Portraits of 1800 era westerners.
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American actor-director-writer-producer Gilbert M. Anderson, father of the movie cowboy and the first Western star, was born Maxwell Henry Aronson in Little Rock, Arkansas. His parents, Esther (Ash) and Henry Aronson, were from New York. His father was from a German Jewish family, and his mother was the daughter of Russian Jewish parents. He had worked as a photographer's model and newspaper vendor before drifting into acting. He performed in vaudeville before joining forces with Edwin S. Porter as an actor and occasional script collaborator. In Porter's startling early film The Great Train Robbery (1903), Anderson played several roles (among them, the train passenger shot by bandits as he tries to escape). The success of that film prompted Anderson to begin writing, directing and starring in his own series of Westerns. In 1907 he and George K. Spoor founded Essanay Film Manufacturing Co., destined to be one of the predominant early film studios. Anderson gained enormous popularity in hundreds of Western shorts, playing the first real cowboy hero, "Broncho Billy." Writing and directing most of the films, Anderson also found time to direct a series of "Alkali Ike" comedy Westerns starring Augustus Carney. In 1916 Anderson sold his ownership in Essanay and retired from acting. He returned to New York and bought the Longacre Theatre and produced plays there, though not achieving the same kind of success he enjoyed in films. He made a brief comeback as a producer with a series of shorts starring Stan Laurel for Metro Pictures. However, a series of conflicts with the studio led him retire again after 1920. He continued to produce films as owner of Progressive Pictures into the 1950s. In his 70s, he came out of retirement for a cameo role in The Bounty Killer (1965). He had been presented with an honorary Oscar in 1957 as a "motion picture pioneer, for his contributions to the development of motion pictures as entertainment." Anderson died in 1971 at the age of 90.1880 - 1971, 90.
226 westerns, 03-65.- 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.1867 - 1943, 76.
50 westerns- Hugh Sothern was born on 20 July 1881 in Anderson County, Kansas, USA. He was an actor, known for Captain America (1944), Northwest Passage (1940) and Old Hickory (1939). He died on 13 April 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Sam Hardy was born on 21 March 1883 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for King Kong (1933), The Miracle Woman (1931) and Transatlantic Merry-Go-Round (1934). He was married to Betty Scott. He died on 16 October 1935 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Lee Willard was born on 13 June 1873 in Peoria, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for The Flame Fighter (1925), Sophie's Fatal Wedding (1914) and The Calling of Jim Barton (1914). He died on 9 December 1940 in San Francisco, California, USA.1873 - 1940, 67.
83 westerns, 13-16. - Actor
- Writer
- Director
Edmund Breese was born on 18 June 1871 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Duck Soup (1933), Platinum Blonde (1931) and The Hurricane Express (1932). He was married to Genevieve Landry and Harriet A. Beach. He died on 6 April 1936 in New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Ray portrayed simple unaffected country bumpkins in silent rural melodramas. Unfortunately, Ray let Hollywood turn him into a headstrong egotist. Alienating most producers, he put up his own money to finance a major feature called The Courtship of Myles Standish (1923). The film was a miserable failure that wiped out Ray's fortune. Comeback attempts were hampered by the advent of the sound picture.- Actor
- Writer
By the time that he was 20, Lewis Stone had turned prematurely grey. He enlisted to fight in the Spanish American War and when he returned, he returned to be a writer. This turned to acting and he began to appear in films during the middle teens. His career was again interrupted by war as he served in the cavalry during World War I. After the war, he returned to films and quickly graduated to lead roles. With his distinguished look and grey hair, he was able to play the roles of well mannered romantic men. In 1921, Lewis starred in Don't Neglect Your Wife (1921). In the next year, he starred with Alice Terry, who played the heroine, and Ramon Novarro in The Prisoner of Zenda (1922) and Scaramouche (1923). In 1924, Metro merged into the new MGM where Lewis remained for the rest of his career. He was busy over the next few years and garnered an Academy Award nomination for The Patriot (1928). In 1928, he appeared in the first of a series of pictures with Greta Garbo. In A Woman of Affairs (1928) he played the older doctor, a friend of the family. But two years later in Romance (1930), he played her lover.
Lewis made the transition from silent to sound with The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929), which starred Norma Shearer. Sound did not cause Lewis any problems and he continued to be busy with his roles as the distinguished lead. The Big House (1930) was highly successful for MGM and he appeared in other popular movies such as The Phantom of Paris (1931) with John Gilbert and Red-Headed Woman (1932) with Jean Harlow. He appeared with Garbo in Inspiration (1931), Mata Hari (1931), Grand Hotel (1932) and Queen Christina (1933). In the late 30s he took on a role for which he was long remembered - the role of Judge James Hardy who had a son named Andy. Judge Hardy was the father audiences wanted in the late 30s early 40s. He was kind, intellectual, fair and as patient as he had to be with Andy, played by Mickey Rooney. This series occupied most of his screen time until it ended and he did slow down during the late 40s. In the 50s he continued to appear in a number of pictures including remakes of the two he had made 30 years before with Alice Terry. He suffered a heart attack and died in 1953 after appearing in over 200 films.- Alphonse Ethier was born on 10 December 1874 in Virginia City, Nevada, USA. He was an actor, known for Baby Face (1933), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1932) and The Alaskan (1924). He died on 4 January 1943 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.1874 - 1943, 68.
13 westerns. - Actor
- Producer
- Director
Sessue Hayakawa was born in Chiba, Japan. His father was the provincial governor and his mother a member of an aristocratic family of the "samurai" class. The young Hayakawa wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become a career officer in the Japanese navy, but he was turned down due to problems with his hearing. The disappointed Hayakawa decided to make his career on the stage. He joined a Japanese theatrical company that eventually toured the United States in 1913. Pioneering film producer Thomas H. Ince spotted him and offered him a movie contract. Roles in The Wrath of the Gods (1914) and The Typhoon (1914) turned Hayakawa into an overnight success. The first Asian-American star of the American screen was born.
He married actress Tsuru Aoki on May 1, 1914. The next year his appearance in Cecil B. DeMille's sexploitation picture The Cheat (1915) made Hayakawa a silent-screen superstar. He played an ivory merchant who has an affair with the Caucasian Fannie Ward, and audiences were "scandalized" when he branded her as a symbol of her submission to their passion. The movie was a blockbuster for Famous Players-Lasky (later Paramount), turning Hayakawa into a romantic idol for millions of American women, regardless of their race. However, there were objections and outrage from racists of all stripes, especially those who were opposed to miscegenation (sexual contact between those of different races). Also outraged was the Japanese-American community, which was dismayed by DeMille's unsympathetic portrayal of a member of their race. The Japanese-American community protested the film and attempted to have it banned when it was re-released in 1918.
The popularity of Hayakawa rivaled that of Caucasian male movie stars in the decade of the 1910s, and he became one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. He made his career in melodramas, playing romantic heroes and charismatic heavies. He co-starred with the biggest female stars in Hollywood, all of whom were, of course, Caucasian. His pictures often co-starred Jack Holt as his Caucasian rival for the love of the white heroine (Holt would later become a top action star in the 1920s),
Hayakawa left Famous Players-Lasky to go independent, setting up his own production company, Haworth Pictures Corp. Through the end of the decade Haworth produced Asian-themed films starring Hayakawa and wife Tsuru Aoki that proved very popular. These movies elucidated the immigrant's desire to "cross over" or assimilate into society at large and pursue the "American Dream" in a society free of racial intolerance. Sadly, most of these films are now lost.
With the dawn of a new decade came a rise in anti-Asian sentiment, particularly over the issue of immigration due to the post-World War I economic slump. Hayakawa's films began to perform poorly at the box office, bringing his first American movie career to an end in 1922. He moved to Japan but was unable to get a career going. Relocating to France, he starred in La bataille (1923), a popular melodrama spiced with martial arts. He made Sen Yan's Devotion (1924) and The Great Prince Shan (1924) in the UK.
In 1931 Hayakawa returned to Hollywood to make his talking-picture debut in support of Anna May Wong in Daughter of the Dragon (1931). Sound revealed that he had a heavy accent, and his acting got poor reviews. He returned to Japan before once again going to France, where he made the geisha melodrama Yoshiwara (1937) for director Max Ophüls. He also appeared in a remake of "The Cheat" called Forfaiture (1937), playing the same role that over 20 year earlier had made him one of the biggest stars in the world.
