Neil Steere McCarthy was an American corporate

Corporate lawyer

A corporate lawyer is a lawyer who specializes in corporations law.As of 2004, there were 67,000 corporate lawyers in the United States, working on average for 50 hours per week, with a mean starting salary of USD64,000, rising to USD93,700 after 5 years and USD139,000 after 10–15 years.The...

 and film industry

Film industry

The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...

 lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

, and a Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse owner/breeder. A third-generation Los Angeles native, he graduated from the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

 with a degree in law. For about seventeen years, McCarthy was associated with businessman Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...

 as his attorney and was a vice president in the Hughes organization during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=dqEKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mE0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6994,1898310&dq=neil+mccarthy+howard+hughes&hl=en McCarthy set up practice in Los Angeles where he rose to fame as an attorney for many in the film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 industry. Among his clients were Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

 and well-known personalities such as producer Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille

Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...

, MGM Studios

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...

 boss Louis B. Mayer

Louis B. Mayer

Louis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...

, and actors Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....

, Joan Bennett

Joan Bennett

Joan Geraldine Bennett was an American stage, film and television actress. Besides acting on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 motion pictures from the era of silent movies well into the sound era...

, Betsey Cushing Roosevelt

Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney

Betsey Roosevelt Whitney , was an American philanthropist, the ex-wife of James Roosevelt , and later wife of American millionaire and U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St...

, Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford , born Lucille Fay LeSueur, was an American actress in film, television and theatre....

, Lana Turner

Lana Turner

Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...

, and Ava Gardner

Ava Gardner

Ava Lavinia Gardner was an American actress.She was signed to a contract by MGM Studios in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew attention with her performance in The Killers . She became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day...

. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19801010&id=aqQSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PvkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5646,2963539

Neil McCarthy and his wife Marguerite had four children. A daughter, Marjorie, married Dennis J. Gless and were the parents of actress, Sharon Gless

Sharon Gless

Sharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...

. She sought her grandfather's advice and he told her: "It's a filthy business. You stay out of it" but a few years later when she spoke to him again about acting, he encouraged her, and gave her money for acting class. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/659424811.html?dids=659424811:659424811&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+07%2C+2004&author=JACQUELINE+CUTLER.+ZAP2IT&pub=Newsday+(Combined+editions)&desc='FOLK'+TALE%2C+Shy+Gless+a+brass+act%2C+Admittedly+timid%2C+she's+made+a+career+of+playing+tough%2C+outspoken+characters&pqatl=google Another daughter, Rosemary, married Dr. John A. E. Bullis. In 1975, Rosemary Bullis was awarded a Silver Cup for Outstanding Achievement by the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

  as one of its ten "Women of the Year." http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/656032322.html?dids=656032322:656032322&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Mar+11%2C+1975&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=10+Honored+as+Times+Women+of+the+Year&pqatl=google In 1966 Marguerite McCarthy died http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/496316082.html?dids=496316082:496316082&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+22%2C+1966&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Obituary+1+--+No+Title&pqatl=google and in 1969 Neil McCarthy remarried to artist Mary Belch Myers.

A Polo player and his salad

A polo

Polo

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...

 player, Neil McCarthy was a member of the Midwick Country Club and captain of its polo team. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/386494881.html?dids=386494881:386494881&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Apr+19%2C+1931&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=SANTA+BARBARA+FACES+MIDWICK&pqatl=google

The Neil McCarthy salad

Salad

Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...

, named in his honor, remains a signature dish tossed tableside at the Polo Lounge

Polo Lounge

The Polo Lounge is located inside the Beverly Hills Hotel at 9641 Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California.-Description:The Lounge has been described as "done up in peachy pink , with deep carpets and dark green booths, each booth featuring a plug-in phone...

 in Beverly Hills. The Blvd. restaurant at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel also serves a Neil McCarthy tossed salad. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/903319841.html?dids=903319841:903319841&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+28%2C+2005&author=Leslee+Komaiko&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Restaurants%3B+RESTAURANT+JOURNAL%3B+Now+we're+seeing+double&pqatl=google

Thoroughbred racing

In addition to a home in Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills, California

Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...

, Neil McCarthy owned a horse ranch in Hidden Valley. His involvement with horses extended to California Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

, both as an owner and as a breeder. In January 1948, he purchased the great Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n runner, Shannon

Shannon (horse)

Shannon , named Shannon II in America, was an outstanding Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He created new racecourse records in Australia before he was sold to an American buyer who exported him to California in 1948...

. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0A1EFD3C59157A93C6A8178AD85F4C8485F9 The horse won a number of important races for him in California including the prestigious Hollywood Gold Cup

Hollywood Gold Cup

The Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...

. Shannon would be voted a share of 1948 American Champion Older Male Horse honors. After retiring him from racing, McCarthy sold the horse to a breeding syndicate headed by Leslie Combs II of Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

 but kept a share of the breeding rights for himself. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/876359762.html?dids=876359762:876359762&FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+02%2C+1948&author=&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=Australian+Champion+Is+Retired+to+Stud&pqatl=google

Among his other racing successes, Neil McCarthy won the 1959 Bing Crosby and Palos Verdes Handicap

Palos Verdes Handicap

The Palos Verdes Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. A Grade II event, it is open to horses age four and up, willing to race six furlongs on dirt. It carries a purse of $150,000.In 1971, the Palos Verdes...

s, plus the San Vicente Stakes

San Vicente Stakes

The San Vicente Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park. A Grade III event, the race is open to three-year-old horses willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and carries a purse of $150,000....

 with Ole Fols, a horse he purchased in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. In 1962, his colt Royal Attack won California's most important race for three-year-olds, the Santa Anita Derby

Santa Anita Derby

The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...

.

Following a stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

, eighty-four-year-old Neil McCarthy died on July 25, 1972 in Good Samaritan Hospital

Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles)

Good Samaritan Hospital is a hospital in Los Angeles, California, United States. The hospital has 408 beds.-History:Good Samaritan Hospital was founded in 1885, although the current hospital was built in 1976...

in Los Angeles. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/667822302.html?dids=667822302:667822302&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+26%2C+1972&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Neil+S.+McCarthy%2C+Millionaire+Sportsman+and+Attorney%2C+Dies&pqatl=google