Short answers, pulled from the story.
Irving Thalberg was an American film producer during the early years of motion pictures, known as "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and his skill at selecting scripts, choosing actors, and making profitable films. He was head of production at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where he supervised more than four hundred films and helped make MGM the most successful studio in Hollywood.
Irving Grant Thalberg was born on the 30th of May 1899 in Brooklyn, New York City, and died on the 14th of September 1936 at the age of thirty-seven. He had been diagnosed as a baby with a congenital heart disease that doctors said would kill him before thirty.
Irving Thalberg was called "The Boy Wonder" because of his youth combined with his ability to select scripts, choose actors, gather production staff, and make profitable films. He was made studio manager at Universal at twenty and head of production at MGM in 1925 at the age of twenty-six.
Irving Thalberg produced films including Grand Hotel, China Seas, A Night at the Opera, Mutiny on the Bounty, Camille, and The Good Earth. Grand Hotel won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1932 and Mutiny on the Bounty won Best Picture for 1935.
Irving Thalberg introduced story conferences with writers, sneak previews with audience questionnaires, and extensive reshooting of scenes to improve a film. He also introduced the first horror films to audiences and coauthored the Production Code, the set of moral guidelines all studios agreed to follow.
Irving Thalberg refused to take credit as producer, so his name never appeared on the screen while he was alive. He said, "If a picture is good, they'll know who produced it. If it's bad, nobody cares." The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 1937.