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1-50 of 337
- Alfred Fisher was born on 14 January 1849 in Bristol, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Prince and the Pauper (1915), Beasts of Paradise (1923) and The Fighting American (1924). He died on 26 August 1933 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Maggie Fisher was born on 10 June 1854 in Manchester, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Bachelor's Romance (1915), Out of a Clear Sky (1918) and The Valentine Girl (1917). She died on 3 November 1938 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Frank Norcross was born on 10 July 1857 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Beating the Odds (1919), King of the Pack (1926) and The Magic Toy Maker (1915). He died on 13 September 1926 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Australian-born Lydia Yeamans came into the world aboard a ship going from Sydney to Melbourne. Both her parents were performers. Her mother, Annie Griffiths, appeared on the stage in Australia when she was ten years old. Annie joined the circus, and married a circus clown from New York named Edward Yeamans. The pair had three daughters: Lydia, Jennie, and Emily, all of whom became performers.
In her prime, Lydia performed in England. During a show for King Edward VII, she sang "Sally in Our Alley." The King was so impressed he presented her with a gold bar pin in which the first notes of the tune were shown in diamonds.
One of Lydia's famous acts was dressing as a baby, with a cap, bows of blue ribbons on her shoulders, and bare arms. She was one of the first vaudeville artists to have her own piano accompanist - he happened to be Fred Titus, her husband.
After her stage career, Lydia entered films and amassed quite a few credits. Late in life, she donated $5000 to the Motion Picture Actors' Relief Association. Ironically, her generosity would come in handy. In November of 1929, while strolling along Hollywood Boulevard, she suffered a stroke which left her paralyzed. She was cared for at a hospital run by the Association. She died on December 29, 1929. In accordance with her wishes, her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean. - Georgia Woodthorpe was born on 11 October 1859 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Merely Mary Ann (1920), Thundering Dawn (1923) and Better Times (1919). She was married to Fred A. Cooper. She died on 25 August 1927 in Glendale, California, USA.
- William H. West was born on 26 July 1860 in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. He was an actor, known for The Fatal Opal (1914), On the Warpath (1911) and Mysteries of the Grand Hotel (1915). He was married to Roumelia G. Morris. He died on 20 August 1915 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
James Neill was born on 29 September 1860 in Savannah, Georgia, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Cameo Kirby (1914), The Cheat (1915) and Joan the Woman (1916). He was married to Edythe Chapman. He died on 16 March 1931 in Glendale, California, USA.- F.F. Guenste was born on 16 February 1862 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for The Tiger's Shadow (1928), Judgment of the Storm (1924) and Beau Brummel (1924). He was married to Katherine. He died on 28 March 1936 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Edythe Chapman was born in Rochester, New York on October 8, 1863. A stage actress who came upon movies late in life, she nonetheless made 97 motion pictures. She was 51 years old when she played in _Richelieu (1914)_. Edythe was one of the busier actresses in the early silent era appearing in as many as nine films a year. She didn't achieve the fame as some of her counterparts such as Mary Miles Minter, Clara Bow, or Colleen Moore, but she was a commodity that movie moguls wanted because of her fine character performances. In 1920, Edythe appeared as Aunt Polly in Huckleberry Finn (1920), followed by 'The County Fair' (1920). Throughout the twenties she stayed busy. She was even lucky enough to make the successful transition into the "talkie" era when other performers were finished because their voices didn't lend themselves well to sound. Edythe made her final film 'Up the River' (1930) when she was 67. She was 85 years old when she died in Glendale, California on October 15, 1948.
- Harry Todd was born on 13 December 1863 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for One Is Guilty (1934), Ten Nights in a Bar-Room (1931) and Tea: With a Kick! (1923). He was married to Margaret Joslin. He died on 15 February 1935 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Charles A. Taylor was born on 20 January 1864 in South Hadley, Massachusetts, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Through Eyes of Men (1920), The Half Breed (1922) and Mister 44 (1916). He was married to Laurette Taylor and Emma McKenna. He died on 21 March 1942 in Glendale, California, USA.- Charles Swinton Warnock was born on 9 November 1865 in Dawson, Georgia, USA. Charles Swinton was a writer, known for The Germ (1923). Charles Swinton died on 11 January 1948 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Hobart Bosworth--pioneering movie director, writer, producer and actor--was born Hobart Van Zandt Bosworth on August 11, 1867, in Marietta, OH. He was a direct descendant of Miles Standish and John and Priscilla Alden on his father's side and of New York's Van Zandt family, the first Dutch settlers to land in the New World, on his mother's side. Bosworth was always proud of his lineage.
