George Gregory La Cava
Occupation / Title:Date of birth:March 10th, 1892
Date of death:March 1st, 1952
Birthplace:Towanda, Pennsylvania
Biography
Gregory La Cava was an American director and animator, best remembered for his films in the ’30s. Born in Pensylvania, La Cava got his early start animating for Raoul Barré in 1913. After being scooped up by Hearst to run his new animation studio, La Cava hired on co-workers Frank Moser, and Grim Natwick. After his stint in animation, La Cava moved west to pursue his film career, directing many films in his career.
Career outline
La Cava got his start working as a cartoonist for newspapers, and went on to head William Hearst’s animation studio, IFS. After his stint as director with International Film Services, he went on to direct over a hundred more animated short films. In the 1920s, La Cava transitioned into making live-action films, signing short years later with Paramount. The ’30s was when La Cava found his film successes, making The Half-Naked Truth in 1932, which was widely lauded, properly associating La Cava with screwball comedies. In 1936 and 1937 he made the critically acclaimed films My Man Godfrey (1936) and Stage Door (1937), both comedies which were nominated for a slew of Oscar nominations. After the ’30s, La Cava’s career began to decline, and in the ’40s, he experienced a number of filmic disappointments. In 1952, La Cava passed away of a heart attack.