Samuel Goldwyn Typed Letter to Archie Mayo Signed 1938 Samuel Goldwyn (/__o_ldw_n/; born Szmuel Gelbfisz; Yiddish: _____ ________; August 27, 1882 (claimed but most likely July 1879) – January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer and pioneer in the American film industry, who produced Hollywood’s first major-motion picture. He was best known for being the founding contributor and executive of several motion picture studios in Hollywood. He was awarded the 1973 Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (1947) and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1958).