After his mother died his father remarried and the young Hobart took a dislike to his stepmother. Convinced that he was "ill used and cruelly treated," as he told an interviewer in 1914, he ran away from home for to New York City. He signed on as a cabin boy on the clipper ship "Sovereign of the Seas" and was soon out at sea.
After his first voyage, a five-month affair that took him from New York to San Francisco, he spent his wages on candy. Sleeping it off on a bench in the park in back of Trinity Church, the young boy did not know that the organ music he was listening to as he dozed was being played by his very own uncle. A Captain Roberts, who found stevedore work for the lad, told him of his uncle's presence in San Francisco. He continued as a sailor, as the sea was in his family's blood, eventually spending three years at sea. "All my people were of the sea and my father was a naval officer," he told an interviewer. He spent 11 months on an old-fashioned whaler plying the Arctic region, then was employed doing odd jobs in San Francisco. After turns as a semi-professional boxer and wrestler, Bosworth tried ranching in Southern California and Mexico, where he learned to become an expert horseman. Finally, his interest in art led him to the stage.
Thinking he'd like to become a landscape painter, a friend suggested that Bosworth work as a stage manager to raise the money to study art. Acting on his friend's advice, Bosworth obtained a job with McKee Rankin as a stage manager at the California Theatre in San Francisco. With the money he made, he undertook the study of painting. Eventually he was pressed into duty as an actor with a small part with three lines. Though he botched the lines, he was given other small roles. Bosworth was 18 years old and on the cusp of a life in the theater.
He signed on with Louis Morrison to be part of a road company for a season as both an actor and as Morrison's dresser, playing William Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" and "Measure for Measure" (during his time with the company, Hobarth and another writer wrote a version of "Faust" that Morrison used for 20 years in repertory). By 1887 he was acting at the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco, and became proficient enough on stage to give Shakespearean recitals in costume the following year. He had acted almost all of the famous characters in the Shakespearean canon by the time he was 21 years old, though he admitted that he was the worst Macbeth ever.
Bosworth eventually wound up in Park City, UT, where he was forced to work in a mine, pushing an ore wagon in order to raise money. He escaped the pits to tour with magician Hermann the Great as the conjurer's assistant for a tour through Mexico. For the first time in eleven years, the 21-year-old Bosworth met his father. Hobarth recalled, "[H]e looked at me and said 'Hum! I couldn't lick you now, son.'" They never met again.
Bosworth arrived back in New York in December 1888, and was hired by Augustin Daly to play Charles the Wrestler in "As You Like It." He did so well in the role that Daly kept him on. Bosworth remained with Daly's company for 10 years, in which he played mostly minor parts. Seven times while he was with the company it made foreign tours, playing in Berlin, Cologne, London, Paris and other European cities.
Eventually, being kept in small parts eroded his confidence, and Bosworth left Daly to sign on with Julia Marlowe, who cast him in leads in Shakespearean plays. Just as Bosworth began to taste stage stardom in New York, he was struck down with tuberculosis, a very serious ailment in the 19th century. Bosworth was forced to give up the stage, as he was not allowed to toil indoors. Though he made a rapid recovery, he returned to the stage too quickly and suffered a relapse. For the rest of his working life he had to balance his acting with periods of rest so as to keep his T.B. under control.
Bosworth re-established himself as a lead actor on the New York stage, appearing opposite the famous actress Minnie Maddern Fiske (Mary Augusta Davey) in the 1903 Boradway revival of Henrik Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler." He also appeared that year on the Great White Way as the lead in "Marta of the Lowlands," which was produced by Harrison Grey Fiske, Mrs. Fiske's husband. The role propelled him to Broadway stardom. However, he was forced again to give up the stage when he lost 70 pounds in ten weeks.
