Best known for the film Gone With the Wind, producer David Selznick launched the careers of film legends Katharine Hepburn, Vivien Leigh, Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, and Jennifer Jones. Many of his films from the 1930s and 1940s are considered to be classics.

David Selznick was born on May 10, 1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of three sons born to Lewis and Florence (Flossie) Selznick. The boys were raised in New York City. Selznick's father made his fortune in early moving pictures. In Showman---The Life of David O. Selznick David Thomson wrote, "In David's eyes, Pop was not just a great man, but a crucial innovator in the picture business. Pop's influence on him was vast and unquestioned." Selznick's brother, Myron, was equally close to their mother. The eldest brother, Howard, suffered from health and personal problems his entire life, but outlived both of his brothers.

As...