After the Second World War he took a third stab at Hollywood. In 1949 he relaunched g himself as a character actor with Tokyo Joe (1949) in support of Humphrey Bogart, and Three Came Home (1950) with Claudette Colbert. Hayakawa reached the apex of this, his third career, with his role as the martinet POW camp commandant in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), which brought him an Academy Award nomination for Best Suporting Actor. His performance as Col. Saito was essential to the success of David Lean's film, built as it was around the battle of wills between Hayakawa's commandant and Alec Guinness' Col. Nicholson, head of the Allied POWs. The film won the Best Picture Academy Award, while Lean and Guiness also were rewarded with Oscars.
Hayakawa continued to act in movies regularly until his retirement in 1966. He returned to Japan, becoming a Zen Buddhist priest while remaining involved in his craft by giving private acting lessons.
Ninety years after achieving stardom, he remains one of the few Asians to assume superstar status in American motion pictures.1889 - 1973, 84.
4 westerns.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Robert Ellis was born on 27 June 1892 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Tiger's Trail (1919), Speed to Burn (1938) and The Ventures of Marguerite (1915). He was married to Vera Reynolds, May Allison, Irene Boyle and Helen Logan. He died on 29 December 1974 in Santa Monica, California, USA.1892 - 1974, 82.
14 westerns.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Arthur V. Johnson was born on 2 February 1876 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Beloved Adventurer (1914), Annie Rowley's Fortune (1913) and The Adventures of Dollie (1908). He was married to Maude Webb. He died on 17 January 1916 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.1876 - 1916, 39.
13 westerns.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Ben Bard entered theatrical life in his teens, touring under the name "B.D. Bard" with the Jolly Della Pringle theatre company. He played the Schubert Circuit in Vaudeville as the straight man to comic Jack "Baron Munchausen" Pearl. He was brought to Hollywood in the silent movie era to test as a leading man at Fox Pictures but was type cast as a "Suave Heavy" (dresses well, talks smooth but is evil underneath). In the 1930s, he established Ben Bard Drama, one of the largest and most respected acting schools in Hollywood. It had an attached theatre company that produced stage classics and West Coast premieres of contemporary American plays. Distinguished graduates of the school included Alan Ladd, Jack Carson, Shirley Temple, Gower Champion, Angie Dickinson, Cliff Robertson and Gig Young. In the 1950s, he was the head of the New Talent Department at Twentieth Century Fox.- Actor
- Director
Ford Sterling was born on 3 November 1883 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Trouble with Wives (1925), He Who Gets Slapped (1924) and Yankee Doodle in Berlin (1919). He was married to Teddy Sampson. He died on 13 October 1939 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Carlyle Blackwell was a popular American matinee idol and occasional director of the silent cinema. Debonair and darkly handsome, he made his debut with Vitagraph in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1910) and was seldom out of work as a romantic lead, progressing from one- and two-reelers to feature films by 1914. He was Kalem's number one star until 1915, when Jesse L. Lasky poached him for Famous Players. In 1921, Blackwell embarked on a European tour and opted to remain in England for the remainder of the decade, which turned out to be a good career move. He became the first actor to portray Bulldog Drummond (1922) in a British/Dutch co-production, following this box-office success with another, as Lord Robert Dudley in the period drama The Virgin Queen (1923). He retained his popularity until the arrival of sound, which abruptly ended his career. Blackwell had the final distinction of being the last silent actor to play Sherlock Holmes at the head of an international cast in the German production The Hound of the Baskervilles (1929).1884 - 1955, 71.
26 westerns.- Arthur Allardt was born on 7 April 1883 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for A Man's Man (1917), Louisiana (1919) and The Hidden Children (1917). He died in 1940.
- J. Frank Burke was born on 22 April 1867 in Hartland, Vermont, USA. He was an actor, known for The Iced Bullet (1917), Madcap Madge (1917) and The Italian (1915). He died on 23 January 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
Orral Humphrey was born on 3 April 1880 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Huckleberry Finn (1920), Broadway Madness (1927) and The Pork Plotters (1916). He was married to Lois Frances Born, Josephine Edith Taylor and Florence Chapman. He died on 12 August 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Frank Mills was born on 24 January 1868 in Kendall, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), The Unchastened Woman (1918) and The House of Mirrors (1916). He was married to Helen McBeth. He died on 11 June 1921 in Galesburg, Michigan, USA.1870 - 1921, 51.
3 westerns, 1906-1918. - John Vosper was born on 3 July 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Red-Haired Alibi (1932), Undercover Man (1942) and Tales of Robin Hood (1951). He died on 6 April 1954 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
Buck Connors was born on 22 November 1880 in Streator, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Duke of Chimney Butte (1921), The Radio Detective (1926) and Straight Shootin' (1927). He was married to Hazel Powell. He died on 4 February 1947 in Yuma, Arizona, USA.1880 - 1947, 66.
78 westerns.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Frank Dae was born on 15 May 1882 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for Radar Patrol vs. Spy King (1949), In Old Chicago (1938) and She Wrote the Book (1946). He died on 29 August 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Robert Elliott was born on 9 October 1879 in Columbus, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for The Maltese Falcon (1931), Lights of New York (1928) and Gone with the Wind (1939). He was married to Ruth Thorp. He died on 15 November 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1879 - 1951, 72.
7 westerns. - Actor
- Producer
Burr McIntosh born William Burr McIntosh in Ohio in 1862. Son of the President of public utility and Cleveland Gas Coal Company William Ambrose. Burr was educated at Lafayette College in Princeton where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity in 1884. became a star on Broadway stage, perhaps his best-known stage role was in 'Trilby' in 1905. Hefty, bald, intelligent man who starred and supported in many drama and comedy films, his first was the starring role Jo Vernon in Lawrence B. McGill's In Mizzoura (1914) for the All Star Feature Film Co in 1914. While perhaps best remembered as Squire Bartlett in D.W. Griffith's Way Down East (1920) starring Lillian Gish in 1920, he also appeared in many early talkies, including his last The Richest Girl in the World (1934) starring Miriam Hopkins for the RKO Film Co in 1934. During the 1930s he devoted himself to charitable causes, particularly collecting toys for poor families. He his also known for publishing a well-known magazine (Burr McIntosh Monthly) and a lecturer characterizing himself as 'The Cheerful Philosopher' also a film production owner, author, reporter and pioneering radio actor. He died from a heart attack in Hollywood in 1942 age 80- Joseph J. Dowling was born on 4 September 1850 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor, known for The Yankee Way (1917), Sink or Swim (1920) and The Christian (1923). He was married to Sarah J. Hassen and Myra Davis. He died on 8 July 1928 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
George Walsh was born on 16 March 1889 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for A Manhattan Knight (1920), American Pluck (1925) and The Count of Luxembourg (1926). He was married to Seena Owen. He died on 13 June 1981 in Pomona, California, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Roy Clements was born on 12 January 1877 in Sterling, Illinois, USA. He was a director and writer, known for A Motion to Adjourn (1921), Wanted: A Coward (1927) and When a Woman Strikes (1919). He was married to Neva West. He died on 15 July 1948 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1877 - 1948, 71.
28 westerns.- Larry Steers was born on 14 February 1888 in Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for The King of the Kongo (1929), The Secret Garden (1919) and Clipped Wings (1937). He was married to Harriette Mathews. He died on 15 February 1951 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Brooks Benedict was born on 6 February 1896 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Why Girls Go Back Home (1926), Speedy (1928) and Orchids and Ermine (1927). He died on 1 January 1968 in Houston, Texas, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
A man so disagreeable on celluloid, Claude Gillingwater's characters seemed to subsist on a steady diet of persimmons. Fondly recalled as the cranky old skinflint whose seemingly cold heart could only be warmed by the actions of a cute little tyke, the tall and rangy Gillingwater invariably played much older than he was. He, with the omnipresent bushy brows, crop of silver hair and perpetually sour puss, had a much more versatile career than perhaps realized -- on both stage and in film. Most assuredly, this caustic screen image he perfected belied a softer, gentler off-screen demeanor for he was a kind and sympathetic gent and devoted husband to wife Carlyn Stiletz (or Stellith). Their only child, Claude Gillingwater Jr., briefly became an actor himself. Sadly, Gillingwater Sr.'s thriving character career ended on a grim and tragic note in 1939.