Moving to Tempe, AZ, to partake of the salubrious climate improved his chances of battling T.B., and eventually he got the disease under control. While he was not actually an invalid, he was forced to live like one and remain in a warm climate lest he suffer a relapse. The T.B. robbed him of his voice, but since he was no longer on stage, it didn't matter. There was a new medium for actors: motion pictures. Bosworth moved to San Diego, which had a reputation of having the most perfect climate in the continental United States, and in 1908 was contracted to make a film by the Selig Polyscope Co. Shooting was to be down in the outdoors, and he did not have to use his voice, which was in a poor condition. The arrangement was perfect for him. "I believe, after all, that it is the motion pictures that have saved my life," he recounted less than a decade later. "How could I have lived on and on, without being able to carry out any of my cherished ambitions? What would my life have meant? Here, in pictures, I am realizing my biggest hopes." Signing with Selig, Bosworth eventually spearheaded the movie company's move to Los Angeles. He is widely credited with being the star of the first movie made on the West Coast. Due to his role in pioneering California for the film industry, Bosworth often was referred to as the "Dean of Hollywood." He wrote the scenarios for the second and third pictures he acted in, and directed the third. According to his own count, he eventually wrote 112 scenarios and produced 84 pictures for Selig. Bosworth was attracted to Jack London's work due to his out-of-doors filming experience and the requirements of his health, which obviated acting in studios. "In all my reading I have never come across better material for motion picture plays than Jack London's stories, and I hope to go right through the whole lot."
In 1913 he formed his own company, Hobart Bosworth Productions Co., to produce a series of Jack London melodramas. He produced, directed and starred in the company's first picture, playing Wolf Larsen in The Sea Wolf (1913), with London himself appearing as a sailor. The movie was released in the U.S. by W.W. Hodkinson Corp. D.W. Griffith also released a Jack London picture earlier that year, Two Men of the Desert (1913), but Bosworth followed up "The Sea Wolf" with The Chechako (1914), with Jack Conway playing the lead as Smoke Bellew, the title character of the eponymous London novel the movie is based on. "The Chechako" and some of the subsequent Boswoth-London pictures were distributed through Paramount, the releasing arm of Famous Players-Lasky.
Conway also starred in the Bosworth-directed follow-up The Valley of the Moon (1914), in which Bosworth had a supporting role. He also appeared as an actor in John Barleycorn (1914), which he co-directed with J. Charles Haydon. He produced, directed, wrote and acted in Martin Eden (1914) and An Odyssey of the North (1914), playing the lead in the latter, which was released by Paramount. He finished up the series by producing, directing and playing the lead in the two-part "Burning Daylight" series: Burning Daylight: The Adventures of 'Burning Daylight' in Alaska (1914) and Burning Daylight: The Adventures of 'Burning Daylight' in Civilization (1914), both of which were released by Paramount.
Bosworth hooked up with the Oliver Morosco Photoplay Co., making its Los Angeles facility on North Occidental Boulevard his headquarters. Subsequently Bosworth Inc. and Oliver Morosco Photoplay were absorbed by Paramount in 1916. Between 1913 and 1921 Hobart Bosworth Productions produced a total of 31 pictures, most of which starred Bosworth. The company ceased operations after producing The Sea Lion (1921).
The merger with Paramount ended the period in Bosworth's creative life where he was a major force in the motion picture industry, which was undergoing changes as the industry matured and solidified. He directed his last picture even before the merger, The White Scar (1915), which he also wrote and starred in for Universal Film Manufacturing Co. After his own production company wound up, Hobart Bosworth began playing supporting roles as an actor. He divorced his first wife, Adele Farrington, in 1919, the year after their son George was born.
He survived the transition to sound. Aside from appearing in Warner Bros.' showcase film Show of Shows (1929), his talking picture debut proper was in the short subject A Man of Peace (1928) for Vitaphone, while his first sound feature was Vitaphone's Ruritania drama General Crack (1929), starring John Barrymore.
Though he appeared in small roles in A-list films, including some classics, Bosworth primarily made his living as a prominently billed character actor in "B" westerns and serials churned out by Poverty Row studios. In his roles in A and B pictures, he typically was typecast as a fatherly type, such as dads, clergymen, judges, governors and the like, though occasionally he got to play a heavy. His most memorable roles included playing John Gilbert's father in both King Vidor's classic The Big Parade (1925) and Clarence Brown's A Woman of Affairs (1928), and Conrad Nagel's father in Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930). He also appeared in the Al Jolson vehicle Mammy (1930), directed by Michael Curtiz, and in the Little Rascals' only feature film, General Spanky (1936) (a flop).
In addition to Vidor, Brown and Curtiz, Bosworth worked with other great directors, including Ernst Lubitsch (in support of John Barrymore in Eternal Love (1929)), D.W. Griffith (playing Gen. Robert E. Lee in Abraham Lincoln (1930)), 'Frank Capra' (in Dirigible (1931)) and Lady for a Day (1933)) and John Ford (headlining Hearts of Oak (1924), starring in Hangman's House (1928) and playing the Chaplain in support of Will Rogers in Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)).
