Fleming, Victor

Fleming, Victor (1883–1949) movie director; born in Pasadena, Calif. Beginning in Hollywood in 1910 as an assistant cameraman, he worked at times under D. W. Griffith and filmed several of Douglas Fairbanks' films. He was hired as official cameraman of President Woodrow Wilson's trip to Europe (1918–19) and on his return made his directorial debut, launching a three-decades-long career as one of the more reliable directors, working primarily for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Although many of his movies were fairly routine adventures, several have survived as classics, particularly The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Gone With the Wind (1939); he received an Oscar for the latter though it has since been revealed that several people had a hand in directing parts of that movie.