Born Claude Benton Gillingwater on August 2, 1879, in the small Mississippi River town of Louisiana, Missouri, he was the son of James E. and Lucy (Hunter) Gillingwater and attended St. Louis High School. For a time he was an apprentice to a lawyer uncle, but he eventually left home and joined a traveling stock company. Gradually building up his nascent career on the stage, he was discovered by theater impresario David Belasco. Gillingwater proceeded strongly on the Broadway stage beginning with a melodramatic role in "A Young Wife" (1899). This led to a well-received series of parts for the next full decade in New York ranging from high drama ("Madame Butterfly", "Du Barry") to operettas ("Mlle. Modiste," "The Old Town," "The Girl in the Train") to original works ("The Only Son," "The New Secretary").
1918 was a banner year for Gillingwater for he not only appeared in the hit Broadway show "Three Wise Fools," but also made his silent film debut in support of Gladys Leslie and Richard Barthelmess in Wild Primrose (1918). This disagreeable typecast began to assert itself with his second movie three years later as the grumbling, icy-souled Earl of Dorincourt whose grandson helps reveal his tenderer side in Little Lord Fauntleroy (1921), which starred America's sweetheart Mary Pickford in a dual role.
A rash of leading/co-starring roles came with the immediate impact of this single success, including Crinoline and Romance (1923) with Viola Dana, Alice Adams (1923) with Florence Vidor, Dulcy (1923) with Constance Talmadge, and Three Wise Fools (1923) with Eleanor Boardman. The last film mentioned gave him the opportunity to repeat his 1918 Broadway triumph. More than not, however, he was supporting the Hollywood elite such as kid star Jackie Coogan in My Boy (1921), Richard Dix in Fools First (1922) and The Christian (1923), 'Leonore Ulric' in Tiger Rose (1923), Alla Nazimova in Madonna of the Streets (1924), Ronald Colman in A Thief in Paradise (1925), Anna Q. Nilsson in Winds of Chance (1925), and Colleen Moore in Oh Kay! (1928). Sometimes his character's names reflected his curt, stern image -- names such as John P. Grout, Lord Storm and Simon Peck.
A founding member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (1927), he advanced into the talking era of films with equal verve, although his roles were, more often than not, token grouches. Some of his more distinctive parts came with the films A Tale of Two Cities (1935) (as Jarvis Lorry), Mississippi (1935) and The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936). He proved to be an excellent crabapple foil for 20th Century-Fox moppet star Shirley Temple in Poor Little Rich Girl (1936) and subsequently appeared in two more of her pictures - Just Around the Corner (1938) and Little Miss Broadway (1938).
Gillingwater played a few more curmudgeons in his last years but this period of time was to be marked by acute sadness and physical/mental hardship. A serious accident on the movie set of the picture Florida Special (1936) (he fell from a platform and injured his back) damaged his health and threatened his career, and the death of his long-time wife Carlyn left him irrevocably depressed. Fearing the possibility of becoming an invalid and wishing not to become a serious burden to anyone, the 69-year-old actor committed suicide at his Beverly Hills home with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head on November 1, 1939. Gillingwater left a fine Hollywood legacy and the fun of some of his old films is watching his vinegar turn to sugar.- John St. Polis was born on 24 November 1873 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Three Weeks (1924), Why Be Good? (1929) and The Hero (1923). He was married to Angela M. Grimaldi and Rachel Amelia Ryan. He died on 8 October 1946 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1873 - 1946, 72.
14 westerns, 30-41. - Actor
- Writer
Canadian native Edward Earle was born in Toronto on July 16, 1882, and was raised and schooled there. His stage career took form in Canada with an early emphasis on musical comedy, and he later toured in vaudeville and stock in association with Belasco, DeWolf Hopper Sr., Marie Cahill and the Schuberts, among other theatrical illuminaries. Making his Broadway debut in the comedy "The Triumph of Love" in 1904, his work on the stage eventually led to film parts in 1914.
Earle entered via the Edison film company and emerged a star not long after, distinguishing himself at other studios as well, including Vitagraph, Famous Players, Metro, Warners and Columbia, with a tally of over 400 silent and talking films by the time he retired four decades later. Tawny blond, blue-eyed, well-built and with a clean-cut handsomeness, Earle was a natural for dashing, romantic silent film leads. He gained initial film attention starring in Edison's "Olive's Opportunities" one-reeler series paired opposite Mabel Trunnelle in 1914 and 1915. Adding dash and verve to such silents as Ranson's Folly (1915), a western also showcasing Ms. Trunelle; The Innocence of Ruth (1916); The Light of Happiness (1916) and The Gates of Eden (1916), all opposite a dramatic Viola Dana, he went on to dress up everything from stalwart war dramas (For France (1917)) to mystery comedies (The Blind Adventure (1918)). From 1917 through 1919, he and Agnes Ayres enjoyed great success in a series of two-reeler shorts based on the works of O. Henry.
Earle ventured into the 1920s with such stylish movie showcases as East Lynne (1921), False Fronts (1922) and The Dangerous Flirt (1924), but then began to falter into second leads and support roles, which including the George Arliss starrer The Man Who Played God (1922), the Marie Prevost comedy How to Educate a Wife (1924), little Baby Peggy's showcase The Family Secret (1924), Colleen Moore's comedy romance Irene (1926), the John Gilbert/Joan Crawford sea tale Twelve Miles Out (1927), and Conrad Nagel's part talking prohibition tale Kid Gloves (1929). Come the advent of sound Earle was offered character parts and by the end of the pre-Code talkies era was relegated to bit and unbilled extra parts in Shirley Temple, Laurel and Hardy and Marx Bros. flicks.
He continued to appear throughout the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and tended to be more visible in oaters and serial cliffhangers. Extremely athletic with a daredevil instinct, he tried his hand as an artist, aviator and automobile racing car driver. Retiring in the early 1960s, Earle eventually retired to the Woodland Hills, California Motion Picture Country Home, where he passed away from complications of old age at age 90 in 1972.- Charles Arling was born on 22 August 1880 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Back to God's Country (1919), Number 99 (1920) and Droppington's Devilish Deed (1915). He died on 21 April 1922 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Hayden Stevenson was born on 2 July 1877 in Georgetown, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for The Abysmal Brute (1923), Blake of Scotland Yard (1927) and Let's Go (1922). He was married to Louise J. Stevenson. He died on 31 January 1952 in West Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
Guy Coombs was born on 15 June 1882 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Swamp Fox (1914), Wolfe; or, the Conquest of Quebec (1914) and Bab's Diary (1917). He was married to Anna Q. Nilsson. He died on 29 December 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Harry Bowen was born on 4 October 1888 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for The Luckiest Girl in the World (1936), The Harvester (1936) and The Headline Woman (1935). He died on 5 December 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
In the early days of silent pictures, Marshall Neilan was a top director for Goldwyn Pictures. He had also directed a small number of Louis B. Mayer's independently produced melodramas, but there was a mutual dislike between the two men. During the festivities inaugurating the merger of Metro and Goldwyn Pictures on April 26, 1924, Neilan grew disgusted at the prospect of listening to Mayer's speech and interrupted everything by ordering his cast and crew back to the set of Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1924). Mayer later viewed the picture and ordered the downbeat ending re-shot over Neilan's loud protests. Mayer, wanting to instill his absolute authority over all production matters, held firm. The prospect of working for Mayer in the new Metro-Goldwyn super-studio was unbearable and Neilan quit. His was the first outright desertion from the studio that others over the next three decades would aspire to be a part of.- Lee Morris was born on 23 June 1863 in Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Durand of the Bad Lands (1917), The Golden Patch (1914) and Eph's Dream (1913). He died on 6 February 1933 in California, USA.
- American character actor of silent films, Edward Connelly, a native New Yorker, was a newspaperman before he became an actor, being a reporter for the New York Sunl. At 25 he joined a theatrical stock company in Kansas City and appeared subsequently on Broadway in such plays as "Shore Acres," "The Belle of New York," "Babbitt," "The Wild Duck," and his own production of "Marse Covington," which he later filmed (Marse Covington (1915)). Moving to Hollywood, he became a contract player at MGM, where he remained until his death from influenza in 1928.