Bosworth had a featured role in the early science-fiction movie Just Imagine (1930) and played Chingachgook in support of star Harry Carey's Hawkeye in Mascot Pictures' serial The Last of the Mohicans (1932). As the sound era wore on, he was reduced to bit parts, frequently uncredited, in such A-pictures as the W.C. Fields comedy Million Dollar Legs (1932) and the Errol Flynn western They Died with Their Boots On (1941). He kept working until the year before his death, appearing in six films in 1942, including an uncredited bit role as a clergyman in support of Barbara Stanwyck in The Gay Sisters (1942), his penultimate picture. His last film was Universal Pictures' western Sin Town (1942), starring Constance Bennett and Broderick Crawford, which was advertised with the intriguing tagline "The Glory Hole of the Booming Oil Towns!"
Altogether, Hobart Bosworth acted in over 250 movies from 1908 to 1942, directed 44 known pictures from 1911 to 1915, and wrote 27 & produced 11 known pictures from 1911 to 1921. His actual count might be hundreds more.
Hobart Bosworth, the "Dean of Hollywood," died on December 30, 1943 of pneumonia in Glendale, CA. He was 76 years old. He was survived by his second wife, Cecile, and his son George.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Robert Gaillard was born on 14 November 1868 in Adrian, Michigan, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Golden Pathway (1913), Beating the Odds (1919) and As You Like It (1912). He died on 24 September 1941 in Glendale, California, USA.- Mae Talbot was born on 19 February 1869 in Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Gloriana (1916), A Bit o' Heaven (1917) and The Girl from Nowhere (1919). She was married to ? Winchel. She died on 4 August 1942 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Director
- Visual Effects
J.L. Roop was born on 22 December 1869 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. J.L. was a director, known for The Gasoline Trail (1923), Tom Goes on His Vacation (1924) and The Lost Whirl (1926). J.L. was married to Rena Elston Mills and Lula H. Roop. J.L. died on 22 December 1932 in Glendale, California, USA.- Nellie Parker Spaulding was born on 4 August 1870 in Machias, Maine, USA. She was an actress, known for The House of Mirth (1918), Her Great Chance (1918) and Twenty-One (1923). She was married to Herbert Spaulding. She died on 18 June 1945 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Marc McDermott was born Marcus Patrick McDermott in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia, on July 24, 1871. His father Patrick James McDermott and mother Annie Massey McDermott were born in Ireland, and Marc later became an English citizen when he moved to London. His younger sister May, was born in Australia in 1881. He received his early education at a Jesuit school in Sydney. When Marc was 15, his father died suddenly. To support his mother and little sister, Marc joined a small local theater company. A year later, he was discovered by the famous Shakespearean actor George Rignold and made his first appearance on the stage in Sydney. He stayed with the company for several years, learning his craft. When Rignold's company departed for London, Marc quickly caught the eye of Charles Frohman, a New York agent and producer, whose clients included Mrs. Patrick Campbell, the first lady of the London stage. Tall with thick auburn hair and dark brown eyes, Marc cut an impressive figure. Mrs. Pat, as she was called, chose the 20-year-old to be her leading man. The company sailed to the US and landed in New York, where he played opposite her as Sir George Orreyed in "The Second Mrs. Tanqeray." The company returned to London, where he was hired by Frohman to play "Sherlock Holmes" in London for two years. For the next several years, Marc became a celebrated West End actor. In 1906, he accepted Frohman's offer to sail to New York and join the company of the great classical actor Richard Mansfield. He toured the US for several years, and in 1909 was approached by Charles Brabin, a fellow stage actor (and soon to be director) who was working at Thomas Edison's film studio in the Bronx. Marc was quickly hired to appear as a featured player, replacing Maurice Costello, who had moved to Vitagraph. His first film was Les Misérables (1909), followed by Lochinvar (1909) (Lochinvar was released first but he filmed "Les Miserables" prior to it). From 1909 through the summer of 1916, he starred in over 140 films for Edison, appearing frequently in popular early film magazines like Photoplay, Motion Picture, and Moving Picture World, voted as one of the most popular leading men during these years. In 1911, Marc costarred with Mary Fuller in Edison's first popular series "What Ever Happened to Mary?" Another favorite leading lady of Marc's was Miriam Nesbitt, who was eight years his senior. Their on-screen romance soon grew into a real-life love affair. On April 7, 1914, Marc made film history when he appeared in the first-ever "chapter" series; each chapter was a complete story in and of itself. The 10-chapter series was titled The Man Who Disappeared (1914), and was filmed on location in New York and New Jersey. Each printed chapter story was featured in "Popular Magazine" as each filmed chapter simultaneously appeared on the screen. As Marc told "Motion Picture" writer Gladys Roosevelt, he did all his own stunts, including driving an automobile into the