M.B. Curtis likely isn’t a household name in Hollywood folklore, but his impact on the industry and Jewish culture cannot be understated.

A prolific actor in the Bay Area, he became the first Jewish actor to play a Jewish man on stage. Throughout his life's travels he met Mark Twain, the President of the United States and was the first citizen to light the Statue of Liberty.

Author and historian Richard Schwartz discusses his new book "The Man Who Lit Lady Liberty: The Extraordinary Rise And Fall Of Actor M.B. Curtis" detailing Curtis' life, and previews his talk at the California State Library about it.