- Scott Seaton was born on 11 March 1871 in Sacramento, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The House Without a Key (1926), Rich Men's Sons (1927) and The Other Tomorrow (1930). He was married to Maude Clarice Redmon, Lillian Elizabeth L'Abbe Petterson and Ruby Henrietta Ramdohr. He died on 3 June 1968 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Contrary to his familiar image, Clarence Kolb started out as one half of a vaudeville comedy act, Kolb and Dill. He made a few shorts in 1916 and a feature in 1917, but went back to vaudeville and the stage immediately thereafter, and did not return to films until the late 1930s. His stern, authoritarian looks and booming voice fit the irascible, bombastic politicians and businessmen--usually crooked to a greater or lesser degree--he played so well. Best remembered as the fast-talking, corrupt mayor in the classic His Girl Friday (1940) and Mr. Honeywell, Vern Albright's boss, in the TV series My Little Margie (1952).3 westerns, 27-38
Sam Kent, The Law West of Tombstone (1938). 1938.
1874 - 1964, 90.
Forgot to take off his hat?- Canadian vaudevillian and stage actor who appeared in several silent films. As a dramatic actor, he appeared in such plays as "The Pearl of Pekin," "The Hole in the Ground," and "Dear House of Ireland." Later he entered vaudeville with a sketch show, "The Race Tout's Dream," which occupied him for many years. He made occasional appearances in films and lived in Hollywood, but continued on the vaudeville circuit until his death from a heart attack in his sleep, at age 54.1874 - 1928, 54.
5 westerns, 11-25. - George Morrell was born on 10 April 1871 in California, USA. He was an actor, known for Custer's Last Stand (1936), Gold Fever (1952) and The Utah Kid (1944). He was married to Rosalie. He died on 28 April 1955 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1871 - 1955, 84.
365 westerns, 29-52. - Thomas Holding was born in Greenwich, Kent, England in 1878. Having finished his education at Rugby, he went onto the stage under the management of Charles Hawtrey with whom he appeared in many London productions (he was 14 years on the London stage playing with distinguished Shakespearean actors such as Sir Herbert Tree, the Kendal's the Terry's and Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson). He then attracted the attention of Charles Frohman and signed with him for the juvenile lead in "Are You a Mason?", and "Loaves and Fishes." After a Shakespearean tour through Australia, in which he appeared in the principal role of ten plays, he returned to the Strand Theatre, London to sing the leading baritone's part in "The Chinese Honeymoon." He then went back to dramatic stage in Edward Terry's company.
It was Charles Frohman who first brought Thomas to New York in 1908 as leading man to Billie Burke, Maxine Elliott and many other equally well known players. His portrayal of Ben Hur, under Klaw and Erlanger's management, brought him considerable praise and recognition.
His first film in 1915, "The Eternal City," filmed in Rome, gained him a large following. Following that he alternated between stage and screen.
On the 4th May, 1929 he arrived at Longacre Theatre, New York, where he was appearing in Mystery Square, feeling unwell, he died in his dressing room of a heart attack. - Kernan Cripps was born on 8 July 1886 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was an actor, known for Federal Operator 99 (1945), Those Who Dance (1930) and Alibi (1929). He died on 12 August 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1886 - 1953, 67.
35 westerns. - Actor
- Director
Hal Clements was born on 26 January 1869 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Girl Telegrapher's Nerve (1916), Out of the Jaws of Death (1913) and O'Brien Finds a Way (1914). He was married to Mary Moore and Olga Printzlau. He died in October 1957 in Bronx, New York City, New York, USA.- Actor
- Producer
Hardly remembered today, if at all, Fred Stone was once one of the most multi-faceted circus performers to hit turn-of-the century America. There seemed to be nothing he couldn't do--tightrope walking, acrobatics, clowning . . . you name it. This initial celebrity eventually led to his stellar headlining in vaudeville houses, stardom on the Broadway musical stage and character lead work in films.
He was born in a Valmont, Colorado, log cabin in the summer of 1873. Running away from home at the ripe old age of 11, he eventually joined a traveling circus show. By his teens he had taught himself the high-wire act and other athletic skills so well that he earned a name for himself under the big top. He met and teamed up with fellow circus performer David Craig Montgomery (1870-1917) in 1895. Billed as "Montgomery and Stone," they became a prominent song-and-dance duo in burlesque houses and minstrel shows. The toast of New York in the first decade of the 1900s, they appeared in a number of hit revues, including "The Red Mill" and "Chin Chin." One of their most famous pairings was in the 1903 Broadway musical version of L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz" in which Fred portrayed the Scarecrow to Montgomery's Tin Man. The agile duo also shared billing on various other circuits, including "Wild West" shows, with the likes of close friends Will Rogers and Annie Oakley.
After Montgomery's unexpected death on April 20, 1917, following an unsuccessful operation, Fred continued solo, often appearing with wife Allene Crater (later billed as Allene Stone or Mrs. Fred Stone) in such musical shows as "Criss Cross" and "Ripples." Fred also extended his talents to the movies. Although he didn't become a steady fixture (he dropped out of films by the early 1920s), he had wrangled a few of his own comedy and western vehicles to make a dent, with The Goat (1918), Under the Top (1919), Johnny Get Your Gun (1919), The Duke of Chimney Butte (1921) and Billy Jim (1922) being his best. He made an auspicious return to the movies in the sound era as Katharine Hepburn's beleaguered father in the seriocomic classic Alice Adams (1935), and as a feuding clan member in the tumbleweed western The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1936). Given such a rousing reception, the 63-year-old was offered his own secondary feature, top-lining such comedy efforts as The Farmer in the Dell (1936), Grand Jury (1936), Quick Money (1937) and No Place to Go (1939), before ending his lucky streak with The Westerner (1940) starring Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan. In 1950 Fred retired completely from show business. During the final years of his life he suffered from advancing blindness and heart trouble. He died at his Los Angeles home in March of 1959 at age 85. The patriarch of a show-biz family, his daughters Dorothy Stone, Paula Stone and Carol Stone were also actresses who appeared with their father at various times on Broadway (he was also the uncle of Milburn Stone, veteran character actor and Gunsmoke (1955)'s "Doc Adams"). A long-overdue biography of Fred Stone was published by Armond Fields in 2002.1873 - 1959, 85.
4 westerns.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Francis X. Bushman was born on 10 January 1883 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Sabrina (1954), The Phantom Planet (1961) and Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925). He was married to Iva Millicient Richardson, Norma Emily Atkin, Beverly Bayne and Josephine Fladine Duval. He died on 23 August 1966 in Pacific Palisades, California, USA.- Andrew Robson was born in 1868 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Salvation Nell (1915), Salomy Jane (1914) and The Corsican Brothers (1920). He died on 26 April 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Minor American character actor Forrest Taylor was a veteran of the stage by the time he started appearing as a silent lead in both short and feature-length films. He went on to appear in hundreds of secondary "B" movies, although his name does not appear in a large percentage of them. Taylor was born Edwin Forrest Taylor in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1883. Little is known about his early days on stage but he assayed prime roles in such films as In the Sunset Country (1915), April (1916), True Nobility (1916) and The Abandonment (1916) before World War I service intervened. With his leading-man career fatally interrupted, he would not return to films until a decade later in 1926. Playing a few strong supports, he regressed quickly to atmospheric bits primarily in westerns and cliffhangers. With a no-nonsense attitude and imposingly thick mustache, his attorneys, judges, scientists, executives and professors were for the most part scarcely acknowledged, so when he did receive a bit more screen time than usual he pounced on the opportunity, such as he got in John Wayne's programmer Riders of Destiny (1933) where he played a sagebrush villain; the serial Shadow of Chinatown (1936) as a Chief of Police; and The Oregon Trail (1939) as a nemesis to hero Johnny Mack Brown. Taylor also managed some deliciously hammy roles in a few popular serials including The Green Archer (1940), The Spider Returns (1941) and The Iron Claw (1941). On-camera for nearly five decades, he extended himself into TV programming in the 1950s, taking part in various TV westerns including episodes of Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (1951), Annie Oakley (1954), The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1955), Maverick (1957) and My Friend Flicka (1955), not to mention both Gene Autry's and Roy Rogers' weekly shows. He was an occasional player on the series The Cisco Kid (1950) from 1950 on, and from 1952-1954 had one of his more visible roles as Grandpa Fisher on the religious TV series This Is the Life (1952). Broaching the age of 80, Taylor finally retired in 1962 after filming an episode of Bonanza (1959) and died three years later of natural causes in Garden Grove, California.1883 - 1965, 81.