icy East River, fighting a villain on top of a NYC skyscraper that was actually being built at the time, and being handcuffed to the railroad tracks. On April 20, 1916, Marc and Miriam married in Leonia, New Jersey. By this time, he had made more than 140 films. Later that year, Marc left the Edison Studio to join his best friends Charles Brabin and Ashley Miller at the Vitagraph Studio, where he starred in a number of films. In 1918, Marc moved to Fox Films in New York to star with Theda Bara in "Kathleen Mavourneen," directed by Charles Brabin, who would soon marry his star. Marc left Fox in 1920 to freelance, appearing with Norma Talmadge in "The New Moon." He then costarred with Estelle Taylor in "While New York Sleeps," with Brabin working as both writer and director. Another director friend from his Vitagraph days, John Robertson, directed him in "Footlights" (1921) with Elsie Ferguson. In 1922, his marriage began to unravel when Miriam discovered some love letters to actress Helen Gilmore and filed for a separation. The New York Times reported that he was arrested on August 11 and held in Ludlow Street Jail until he was released after paying $5,000 in bail. Marc left to visit his older brother's family, who had settled in Lowell, Massachusetts. After appearing in a vaudeville skit, he boarded a train in Boston and headed to Hollywood. Marc immediately went to work for Fox Films in "Hoodman Blind" directed by John Ford. At Warner Bros., he appeared in "Lucretia Lombard" with Irene Rich, Monte Blue, and Norma Shearer, which was produced by Harry Rapf. Marc next appeared with Florence Lawrence, the Biograph Girl, in "The Satin Girl." When M-G-M was formed in 1924, Marc was contracted to appear in their very first film, "He Who Gets Slapped." The cast included Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, and John Gilbert. Mary Pickford, an old friend from his New York days, cast him in "Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall" as Sir Malcolm Vernon. Another director friend, Marshall "Micky" Neilan, directed. Marc was in high demand at different studios for the next two years: "In Every Woman's Life" and "Siege" both with Virginia Valli; "This Woman" with Irene Rich, Ricardo Cortez, and Clara Bow in a minor role; and "The Sea Hawk" with Milton Sills, Enid Bennett, and Wallace Beery. At Universal Pictures in 1925, he appeared in "The Goose Woman" with Louise Dresser, Jack Pickford, and Constance Bennett. The film was directed by his friend Clarence Brown. Once again, Norma Talmadge cast him as the villain in "Graustark." In 1926, Marc was busy at M-G-M playing in both "The Temptress" with Greta Garbo and Antonio Moreno and "Flesh and the Devil" with Garbo and John Gilbert. One of his favorite costars was Greta Nissen, with whom he appeared in "The Love Thief" for Universal and "Lucky Lady" for Paramount. Norma Talmadge tapped his talent once again for "Kiki," a saucy little comedy with Ronald Coleman. During 1927, Marc starred in several M-G-M films, including "California" with Tim McCoy and Dorothy Sebastian, directed by W.S. "Woody" Van Dyke; and "Man, Woman and Sin" with Jeanne Eagels and John Gilbert, directed by Monta Bell. When the newly formed Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences held their first meeting at the Biltmore Hotel's Crystal Ballroom on May 11, 1927, Marc was among the 230 pioneer members in attendance. His name appears in the program listing of 102 actors. Later that year, his old friend John Robertson recruited him for "The Road to Romance" with Ramon Navarro and Marceline Day, and he also appeared in "Taxi Dancer" with Joan Crawford, as well as "Resurrection" with Rod La Rocque and Dolores Del Rio at United Artists. In 1928, during a vaudeville tour to Chicago, Marc became ill and returned to Hollywood to recuperate. His next film for M-G-M was "Under the Black Eagle" directed by Woody Van Dyke. For "Glorious Betsy" at Warner Bros., some Vitaphone talking sequences were included. The film starred Dolores Costello, the beautiful wife of John Barrymore and daughter of Maurice Costello, whom Marc had replaced at Vitagraph back in 1916. First National cast Marc in "The Yellow Lily" starring the lovely Bessie Dove. His last two films were "The Mysterious Island" shot in Technicolor with black and white sequences. Vitaphone sound sequences, a musical score, and sound effects were later added. Marc's old friend Charles Brabin directed him in his last film, "The Whip," which starred Dorothy Mackaill, Ralph Forbes, and Anna Q. Nilsson. During filming, Variety reported that Marc became very ill from ptomaine poisoning, lapsed into a three-month coma, and died from a gallbladder operation. However, Dr. E.F. Miller wrote on the death certificate that he had attended to Marc at home for eight months and then in the hospital from December 5, 1928 until his death at 5:20 a.m. on January 5, 1929. Further, he stated that no operation had preceded his death. The diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver was confirmed by clinical and laboratory tests performed on January 6. His body was cremated at the Hollywood Crematory, and his ashes were placed in a crypt in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, where the brass plaque reads: Marcus McDermott, 1881-1929 (his correct birth date is 1871 according to his will and Australian birth records). His untimely death coincided with the death of silent films.
