Born in Rybinsk, Russia. Came to New York in 1893. Joseph, and younger brother Nicholas, built a drugstore business. They risked some profits and made more money in amusement parks. Marcus Lowe bought one of their parks in 1907, then made the Schencks partners in Consolidated Enterprises, his theater & movie house chain in 1912. Joseph booked films, which gave him the opportunity to meet film stars, among them Norma Talmadge, whom he married in 1917. They divorced in 1934. Schenck left Consolidated for Hollywood in 1917 to produce Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, and the later D.W. Griffith films. Nicholas stayed with Consolidated and later became president of Loew's International, MGM's parent. Joseph became chairman at United Artists in 1924, then president of UA in 1927. Schenck was one of the 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 1930 he established 20th Century Productions with Darryl F. Zanuck. 20th Century merged with Fox Film Corp. in 1935, with Schenck chairman of 20th Century-Fox. The Schencks, along with William Fox, Adolph Zukor & Samuel Goldwyn, were vital to the creation of the film industry and became known as the "Five Moguls." In 1936 Willie Bioff, a Chicago mobster running the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees & Moving Picture Machine Operators behind the scenes, told the studios they could avoid strikes for $2 million. All agreed to pay, but Schenck made one of the payoffs with a personal check, which came to the attention of U.S. Tax authorities. Indicted for income tax evasion, Schenck testified against Bioff and the titular union president, George Browne, in 1941 as part of a plea bargain. In 1946 he began to serve a one-year sentence for tax irregularities and union payoffs. He was pardoned by President Truman after serving 4 months and went back to Fox as head of production. Marilyn Monroe became friendly with Schenck in 1947 and was known as one of his "girl friends", although she said the relationship was platonic. He was helpful in her career in any case, getting her a small part in Fox's SCUDDA HOO! SCUDDA HAY! (1948) and convincing Harry Cohn to give her a contract at Columbia after Fox dropped her. AMPAS awarded Schenck a special Oscar® for services to the film industry in 1953. In 1953, he co-founded the Magna Corp. with Michael Todd to market the Todd-AO wide-screen system. Shortly after he retired in 1957, Schenck had a stroke and never fully recovered. He died in 1961.  Honorary Award 1952: "For long and distinguished service to the motion picture industry." Winner presented a Statuette. 1 Honorary Award