321 westerns, 15-62.
220 feature westerns.
Gunsight Hawkins, Sundown Valley (1944). 1944.
Sheriff Ralph Watson, The Sheriff of Willow Creek (1915). 1915.
John, The Tall Stranger (1962). 1962. - Edward Martindel was born on 8 July 1876 in Hamilton, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Why Be Good? (1929), On Trial (1928) and The Duchess of Buffalo (1926). He was married to Jane. He died on 4 May 1955 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Paul Harvey was born on 10 September 1882 in Sandwich, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Spellbound (1945), Calamity Jane (1953) and Algiers (1938). He was married to Merle Stanton and Ottye Henrietta Cramer (actress). He died on 15 December 1955 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Howard M. Mitchell was born on 11 December 1883 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Mother Heart (1921), Breed of Courage (1927) and Man's Size (1923). He was married to Mary Land. He died on 9 October 1958 in Hollywood, California, USA.1883 - 1958, 74.
28 westerns, 10-51.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
William Duncan was born on 16 December 1879 in Dundee, Tayside, Scotland, UK. He was an actor and director, known for The Steel Trail (1923), A Matrimonial Deluge (1913) and The Gunfighter's Son (1913). He was married to Edith Johnson. He died on 8 February 1961 in Hollywood, California, USA.1879 - 1961, 81. Scotland. US.
68 westerns, 11-40.- 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.1860 - 1931, 70.
6 westerns.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
The son of writer-theater producer-director-actor Hal Reid, Wallace was on stage by the age of four in the act with his parents. He spent most of his early years, not on the stage, but in private schools where he excelled in music and athletics. In 1910, his father went to the Chicago studio of "Selig Polyscope Company" and Wallace decided that he wanted to be a cameraman. However, with his athletic good looks, he was often put in front of the camera instead of behind - a situation that he disliked. His first film before the camera was The Phoenix (1910), where he played the role of the young reporter. Wallace preferred to be a cameraman, a writer, a director - anything but an actor. He took his fathers play "The Confession" to Vitagraph where he wanted to write and direct the film. Wallace ended up also acting in it. Starting with bit parts in various films, Wallace was eventually cast as the leading man to Florence Turner in numerous films. Wallace next moved on to "Reliance" where he acted, but also wrote screenplays. His next big move was to Hollywood, where he was hired by Universal director Otis Turner, as assistant director, second cameraman, gopher and scenario writer. It was what he was looking for, but he ended up back in front of the camera. At 20, Reid was an unknown assistant director. In 1913, Wallace married Dorothy Davenport, one of the stars that he both directed and starred with. Although only 17, Dorothy had spent a number of years on the stage before heading to the silver screen. The roles that Wallace played were getting bigger and bigger, but after appearing in over 100 films, he took a salary cut and a small part to work with D.W. Griffith on his milestone film The Birth of a Nation (1915). It was after this film that Jesse L. Lasky signed Wallace to a contract with "Famous Players" and he became a big star, but his dreams of directing and writing ended. An alcoholic for years, this situation worsened. His first film for "Famous Players" was The Chorus Lady (1915). Wallace went on to star in a series of pictures in which he represented all that was best of the ideal American. He had parts in over 60 more pictures including Intolerance (1916) and The Squaw Man's Son (1917). But it was the daredevil auto movies that he was most popular at. Flashing cars, dangerous roads and sometimes a race with a speeding locomotive thrilled and scared the public. His auto pictures included The Roaring Road (1919), Excuse My Dust (1920) and Double Speed (1920). When the U.S. entered World War I, Wallace was 25, six foot one and a crack shot. Even though he wanted to enlist, pressure was exerted on him not to. He was the rock on which "Famous Players" was built and his loss would have materially effect the company. He had a newborn son and was the sole support for his wife, his son, his mother, her mother, his father and also had to consider his status as a matinée idol.
He did volunteer his time to selling Liberty bonds and often opened his house to veterans. His films were financial successes, but in his personal life, he spent money like water. Wallace was a star who was worked continuously by the studio but disaster struck on a film site in Oregon. While making the film The Valley of the Giants (1919), Wallace was involved in a train crash and his injuries prevented him from finishing the film. Unwilling to stop the film, the studio sent the company doctor up to Oregon with a supply of morphine so that he would continue working and not feel the pain of his injury. After the picture was finished, he was needed to begin another so the studio kept supplying Wallace with morphine and he became hooked. Coupled with the alcohol, Wallace never had a chance and by 1922, he started entering a succession of hospitals and sanitariums as his health faded. Making his last film for the studio, Thirty Days (1922), Wallace was barely able to stand, let alone act. He died at the sanitarium, in Dorothy's arms, on the 18th day of January 1923 at the age of only 31. Wallace was the third major Paramount personality to be involved in scandal in 1922.- Harry Lonsdale was born on 6 December 1862 in Worcester, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Ne'er Do Well (1915), Rebecca the Jewess (1913) and The Garden of Allah (1916). He was married to Alice Lonnon [Perkins] (stage actress). He died on 8 February 1939 in Los Angeles, California, USA.13 westerns, 14-25.
1865 - 1923, 57. - Actor
- Director
- Producer
Edgar Jones was born on 17 June 1874 in Steubenville, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Lonesome Corners (1922), Caught in the Rapids (1921) and A Rich Man's Darling (1918). He was married to Louise Huff and Louise Vale. He died on 7 February 1958 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1874 - 1958, 83.
43 westerns.- Richard Neill was born on 12 November 1875 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for The King of the Kongo (1929), The Unfortunate Marriage (1917) and The Fighting Coward (1924). He died on 8 April 1970 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.1875 - 1970, 94.
27 westerns. - Harry C. Bradley was born on 15 April 1869 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The House of Mystery (1934), Riding on Air (1937) and Heat Lightning (1934). He was married to Lottie Alter and Lurelle Lancing Waters. He died on 18 October 1947 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Frank Weed was born on 3 August 1869 in Hudson, Wisconsin, USA. He was an actor, known for The Coming of Columbus (1912), Fighting Fate (1921) and The Midnight Bell (1913). He died on 22 October 1944 in South Haven, Michigan, USA.5 westerns, 11-20.
1869 - 1944, 75. - Charles Clary was born on 24 March 1873 in Charleston, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for The Penalty (1920), The Rosary (1915) and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1921). He was married to Margaret Bechtel. He died on 24 March 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1873 - 1931, 58.
19 westerns, 11-30. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Charles Hutchison was born on 3 December 1879 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Lightning Hutch (1926), The Judgement Book (1935) and Bachelor Mother (1932). He was married to Edith Thornton. He died on 30 May 1949 in Hollywood, California, USA.1879 - 1949, 69.
9 westerns, 14-40.- True Boardman was born on 21 April 1880 in Oakland, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Tarzan of the Apes (1918), Stingaree (1915) and The Further Adventures of Stingaree (1917). He was married to Virginia True Boardman. He died on 28 September 1918 in Los Angeles, California, USA.1880 - 1918, 38.
97 westerns, 11-19. - Bert Hadley was born on 12 April 1882 in Walla Walla, Washington, USA. He was an actor, known for Madam Who? (1918), The Flying U Ranch (1927) and The Tiger Band (1920). He was married to Jack Noyes, Theodore Best and Zena Clara Haddock. He died on 30 December 1968 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.1882 - 1968, 86.
9 westerns. - Henry Hall was born on 5 November 1876 in Washington Township, Buchanan County, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Hot Curves (1930), The Ape Man (1943) and Feet First (1930). He was married to Emma S.. He died on 11 December 1954 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.1876 - 1954, 78.
82 westerns, 31-49. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Herbert Evans was born on 16 April 1882 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Third Degree (1919), Reunion in Vienna (1933) and Slightly Married (1932). He was married to Etta Maud Bignell. He died on 10 February 1952 in San Gabriel, California, USA.1882 - 1952, 69. London. California.