- William A. Carroll was born on 9 January 1875 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Blue Bonnet (1919), Bill Henry (1919) and Danger Within (1918). He died on 26 January 1928 in Glendale, California, USA.
- A Pennsylvania Dutch girl who moved to New York in the late 19th century to pursue a theatrical career, she became one of early silent pictures' better known character actresses. Between 1910 and 1920 she appeared in over 90 films, but then her acting career all but ended, and she devoted the rest of her life to the study and teaching of an occult religion. In 1918 she had begun a correspondence with the English writer and occultist Aleister Crowley. In 1920 she left Hollywood to join Crowley at his "Abbey of Thelema" on the Italian island of Sicily where she lived for several years, becoming his student Soror Estai, and accepting his new religion of sex, drugs, and magick in the name of personal liberation. Later she returned to Southern California where she continued to represent Crowley, and taught his doctrines for many years until her death in 1958.
- Actor
- Editor
Jack Gardner was born on 22 May 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and editor, known for Wild Bill Hickok (1923), Scarlet Seas (1928) and The Land of Long Shadows (1917). He died on 28 December 1929 in Glendale, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Ben F. Wilson, the prolific actor and director of the silent era, was born on July 7, 1876, in Corning, NY. His career as an actor began as most other thespians did in that era--as a member of a theatrical stock company. The stock companies that employed Wilson worked the East Coast circuits.
The original "Hollywood" was Fort Lee, NJ, since the "inventor" of the motion picture (movie cameras and projection equipment), Thomas Edison, was a resident of New Jersey. Edison made the first movies himself and soon consolidated his movie equipment patents with those of others and formed the Motion Picture Trust. The Trust virtually bound movie production to New Jersey and the metropolitan New York City area at the turn of the last century, as Edison wanted to closely supervise--and, of course, make sure he got a cut of the profits from--those using his equipment.
Wilson, in fact, began his film career as an employee of Thomas Edison. Billed as "Benjamin Wilson," he made his film debut in Edwin S. Porter's Silver Threads Among the Gold (1911) for the Edison Co. From 1911-13 Wilson appeared in 13 movies directed by J. Searle Dawley, including The Priest and the Man (1913), the first cinematic adaptation of a work by popular Canadian novelist and short-story writer Gilbert Parker. Wilson first directed himself as an actor in A Shot in the Dark (1912). He directed 88 movies in which he appeared as an actor, mostly in the period of 1915-16. He left Edison for the Nestor Co. and eventually started his own production company, with a distribution deal with the Universal Film Manufacturing Co., which was still headquartered on the East Coast. He was popular enough as an actor by 1916 to be featured on his own "trading card" in an issue from Piedmont Cigarettes. Other honorees included Florence Lawrence, E.K. Lincoln and Pearl White. The next year he appeared on a card issued by Egyptian Oasis cigarettes along with such other stars as King Baggot, Sidney Drew, Mrs. Sidney Drew, Marshall Neilan and Anna Q. Nilsson. In 1918 Wilson hooked up again with Universal, this time as a producer. He produced and directed the 18-part action-adventure serial The Brass Bullet (1918). Eventually, he served on the board of directors of the Motion Picture Directors' Association of America, a fraternal organization created by J. Searle Dawley and others in 1915 to promote the interests of movie directors.
In addition to appearing in 168 films as an actor, Wilson directed 123 movies, produced 69 and wrote 11 screenplays. By the late 1920s, however, he was reduced to grinding out cheap fodder for Poverty Row, producing, directing and writing silent films up through 1930 for Morris R. Schlank Productions, pretty much the bottom of the barrel of Hollywood studios. He made the transition to sound as an actor only: Wilson's last film was an acting gig in the Buck Jones western Shadow Ranch (1930) for Columbia Pictures, which was released in 1930. It remains his only sound picture, as his career was cut short by ill health.
