Final answer:
The correct answer is option c) Louis B. Mayer.
Step-by-step explanation:
The figure responsible for setting the practices of the Hollywood studio system was not Thomas Edison, D.W. Griffith, or Charlie Chaplin, but rather Louis B. Mayer. Louis B. Mayer, as the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), played a pivotal role in crafting the early structure of the Hollywood studio system in the 1920s and 1930s. The studio system centralized the production, distribution, and exhibition of films, creating a hierarchy that enabled studios to efficiently manage and produce a high volume of films, securing their control over the film industry.
While Edison did contribute significantly to the creation and development of early film technology, the patent control and film production in New York, and D.W. Griffith was influential in establishing narrative filmmaking techniques, neither was directly responsible for the establishment of the studio system practices that Louis B. Mayer is credited with. Charlie Chaplin, known for his iconic character 'The Tramp' and for being a box office attraction, was a star of the era and later a co-founder of United Artists, but he was not primarily involved in developing the studio system either. Edison, while a pioneer in film technology, manufacturing, and production, did not create the studio system that governed Hollywood.