5 westerns.- Mahlon Hamilton was born on 15 June 1880 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was an actor, known for Half a Chance (1920), Daddy-Long-Legs (1919) and The Single Standard (1929). He was married to Alita Bratton Farnum and Sara L. Leary. He died on 20 June 1960 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.1880 - 1960, 80.
8 westerns. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
St. Louis-born King Baggot traveled to New York City with the express intent of crashing Broadway, but began his film career in nearby Fort Lee, NJ, in 1909. It didn't take long before he graduated from actor to writer and director--at times performing all three functions; in Shadows (1914) he not only directed but played ten different parts--and his efforts paid off, becoming a major star in the industry. Baggot was actually the first "star" to be given billing by his studio and his featured in its advertising. His most famous film as director would probably be the classic William S. Hart western Tumbleweeds (1925).
Baggot's career as a director faded with the coming of sound, but he continued his work as an actor, although often in bit parts. Still, he had an impressive career--more than 340 films as an actor and 45 as a director. He made his last film in 1947 and died of a stroke in 1948 in Los Angeles, CA.- Actor
- Director
William C. Dowlan was born on 21 September 1882 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Drugged Waters (1916), The Devil and Idle Hands (1915) and Richelieu (1914). He was married to Leonora Ainsworth. He died on 6 November 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- W.E. Lawrence was born on 22 August 1896 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Intolerance (1916), Blood and Sand (1922) and Common Clay (1919). He died on 28 November 1947 in Hollywood, California, USA(undisclosed).1896 - 1947, 51.
27 westerns, 14-40. - Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Movies, especially comedies, have always needed big, blustery, booming authoritarian types for the lead to play off of (or against), and one of the best was Thurston Hall, most famous for his role of Mr. Schuyler in the Topper (1953) series of the early 1950s. Hall was a tall, distinguished, imposing-looking man, which fit perfectly with the variety of military officers, wealthy businessmen, bankers and upper-crust types he played so well. The Boston-born Hall was attracted to a theatrical career as a youth, and toured New England with a theater troupe and eventually journeyed to Britain, where he spent several years on the stage. He formed his own theater company and successfully toured South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. By the time he entered films he was an established and successful stage actor, in both the U.S. and Europe. He started out in silent films, but his rich baritone voice enabled him to easily transition into talkies. He appeared in more than 200 films, his final one being Affair in Reno (1957), although he had kept busy in television, with appearances on many different series in addition to his co-starring role on "Topper". He died of a heart attack in 1958.1882 - 1958, 75.
37 westerns.- Actor
- Director
Alfred Paget was born on 2 June 1879 in London, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for Intolerance (1916), Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1917) and Martyrs of the Alamo (1915). He was married to Leila Halstead Paget. He died on 8 October 1919 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.1879 - 1925, 45.
31 westerns.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Jack Nelson was born on 15 October 1882 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor and director, known for A Fighting Heart (1924), Tarzan the Mighty (1928) and Midnight Secrets (1924). He was married to Stella and Grace. He died on 10 November 1948 in North Bay, Ontario, Canada.1882 - 1948, 66. US. Canada.
40 westerns.- Often confused with the British-born comic actor J. Pat O'Malley, who is the better remembered, silent dramatic film star Pat O'Malley had an enduring career that stands on its own. He was of solid Irish-American stock, born in Forest City, Pennsylvania, in 1890. A one-time railroad switchman, he also had circus experience by the time he discovered an interest in movie making. He began with the Kalem Studio in 1913 and appeared in a few Irish films before signing on with Thomas Edison's company in 1914. The following year, he married actress Lillian Wilkes, and three of their children, Eileen, Mary Katherine, and Sheila, would become actors as well. His brother Charles O'Malley was a sometime actor, appearing in westerns on occasion. His first identifiable film is The Alien (1913). He began freelancing in 1916 and from then on, appeared in scores of silents as both a rugged and romantic lead, some classic films being The Heart of Humanity (1918), My Wild Irish Rose (1922), and The Virginian (1923). He did not age well come sound pictures, and he was quickly relegated to supporting parts. He appeared in hundreds upon hundreds of bits (mostly unbilled) until 1956, when he retired. He died a decade later.1890 - 1966, 75.
73 westerns. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
E.H. Calvert was born on 27 June 1863 in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Wizard (1927), The Love Parade (1929) and Vultures of Society (1916). He was married to Lillian Drew and Thelma M. (actress). He died on 5 October 1941 in Hollywood, California, USA.1863 - 1941, 78.- Paul Everton was born on 19 September 1868 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Merrily We Live (1938), They Won't Forget (1937) and The Conquest of Canaan (1921). He died on 26 February 1948 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.8 westerns, 16-42.
1868 - 1948, 79. - Actor
- Director
Warren Ellsworth was born on 2 May 1888 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Sheriff of Plumas (1916), Life's Blind Alley (1916) and Secret Love (1916). He died on 25 November 1945 in Sacramento, California, USA.1888 - 1945, 57.
10 westerns.- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
Stalwart character actor Henry Kolker appeared on the Broadway stage from 1904, comedy being his forte early on. Later, as a leading man in romantic dramas, he partnered famous stars like Alla Nazimova. Moving on to films in 1914 as actor/director, he became noted in particular for directing Disraeli (1921), starring George Arliss (now a lost film, except for one reel). Plagued by ill-health and much publicised marital problems, Kolker's star had waned somewhat by the end of the silent era. However, he continued to remain in demand as a supporting actor, generally typecast as stern judges, priests, heavy fathers and cuckolded husbands. Usually scowling and sombre, he chided and glowered over stars like Melvyn Douglas, Gary Cooper and Katharine Hepburn (arguably his best role being the latter's father, Edward Seton, in Holiday (1938)). He was equally effective in the role of banker John Fair in The Crash (1932), and as Friar Laurence in George Cukor's Romeo and Juliet (1936). Kolker remained a prolific fixture on screen throughout the 1930's, managing to tally up in excess of twenty appearances each, for 1934 and 1935 alone.1874 - 1947, 72. Germany. California.
4 westerns.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Hearn was born on 6 September 1888 in Dayton, Washington, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for As No Man Has Loved (1925), The Flirt (1922) and The Turmoil (1924). He was married to Tryna L. Saindon. He died on 15 April 1963 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.1888 - 1963, 74.
109 westerns.- George Webb was born on 3 October 1887 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Black Beauty (1921), John Petticoats (1919) and The Lucky Devil (1925). He was married to Lee Kinney, Esther Ralston and Julia Frances Leahy. He died on 24 May 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
A longtime and respected stage actor, Van Dyke Brooke went into the film business in 1909. A prolific actor, writer and director for Vitagraph, he stayed with the company until 1916, when the studio cleaned house and fired many of its "old-timers". He stayed in the business as an actor until his death in 1921.- Kenneth Harlan was born on 26 July 1895 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Penalty (1920), Paradise Island (1930) and Danger Island (1931). He was married to Rosemarie Gonsalves Mirjanian, Rhea Walker, Helene Stanton, Helen (Donna) Spelner, Phyllis McClure, Doris Hilda Booth, Marie Prevost, Florence Hart and Salome F. Sanborn. He died on 6 March 1967 in Sacramento, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Make-Up Department
Robert Anderson was born on 22 July 1890 in Odense, Denmark. He was an actor and director, known for The Lullaby (1924), My Lady's Ankle (1920) and The Non-Stop Flight (1926). He died on 25 June 1963 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
Born in Washington, DC, in 1890, screen villain "par excellance" Wheeler Oakman got into films in 1912. He specialized in playing villains, but he wasn't just a one-note, mustache-twirling "bad guy"--a tall, solidly-built, distinguished-looking, almost patrician man, he could effectively play cold-blooded mob bosses, slick-talking crooked businessmen, greedy land barons, gregarious bankers who are secretly the head of the local bandit gang, and everything in between. On the other hand, he could play college professors, heroic army officers and tough big-city detectives with equal aplomb. He worked in all genres for just about every studio in town at one time or another, from high dramas at top-ranked MGM to bottom-of-the-barrel exploitation fare from J.D. Kendis.
At one time married to silent-screen star Priscilla Dean, he worked almost up until his death--his final role was an uncredited bit in the 1948 serial Superman (1948), and he died of a heart attack in Van Nuys, California, in 1949.1890 - 1949, 59.