Ben F. Wilson died from complications of heart disease on August 25, 1930, in Glendale, CA. He was 54 years old.- Marguerita Sylva was born on 10 July 1876 in Brussels, Belgium. She was an actress, known for The Honey Bee (1920), The Seventh Victim (1943) and The Gay Senorita (1945). She was married to Major Bernard L. Smith and William David Mann (theatrical mgr.). She died on 21 February 1957 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Harris L. Forbes was born on 5 February 1877 in Annapolis, Maryland, USA. He was an actor, known for Hearts and Skirts (1912), Si's Wonderful Mineral Spring (1914) and At the Bottom of Things (1915). He died on 26 October 1956 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Tom Smith was born on 20 May 1878 in Georgia, USA. He died on 23 January 1957 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Rowland G. Edwards was born on 6 May 1879 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Daring Love (1924), The Man from Yesterday (1932) and The Drums of Jeopardy (1923). He was married to Doris Packer and Luella Lorena Morey. He died on 10 August 1953 in Glendale, California, USA.- Mabel Trunnelle was born in Dwight, Illinois on November 8, 1879. A stage actress from the East Coast, Mabel was 32 when she appeared on the silver screen. In 1911 she was in A MODERN CINDERELLA, IN THE DAYS OF CHIVALRY, and THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER, the latter being the most notable. Her last film was in 1923's THE LOVE TRAP. At 44 she went back to the stage. On April 29, 1981, Mabel died in Glendale, California at the age of 101.
- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Webster Cullison was born on 18 February 1880 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was a director and actor, known for God's Gold (1921), The King of the Jungle (1927) and In for Thirty Days (1919). He was married to Lucie K. Villa. He died on 7 July 1938 in Glendale, California, USA.- Writer
- Editor
- Additional Crew
Walter Woods was born on 14 January 1881 in Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer and editor, known for Terror Island (1920), The Night Flyer (1928) and David Harum (1934). He was married to Lucy Perry Milliken. He died on 7 December 1942 in Glendale, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Carlton S. King was born on 15 December 1881 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Just a Song at Twilight (1916), The Way Back (1915) and Tempest and Sunshine (1916). He was married to Nettie Nash. He died on 6 July 1932 in Glendale, California, USA.- Willard Louis was born on 19 April 1882 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Babbitt (1924), Beau Brummel (1924) and The Scarlet Pimpernel (1917). He was married to Maude Louis. He died on 22 July 1926 in Glendale, California, USA.
- James Griswold was born on 30 April 1882 in New Britain, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor, known for The Girl of the Golden West (1915) and The Virginian (1914). He died on 4 October 1935 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Fred Becker was born on 8 September 1882 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Blood and Sand (1922), The Silver Treasure (1926) and The Girl from Rocky Point (1922). He died on 28 March 1966 in Glendale, California, USA.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
A character actor whose film career spanned from Hollywood's Silent Era until the 1950s. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 11, 1882, Erville would start his film career in 1918 at the age of 36 in Her Man (1918). Film pioneer D.W. Griffith utilized Erville in many of his films, including 1924's America (1924) and Isn't Life Wonderful (1924). In 1926, Erville was in Sally of the Sawdust (1925), and for the first time, worked behind as well as in front of the camera, as the movie's Assistant Director. By the time talkies became the norm, Erville found his age and white hair earned him many "old codger" roles as everything from a sheriff to a blank clerk, although a lot of his roles fell into the the "uncredited" bit category. Despite this, he did manage to make his mark in several credited roles, with one of the best being his portrayal of Nate Tompkins in 1941's Sergeant York (1941). His last film role would be uncredited in 1957's The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), and on August 4, 1957, he would pass away at the age of 74 in Glendale, California.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Leo White started in comedy on the boards of English music hall in the late 1890's. He accompanied theatrical producer Daniel Frohman (later a partner of Adolph Zukor in Famous Players Lasky) to Hollywood in 1910. From 1914, he appeared in Essanay comedies and filmed the 'Sweedie' series with Wallace Beery. He then became a regular supporting player in Charles Chaplin's films at Essanay and, later Mutual, playing dapper, moustachioed continental (particularly French) villains and pompous aristocrats. That image remained with him, as he was contracted by Essanay to play the comic foil to their new French star comedian Max Linder.
