Ida Koverman

Ida Brockway "Kay" Koverman (May 15, 1876 – November 24, 1954) was an American film executive. She is best known as the woman who "ran MGM" as Louis B. Mayer's executive secretary and, later, director of public relations for the studio.[1]

Ida Koverman
Born
Ida Ranous Brockway

May 15, 1876
Cincinnati, Ohio
DiedNovember 24, 1954 (aged 78)
Los Angeles
Occupationexecutive secretary to Louis B. Mayer (1928-1951)
director of public relations (1951-1954)
EmployerMGM
Political partyRepublican Party (United States)
Spouse(s)Oscar Henry Koverman (1910-1923)

Early life and work

Ida Brockway was born on May 15, 1876 in Cincinnati.[2] As a teenager, she worked in a local jewelry store. After attending business school, she became a stenographer and joined the U. S. Customs office in Cincinnati. In the wake of a sensational scandal, in 1910, she married Oscar H. Koverman. She then moved to New York where she held various jobs until she was hired by the company Gold Fields American Development Corporation (GFADC), not Herbert Hoover's better known Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa. Oscar and Ida divorced in 1923. He remarried and died tragically in 1934.[3]

After moving to California, Ida Koverman worked as the executive secretary of the Los Angeles County Central Committee of the state Republican Party. Working alongside engineer-entrepreneur Ralph Arnold, and allying with like-minded women leaders, she helped to lead the vanguard that won the White House for Herbert Hoover in 1928.

Career at MGM

In 1929, Louis B. Mayer hired Koverman as his executive secretary. Previously, she had facilitated Louis B. Mayer's entre into the state party and facilitated Mayer's relationship Herbert Hoover. Already a well-known politico, when she joined MGM, the press noted that as "a political expert" she was employed "to keep Mr. Mayer advised politically."[4]

Koverman's reputation continued to grow. Columnist Jimmie Fidler wrote in 1938 that "she happens to be one of the most powerful personages in the entire motion-picture industry." MGM executive Robert Vogel said she "damn near ran the studio."[5] Koverman helped discover, develop, and mentor stars for the studio, including Robert Taylor, Nelson Eddy, Robert Montgomery, Clark Gable, Leatrice Joy, Jean Parker, Jeanette MacDonald, Elizabeth Taylor, and Judy Garland.[6][7] It has been suggested that at Koverman's suggestion, MGM ran a school for young stars; Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Lana Turner, Jackie Cooper, Mickey Rooney, Peter Lawford and Donna Reed all attended.[8]

Long known as a conservative Republican, Koverman supported causes that reflected her political persuasion. In 1947, Koverman helped form the Hollywood Republican Committee with Robert Montgomery and George Murphy. She campaigned for Thomas E. Dewey in 1948 and for Richard Nixon's 1950 senate run.[9]

It is alleged that Howard Hughes once offered her $1000 a week to work for him at RKO. Koverman declined.[10] She worked as Louis B. Mayer's executive secretary until 1951, when Nicholas Schenck made her head of public relations for MGM.[9]

Ida Koverman died on November 24, 1954 in Los Angeles.

Koverman appears as a character in two biopics about Judy Garland: Rainbow (1978, played by Rue McClanahan) and Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001, played by Rosemary Dunsmore). Koverman is also a character in the 1985 film Malice in Wonderland (played by Bonnie Bartlett).

Koverman appears as a character in Adriana Trigiani's novel All the Stars in the Heavens.[11]

References
  1. Linge, Mary Kay (2018-03-31). "70 years before #MeToo, women ruled Hollywood". New York Post. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  2. Smyth, J. E., 1977- (2018). Nobody's girl Friday : the women who ran Hollywood. New York, NY, United States of America. p. 75. ISBN 9780190840822. OCLC 1002654326.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. She Damn Near Ran the Studio: The Extraordinary Lives of Ida R. Koverman,Jacqueline R. Braitman (UPM, 2020)
  4. Smyth, p. 76.
  5. Hill, Erin. "She "Damn Near Ran the Studio"". Lenny Letter. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  6. Smyth, p. 74-5.
  7. Eyman, Scott (2008-06-23). Lion of Hollywood: The Life and Legend of Louis B. Mayer. Simon and Schuster. p. 167. ISBN 9781439107911.
  8. Fleming, E. J. (2015-01-28). The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine. McFarland. p. 31. ISBN 9780786454952.
  9. Smyth, p. 80-81.
  10. Fleming, p. 31.
  11. Trigiani, Adriana. "Why My Book's Cover Doesn't Have a Picture of a Woman on It for the First Time Ever". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
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