57 westerns.- Actor
- Art Department
- Cinematographer
Today screen actor Robert (Bobby) Harron is one of Hollywood's forgotten souls, although he was a huge celebrity in his time and graced some of the silent screen's most enduring masterpieces. A talented, charismatic star in his heyday, Bobby had everything going for him but died far too young to make the longstanding impression he certainly deserved.
Bobby was born one of nine children in New York City to an impoverished Irish-American family. In order to put food on the table, Bobby started out quite young looking for work. At age 13 he found a job working for the American Biograph Studio on East 14th Street as a messenger boy and was given a couple of film bits for added measure. Within the next year director D.W. Griffith had joined the company and the sensitive, highly photogenic Bobby caught the legendary director's eye almost immediately.
Bobby subsequently had leading roles in many of Griffith's classic silents, usually playing characters that were much younger and much more naive than in real life. He appeared opposite other legendary female stars who also played "young-ish" roles, notably Mae Marsh and Lillian Gish. Bobby made indelible impressions in The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), An Old Fashioned Young Man (1917), Hearts of the World (1918), A Romance of Happy Valley (1919) and True Heart Susie (1919).
Bobby had become such a sensation that in 1920 he entertained thoughts about leaving the Griffith fold and forming his own company. A fatal, self-inflicted bullet wound to the left lung in September of 1920 ended those dreams before they ever got off the ground. Although it was listed as an "accidental" death, Hollywood rumor has it that a despondent Bobby killed himself in a New York hotel room on the eve of the premiere of Griffith's new film Way Down East (1920). It seems Bobby was devastated after being passed over by Griffith for the lead role in favor of the director's new protégé, Richard Barthelmess. Whatever the truth may be, Bobby's death remains a tragic mystery. Ironically, Bobby had two lesser known sibling actors who also died quite young. Tessie Harron (1896-1918) died at age 22 of Spanish influenza, and John Harron (1904-1939), nicknamed Johnnie, collapsed and died of spinal meningitis at age 35. Both appeared unbilled in Hearts of the World (1918) with Bobby.- Casson Ferguson was born on 29 May 1891 in Alexandria, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor, known for Secret Service (1919), Grumpy (1923) and Her Reputation (1923). He was married to Inez Geraldine Griffin and Catherine Mallon. He died on 12 February 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Walter Perkins was born on 12 October 1857 in Biddeford, Maine, USA. He was an actor, known for Peaceful Valley (1920), Wee Lady Betty (1917) and The Atom (1918). He died on 3 June 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
William V. Mong was born on 25 June 1875 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Fighting Joe (1916), The Chosen Prince, or the Friendship of David and Jonathan (1917) and Lost in the Arctic (1911). He was married to Esme Isabel Haigh Warde, Mildred Ellen Payne and Marie Louise Kelley. He died on 10 December 1940 in Studio City, California, USA.1875 - 1940, 65.
24 westerns.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Paul Scardon had extensive experience on the stage in his home country before coming to the US in 1905. He made films for Majestic and Reliance, among other studios, before joining Vitagraph in 1914. He appeared in several films there as an actor, but soon turned to directing. He was married to Betty Blythe, who he directed in dozens of films. He stayed with Vitagraph until 1919. He directed his last film in 1924, although he stayed in the business as an actor until 1949.
He died in Fontana, California, in 1954 of a heart attack. He was 79.1874 - 1954, 79. Australia. California.
10 westerns- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Eddie Lyons was born on 25 November 1886 in Beardstown, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Everything But the Truth (1920), All Bound Around (1919) and Good Night, Ladies (1919). He was married to Virginia Kirtley. He died on 30 August 1926 in Pasadena, California, USA.1886 - 1926, 39.
8 westerns.- Crauford Kent was born on 12 October 1881 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Ace of Scotland Yard (1929), Silas Marner (1922) and Seven Keys to Baldpate (1929). He died on 14 May 1953 in Hollywood, California, USA.1881 - 1953, 71. London. California.
5 westerns, 23-47.
Count De Longe, The Eagle's Feather (1923). 1923. - Actor
- Writer
American stage actor and director who made numerous silent film appearances. Blinn was born and raised in San Francisco and attended nearby Stanford University. But his stage career had begun years before, when he made his acting debut at age six. Following his education, he resumed acting, eventually becoming a prominent figure on Broadway. He directed many of the plays he appeared in. In 1914, he made his first film and kept busy on screen and on stage for the remainder of his life. During the volatile strike of stage actors in 1919 that led to the formation of the actors' union, Actors Equity, Blinn was one of a minority of actors who sided with the opposition, the producers. He served as president of the Actors Fidelity League, which unsuccessfully fought the formation of the actors' union. During a vacation at Journey's End, his country home in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, Blinn was thrown from a horse. He appeared to be recuperating well, but the injury to his arm became infected and led to respiratory failure. He died on 24 June 1928 at 56.- Actor
- Director
Albert Edward Coxen was born at 18 Darwin Street, Southwark, London, England on 8th August 1880, the first child of Joseph Coxen of Wandsworth, London and Sarah Jane Coxen nee Parfitt of Bedminster, Bristol. At the time of Albert Edward's birth Joseph and Sarah ran the Carpenter Arms public house, St. Marylebone, London.
In 1880 Joseph Coxen's brother John and wife Ellen left England and settled in San Francisco. Joseph and Sarah Coxen with young Bertie, as Albert was called on the ship's manifest, followed them in 1882. The Coxen brothers soon established Coxen Bros., a Wood & Photo Engravers business, in the city and the families lived together at 1612 Jones Street. By 1890 Albert Edward, aged 10, and his parent were living in independent accommodation at 1925, Filbert Street.
Although they were well settled in the U.S.A. the Coxen family returned to London in 1896 so that Sarah could look after her dying sister Catherine Strawson nee Parfitt. Young Albert Edward was intent on completing his education and returned to the U.S.A on the America line vessel SS St. Louis from Southampton arriving in New York the day before his seventeenth birthday, 7th August 1897. His third class passage was in the company of a shipload of Scandinavian and Jewish immigrants seeking a new life. In his pocket young Albert had $125 dollars to get him back to his uncle John's home in California. In 1900, aged 20, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
On his return to San Francisco Coxen continued his education at the University of California, Berkeley College campus and after graduating in the early 1900s he embarked upon a commercial career probably working for his father and uncle John at Coxen Bros. Clearly he did not find this to his liking and set about attempting to make his fortune firstly by prospecting for gold and then by moving to a job in civil engineering. Finally, he entered the profession he yearned for most, acting, and spoke his first lines as a professional actor on the stage of the Majestic Theatre, San Francisco at the age of 26 early in 1906. The devastating San Francisco earthquake and fires of April 18th 1906 followed soon after his debut, so he moved to a theater across the bay in Oakland where he appeared in Ye Liberty, Balasco's Alcazar and many other popular plays.
The earthquake and San Francisco's big fire must have been a terrifying experience for the Coxen families and would have had a serious and detrimental impact on the business of Coxen Bros. So it was probably at this time that the families decided to move along the coast to the safer location of Los Angeles.
When he started his acting career Coxen dropped 'Albert' and became, Edward, Eddie or Ed Coxen and in 1909 he returned to New York, this time as an established 29-year-old actor performing at Wallack's Theatre, Broadway. On the 27th December 1909 he appeared, billed as Edward Coxen, in A Little Brother of the Rich, a play that ran for 27 performances.
Los Angeles and the suburb of Hollywood in particular, was the center of the new and rapidly growing motion picture industry; it was a magnet to aspiring young actors. The demand for one-reel westerns was insatiable and some studios released these on a one-a-week basis. Early in 1911 the Santa Monica Studio was formed by the Kalem Company to satisfy the increasing demand and young talent such as Ed Coxen, Ruth Roland, Marin Sais and Marshall Neiland were recruited.