White's major dramatic film credits of the silent period included Blood and Sand (1922) with Rudolph Valentino and the biblical epic Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). He successfully made the transition to talking pictures and had supporting roles in two Marx Brothers comedies, Monkey Business (1931) and the classic A Night at the Opera (1935), as well as playing a barber in Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940). In the years just prior to his death, he worked as an extra in several films for Warner Brothers.- Evelyn Sherman was born 1882 in Nashua,Iowa to Dana and Carrie Sherman Spear. Her parents were from Vermont & Massachusettes and lived in Iowa. Evelyn was born Eva Mae Spear and according to the 1900 U.S. census was still living at home but by 1910 she had married a Richard Allison and become a silent film actress.She made films in NYC until moving to California about 1922 where she remained for the rest of her career.She was listed in the various almanacs of Motion Picture actresses but nothing after 1937 when her name disappears from all the directories. Her daughter wrote me her mothers life was "rich one year,starving the next",a very hard life".Her granddaughter told me Evelyn was a fiesty woman who turned down work she should have accepted and regretted it later. Evelyn died in Glendale in 1974.Her only daughter Jane(1907-2001) flirted with acting very briefly and her granddaughter is a hypnotherapist in California.
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Cliff Saum was born on 18 December 1882 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Kaiser's Finish (1918), Fashion Madness (1928) and The Tigress (1927). He died on 5 March 1943 in Glendale, California, USA.- Cora Reed was born on 18 June 1883 in Mexico. She was an actress, known for Injustice (1919). She was married to Ernest C. Reed. She died on 5 November 1973 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Margaret Joslin was born on 6 August 1883 in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. She was an actress, known for A Snakeville Courtship (1913), Sophie's New Foreman (1913) and Sophie's Hero (1913). She was married to Harry Todd. She died on 14 October 1956 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Burt Mustin was a salesman most of his life, but got his first taste of show business as the host of a weekly radio variety show on KDKA Pittsburgh in 1921. He appeared onstage in "Detective Story" at Sombrero Playhouse in Phoenix Arizona, and played the janitor in the movie version, (Detective Story (1951)), after moving to Hollywood. Hundreds of screen appearances later, he announced his retirement while filming an episode of Phyllis (1975). In the episode, his character married Mother Dexter, played by actress Judith Lowry. Lowry died one month before, and Mustin died one month after the episode aired.- Producer
- Actor
- Editor
E.H. Allen was born on 12 February 1884 in Manhattan, New York, New York, USA. He was a producer and actor, known for The Super Snooper (1934), The Little Big Top (1935) and Choose Your Partners (1935). He was married to Margaret Thompson. He died on 23 May 1955 in Glendale, California, USA.- Maude Louis was born on 19 February 1884 in Oregon, USA. She was an actress, known for A Slave of Vanity (1920) and Madame X (1920). She was married to Willard Louis. She died on 14 March 1976 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Alec Craig was born on 30 March 1884 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for Northern Pursuit (1943), They Made Her a Spy (1939) and Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). He died on 25 June 1945 in Glendale, California, USA.- William Dawson Hoffman was born on 11 July 1884 in Pennsylvania, USA. William Dawson was a writer, known for The Boss of Rustler's Roost (1928), The Apache Raider (1928) and The Long Loop on the Pecos (1927). William Dawson died on 10 March 1952 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Cleve F. Adams was born on 5 September 1884 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for The Fatal Witness (1945). He died on 28 December 1949 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Mabel Wilbur was born on 23 September 1884 in Waukegan, Illinois, USA. She was an actress, known for The County Chairman (1914). She was married to Lavillo E. Wilbur. She died on 4 March 1952 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Lawrence A. Bowes was born on 1 January 1885 in Newark, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Big Town Ideas (1921), Treed (1916) and Up the Flue (1916). He died on 5 June 1955 in Glendale, California, USA.
- Doc Pardee was born on 6 January 1885 in Union, Kansas, USA. He was an actor, known for The Gentleman from Arizona (1939) and The Sheep Runners (1914). He died on 17 July 1975 in Glendale, Arizona, USA.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Special Effects
Hendrik Sartov was born on 14 March 1885. He was a cinematographer, known for La Bohème (1926), Quality Street (1927) and Orphans of the Storm (1921). He died on 21 March 1970 in Glendale, California, USA.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Robert N. Bradbury was born on 23 March 1886 in Walla Walla, Washington, USA. He was a director and actor, known for The Lucky Texan (1934), The Star Packer (1934) and West of the Divide (1934). He was married to Nola Bradbury. He died on 24 November 1949 in Glendale, California, USA.