Remarkable Freemasons

by Jeffrey Croteau, Director of the Van Gorden-Williams Library and Archives

Cover Photo: Louis B. Mayer

St. Cecile Lodge No. 568, located in New York City, is a “daylight” lodge that was founded in 1865. The lodge meets during the afternoon. St. Cecile was created for musicians, theater professionals, and journalists whose evening work precluded them from attending nighttime meetings. Many famous performers have been members of St. Cecile Lodge No. 568. Here are just a few…

Louis B. Mayer (1884-1957)

Film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios in 1924, Mayer led the company at the height of its prestige. Mayer was born in Russia, grew up in Canada, and later moved to the United States. Actor Spencer Tracy, speaking of Mayer’s ambition, said, “The story he wanted to tell was the story of America, the land for which he had an almost furious love, born of gratitude—and of contrast with the hatred in the dark land of his boyhood across the seas. It was this love of America that made him an authority on America.”

Mayer was raised in St. Cecile Lodge No. 568 on September 15, 1914. Harry Houdini (1874-1926)

Harry Houdini (1874-1926)

Harry Houdini

Born Erich Weiss in Budapest, Harry Houdini was a worldfamous illusionist and escape artist. Houdini came to Freemasonry just a few years before he died. He was raised in St. Cecile Lodge No. 568 on August 21, 1923; was a member of Mecca Shrine Temple; and joined all four bodies of the Scottish Rite in New York City in 1924. Paul Whiteman (1890-1967)

Paul Whiteman (1890-1967)

An American composer and bandleader, Whiteman was hugely popular in the 1920s and early 1930s. During his life, he released more than 600 phonograph recordings and provided music for six Broadway shows. Known as the “King of Jazz,” he is remembered for having recorded jazz and pop standards, including George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” in 1924.

Whiteman was raised in St. Cecile Lodge No. 568 on May 2, 1922, and joined all York Rite bodies in New York City that same year. He was also a member of New York’s Mecca Shrine Temple. Al Jolson (1886-1950)

Al Jolson (1886-1950)

Singer, actor, and vaudevillian, Jolson is considered the United States’ most popular and highestpaid star of the 1920s. From 1911 until 1926, Jolson was Broadway’s biggest attraction. Jolson is wellknown today for playing the lead in the first talking movie, 1927’s “The Jazz Singer.” Jolson was raised in St. Cecile Lodge No. 568 on July 1, 1913.