Coxen was soon to move further up the coast to Santa Barbara where in 1912 he joined the American Film Manufacturing Company's Studios and began his motion picture career as one of a group of actors known as the 'Flying A' stars. He remained a star of those studios until 1917. This was a period when he was very popular with the cinema public and in 1912 alone he made an incredible 34 films. The following flattering description of young Edward was published in 'The Moving Picture World' of December 1913: 'A good looking virile young man, a manly lover, and thoroughly at home on horseback.' Some of his film successes were: The Ghost of the Hacienda (1913), Crooks and Credulous (1913), In Three Hours (1913), The Drummer's Honeymoon (1913), and he took the lead part in The Trail of the Lost Chord (1913). In several of his films, including Saints and Sinners (1915), his leading lady was the popular and talented actress Winifred Greenwood. With Winifred Greenwood he appeared in many melodramas filmed in Santa Barbara. On Saturday August 7th 1915, his popularity was such that his photograph was featured on the front page of 'Pictures and The Picturegoer'. His agents were Central Casting Corporation of Hollywood Boulevard & Western Avenue.
In 1914 at the age of 33 he married Edith Borella, a 24-year-old film actress born in California of Swiss parents. Edith had played minor parts alongside Edward in films such as Restitution (1915), where Winifred Greenwood played Ed's female romantic lead. Edith was also known as Eda or by her professional name of Aida. In 1920 Ed and Eda were living somewhere in Precinct 228, Los Angeles City; the couple had no children. Later they moved into Ed's family home at 646 N. Manhattan Place, Los Angeles.
ECoxen's acting career reached its peak in the second decade of the 20th century; he never quite attained the real stardom that his early success promised. As he entered his 40s in the 1920s he ceased to star and became largely a supporting actor usually portraying villains, but working with stars such as Buster Keaton. In the 1930s he was often a supporting actor in B-westerns where Ken Maynard played the lead. Although he worked on well into the 1940s he could then only get either walk-on parts or appearances as a dress extra.
During the final decade of his life he lived, perhaps with his wife Edith, in his parents' former home at 646, N. Manhattan Place, Los Angeles
He died aged 74 on 21st November 1954 in Los Angeles and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California. His monument reads 'Beloved Husband and Brother', but his birth date is incorrect. He made more than 150 films, and in his early career appeared in countless stage plays, giving pleasure to millions of people.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Ehfe was born on 19 June 1887 in Payette, Idaho, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Repaid (1914), The Lure of the Mask (1915) and The Argonauts of California - 1849 (1916). He died on 1 August 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Byron Douglas was born on 29 March 1868 in Portland, Maine, USA. He was an actor, known for The Winning Stroke (1919), Marriage in Transit (1925) and The Net (1923). He was married to Marie Booth (performer). He died on 21 April 1935 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Although many people are under the impression that Pedro de Cordoba was Mexican, his mother was French and his father was Cuban, and he was born in New York City. De Cordoba's career began in silent films, where he established himself as a solid character actor, and his career carried over into talkies. A tall, somewhat frail-looking man, he often played wealthy, aristocratic Latins, usually (but not always) kind-hearted and benevolent.1881 - 1950, 68.
21 westerns. - Born in the upstate New York town of Horseheads in 1878, William Desmond began his show business career in vaudeville and on the stage. He had his own theatrical company by the time he made his film debut in Kilmeny (1915). Starting out in dramatic parts, Desmond soon switched to westerns and action serials, and became a major western star. When the sound era began Desmond was almost 50 years old, and was soon relegated to supporting roles. He continued making films into the 1940s.1878 - 1949, 71.
95 westerns, 16-48. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Sidney Bracey was born on 18 December 1877 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor and director, known for The Monster Walks (1932), The Million Dollar Mystery (1914) and Show People (1928). He was married to Evelyn Foshay. He died on 5 August 1942 in Hollywood, California, USA.1877 - 1942, 64. Australia. California.
7 westerns.- Additional Crew
- Producer
- Actor
Adolph Zukor was a poor Hungarian immigrant when he arrived in the United States in 1889. He tried his hand in the fur trade (starting as a sweeper for $2 a week pay) and proved his entrepreneurial acumen by steady advancement, eventually setting up successful businesses in New York and Chicago. By the time he reached thirty, he had already amassed a considerable personal fortune. As early as 1903, Zukor astutely forecast the prospective financial rewards to be made from the burgeoning celluloid medium. Within a decade, he became heavily involved in the independent production of 'flickers', setting up penny arcades with nickelodeons and shooting galleries. In partnership with Marcus Loew, Zukor soon operated a major chain of cinemas. In 1912, he acquired the American rights to a popular French four-reel feature film, Les amours de la reine Élisabeth (1912), starring Sarah Bernhardt. The picture premiered at New York's Lyceum Theatre and its inevitable box office success led Zukor to challenge the notion -- commonly held by thespians of the period -- that motion pictures were inferior to the stage and were 'beneath' stage actors. In short order, he succeeded in persuading important Broadway-based stars like Minnie Maddern Fiske and James K. Hackett to join his Famous Players Film Company (set up in partnership with Loew Enterprises and veteran impresario Daniel Frohman). Other big names soon followed: Marie Doro, Pauline Frederick, Henry Ainley, Florence Reed, to name but a few. The undisputed star on the Famous Players roster, however, was Mary Pickford -- signed for two years in August 1916.
Four days after Pickford signed her contract, Zukor inaugurated the forthcoming wave of Hollywood mergers by combining his interests with those of pioneer producer Jesse L. Lasky to create Famous Players-Lasky. Several other companies -- Morosco, Bosworth and Pallas -- were also acquired. The distribution chain Paramount Pictures Corporation, jointly created by Zukor and Lasky in 1914, served to ensure nationwide distribution (more than a hundred additional cinemas were purchased near the end of the decade, including prestige venues such as the Rialto and Rivoli on Broadway). By 1919, Zukor effectively dominated the film industry in America. At least half of the major stars in the business were on his payroll. Realart Pictures Corporation was added to the mix as an outlet for second features while the A-grade output was released through Artcraft. Two production facilities were in place, one in Hollywood, the other, Astoria Studios, in New York. A partnership between Zukor and newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst also resulted in the formation of Cosmopolitan Productions (as a vehicle for films starring Hearst's mistress, Marion Davies). In 1924, Zukor's theatres began to proliferate even in Europe with the opening of the Paris Paramount and the London Plaza. Zukor further cemented this preeminent position in the industry by promoting the practice of 'block-booking'. This was a way of coercing independent theatre owners who wished to exhibit the films of a bankable box office star to also take a package -- sight unseen -- which was bound to include much of the lesser Realart product.
Between 1920 and 1923, Paramount averaged an annual profit of $4.5 million. By 1930, that figure had risen to $18.4 million. Wile this was largely the result of clever marketing and effective distribution, Zukor's shrewd, multifarious financial machinations had also contributed greatly to that success. He was not particularly concerned with film making itself, other than the monetary aspects (a long-standing dispute between Zukor and Cecil B. DeMille over budgets and salary demands led to Paramount's premier director departing the company in 1925). The artistic impetus for Paramount's rise to preeminence in the 20's was provided by the likes of Lasky and the creative genius of B.P. Schulberg (an independent producer with a keen eye for talent, hired in 1926 to head the West Coast studios as vice president in charge of production). Zukor, conversely, rarely left New York (except for a brief visit West in 1936 to help restructure the company).
In 1932, Paramount went bankrupt and declared a $ 15.8 million deficit. Chiefly to blame for this decline was an over-expansion propelled by Zukor himself, in particular the acquisition of the Publix theatre chain which had been bought with Paramount stock -- stock rendered all but worthless after the Wall Street Crash. Heads rolled, including those of Schulberg, sales chief Sidney Kent, and, ultimately, Lasky. Zukor, the consummate survivor, remained in place as company president until 1936, thereafter holding the position of chairman of the board and chairman emeritus until his death at the extraordinary age of 103. He went on to preside over a revitalised and profitable organisation (though no longer the industry leader it had been the 1920's -- a mantle now held by MGM). During the 1940's, Paramount showed record profits ($39.2 million in 1946)), a trend which continued through the 50's.
Zukor was described as mild-mannered, lean and aquiline in appearance, a reserved man who did not make friends easily. He also had a reputation for ruthlessness, which people like Samuel Goldwyn and Lewis J. Selznick could certainly attest to. Above all, he was a shrewd financier, never more than a self-proclaimed merchant with a 'calculated vision' who 'looked ahead a little and gambled a lot'.1873 - 1976, 103. Hungary. US.
73 westerns, 22-38.