feb 1882, Dymer, Russia Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 21 Apr 1968, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 86 years) 
    Married 2 Sep 1902  Saint John, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [15] 
    Family ID F10  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Elizabeth Jane Kern,   b. 16 Dec 1918, Bronxville, Westchester, New York, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Apr 1996, Danville, Boyle, Kentucky, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 77 years) 
    Last Modified 25 Jul 2020 
    Family ID F12  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Marjorie Straus,   b. 29 Oct 1907, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 24 Jul 1962, Manhattan, New York, New York, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 54 years) 
    Married 13 Apr 1931  Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  [8] 
    Children 
     1. Julie Ann Cummings
     2. Cathy Victoria Cummings
    Last Modified 27 Jul 2020 
    Family ID F29  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Came Up Through the Ranks of MGM
      Jack Cummings; Film Musical Producer
      By MICHAEL CONNELLY, Times Staff Writer

      Jack Cummings, who worked his way up from a job as an MGM office boy to become producer of some of Hollywood’s more successful musicals during a 30-year career, died Friday.

      He was 84 and died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of heart failure, family members said.

      The nephew of studio mogul Louis B. Mayer, Cummings followed his uncle into the film business, working as an office boy, script clerk, assistant director and short subject director for MGM studios before producing his first feature film, “The Winning Ticket,” a comedy, in 1934.

      Cummings produced dozens more films during the next 30 years. Although he also made comedies and dramatic films, he is perhaps best noted for the musicals he produced, including “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” “Kiss Me Kate!” “Born to Dance,” “Broadway Melody of 1937” and “Interrupted Melody.”

      Other films produced by Cummings include “Go West,” “Bathing Beauty,” “The Stratton Story,” “The Teahouse of the August Moon,” “The Blue Angel” and “Can Can.” His last film was “Viva Las Vegas” in 1964.

      Cummings had a hand in the production of more than 100 films at MGM, from which many of the best and most enduring musicals came. On the films he produced, he was known for taking part in almost all aspects of film making, from choreography to costuming to direction.

      Family members said “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” was Cummings’ favorite film. The film was made on a back lot at MGM at the same time other more expensive musicals with stage-famed titles were being made in the center stage studios. However, when Cummings’ film was released, it became MGM’s biggest hit in 1954.

      Cummings is survived by four daughters; Carla Luisa Cummings and Cathy St. Aubin Cummings of Los Angeles, Julie Siff, of New York, and Linda Cummings of Louisville, Ky., and three grandchildren.

      A memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday at Hillside Memorial Park.

      source: Connelly, Michael. "Jack Cummings; Film Musical Producer.” Los Angeles, CA: The Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr 1989, p. 42.

  • Sources 
    1. [S1] U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current [database on-line]., Find A Grave, Inc., (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012).

    2. [S2] U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]., Social Security Administration, (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015).

    3. [S3] California, Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]., California Department of Public Health, (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000).

    4. [S47] Jack S. Cummings, Social Security Death Index, Social Security Number 567-18-9280, 28 Apr 1989, West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California, USA; U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 [database on-line]., Social Security Administration, (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2014).

    5. [S48] New Brunswick, Canada, Births and Late Registrations, 1810-1906 [database on-line]., Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017).

    6. [S49] Jacob S. Komiensky, Birth Certificate No. 003901, 16 Feb 1905, Saint John, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, Registration Division of Saint John City and County.

    7. [S4] U.S. WWII Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]., National Archives and Records Administration, (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011).

    8. [S50] Cook County, Illinois Marriage Index, 1930-1960 [database on-line]., Cook County Clerk (Chicago, IL), ( Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008).

    9. [S51] Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) [database on-line]., Gale Research Company, (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009).

    10. [S52] “Jack Cummings; Film Musical Producer.”, (Los Angeles, CA: The Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr 1989, p. 42.).

    11. [S53] Jack Spencer Kominsky (AKA Jack Spencer Cummings), Declaration of Intention, 16 Apr 1926, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Los Angeles, California; U.S., Naturalization Records, 1840-1957 [database on-line]., National Archives and Records Administration, (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010).

    12. [S43] 1920 United States Federal Census, Boston Ward 21, Enumeration District, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, National Archives Microfilm Roll T625_739; 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]., National Archives and Records Administration, ( Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010).

    13. [S45] 1930 United States Federal Census, Los Angeles, Enumeration District 99, Los Angeles County, California; 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]., National Archives and Records Administration, (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002).

    14. [S46] 1940 United States Federal Census, Beverly Hills, Enumeration District 19-38A, Los Angeles County, California, National Archives Microfilm Roll m-t0627-00220; 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]., National Archives and Records Administration, (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012).

    15. [S23] New Brunswick, Canada, Marriages, 1789-1950 [database on-line]., Ancestry.com, (Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2017).