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- Louise de France was born on 15 July 1737 in Versailles, Île-de-France [now Yvelines], France. Louise was a writer, known for Movies for Louise (2005). Louise died on 23 December 1787 in Saint-Denis, Île-de-France [now Seine-Saint-Denis], France.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Clement Moore was born on 15 July 1779 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Lance's Crappy Christmas (2021), The Night Before Christmas (1912) and Star Wars Audio Comics: YouTube Channel (2014). He was married to Catherine Taylor. He died on 10 July 1863 in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.- Loyd Wheaton was born on 15 July 1838 in Pennfield, Michigan, USA. He died on 17 September 1918.
- Eduardo Gutiérrez was born on 15 July 1851 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a writer, known for Juan Moreira (1913), Juan Moreira (1936) and Juan Moreira (1948). He died on 2 August 1889 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Many people today know the names of
George M. Cohan and
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., but Charles
Frohman, though lesser known, reigned supreme in the theatrical world
for over a generation. From a young age Frohman's heart and soul
belonged in the theatre. His lower-middle-class family moved from
Sandusky, Ohio, to New York City in 1874 and he landed a job as a night
clerk for the New York Graphic. In 1876 the paper sent him to
Philadelphia to expand its circulation during the Centennial
Exposition, and it was there he first demonstrated his entrepreneurial
talents by organizing newsboys to more efficiently exploit the market.
He then moved over briefly to the New York Tribune and moonlighted by
selling theatre tickets at night, soaking in everything he could learn
about the theatrical business. In 1880, at the age of 20 with 50 cents
to his name after paying for a seat for the hit play "Shenandoah", he
successfully schmoozed its producers into selling him its road-show
rights. From this point onward there was no stopping Charles Frohman in
his desire to conquer the entertainment business, which at the time was
headquartered in New York City with the Broadway theater district its
nerve center.
He began by leasing an unprofitable house named Proctor's Theatre and
gradually created a stock production company. In the early 1890s he
built his own theatre, the Empire. He, younger brother
Gustave Frohman and older brother
Daniel Frohman became the leading theatre
impresarios of the Gilded Age. By the turn of the century Charles
Frohman was the #1 theatrical producer in the world. He solidified his
position by creating a theatrical monopoly with a handful of Broadway
and regional theatre owners, known as the Theatrical Syndicate, which
would come to dominate virtually every aspect of theatrical production
through its proprietary booking network. His syndicate controlled not
only first-run and revival Broadway shows, but dozens of road-show
companies that continuously traversed the US and Canada, in addition to
a number of productions that almost always illuminated London and
Paris.
Despite his titular status within his company, however, Frohman was
always detail-oriented. He believed that a large degree of his success
was due to his actors and paid an unusual amount of attention to their
development (or non-development), billing, promotion, costumes, etc.,
down to the tiniest booking details. In brief, he was a hands-on
producer and he held a seemingly hypnotic hold over his troupes (no
less a legend than Ethel Barrymore
idolized him). He also worked extensively in London and formed a
separate stage company to fill his five leased theatres there. By the
outbreak of World War I, he could claim to have produced over 700 plays
and employed a staff that exceeded 1,000 on both sides of the Atlantic.
Back in the States he owned or leased six theatres on Broadway and some
200 across the country, and had dozens of road-show companies
traversing the nation by rail at any given time. Oddly, he rarely
attended opening nights at any of his theatres, preferring to keep tabs
on audience reactions by employing dozens of runners who kept him
informed at intermissions and final curtains. Few of his business
associates knew him intimately; he was shy and steadfastly avoided
socializing, preferring to remain ensconced inside his suite at the
Knickerbocker Hotel whenever in New York City. By modern definition,
Frohman would be considered moderately neurotic and perhaps mildly
obsessive-compulsive. He was occasionally practically agoraphobic, had
an intense fear of darkness and rigidly held to theatrical
superstitions, all rolled into a shroud of secrecy surrounding his
private life (accused of being a homosexual by his detractors, he was
also rumored to be secretly married to Maude Adams, a stage actress who
would be termed a "superstar" today). In business Frohman was
considered cold and calculating, often ruthlessly crushing competitors
to the extent that lesser producers only survived on Broadway because
he let them. He suffered a debilitating fall while at his home in White
Plains, New York, in 1912 and the resulting arthritis proved so painful
that he required use of a cane. Back in the Knickerbocker Hotel,
Frohman became a virtual invalid.
In 1915 he opted to make a European trip to check on the crop of
productions in London with playwright
Charles Klein and his valet.
Unfortunately he chose passage on the Lusitania, then the fastest ship
to London. His friends and associates were aghast at his decision and
tried to dissuade him from making the voyage. The German Embassy had
issued a proclamation declaring the Lusitania a military target;
Frohman reacted by dictating his company's entire 1916 season in
advance and dismissed their fears for his safety, telling his friend Al
Hayman, "If you want to write to me, just address the letter care of
the German Submarine U-4." By eyewitness accounts, Frohman remained
characteristically calm after the torpedoing of the ship, dismissing
offers of assistance and offering his life belt to a female passenger.
Among his last reported words was a line from
J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan": "Why fear death?
It is the most beautiful adventure in life."
Frohman's body was recovered and arrived in New York on May 24, 1915.
He was given two funerals
(John Barrymore was one of the
pallbearers), with simultaneous memorial services across the US and in
London. Maude Adams retired from acting upon his death. By the
following year, Frohman's all-powerful theatrical syndicate would be
broken by the Shubert Brothers.- Emmeline Pankhurst was born on 15 July 1858 in Moss Side, Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK. She was married to Richard Pankhurst. She died on 14 June 1928 in Hampstead, London, England, UK.
- Anton Danilo Cerar was born on 15 July 1858 in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He was an actor, known for Triglavske strmine (1932). He died on 23 April 1947 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
- Mieczyslaw Frenkiel was born on 15 July 1858 in Byszów, Poland, Russian Empire [now Byszów, Swietokrzyskie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for Chlopi (1922), Iwonka (1925) and Skrzydlaty zwyciezca (1924). He died on 19 April 1935 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Stanislaw Knake-Zawadzki was born on 15 July 1858 in Gostynin, Poland, Russian Empire [now Gostynin, Mazowieckie, Poland]. He was an actor and director, known for Dzieje grzechu (1911), Sad bozy (1911) and Pan Tadeusz (1928). He died on 25 October 1930 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Ryûrô Hirotsu was born on 15 July 1861 in Nagasaki, Japan. He was married to Kiyoko and Sumi Kamachi. He died on 25 October 1928 in Tokyo, Japan.
- Marie Tempest was born on 15 July 1862 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Mrs. Plum's Pudding (1915), Yellow Sands (1938) and English Nell (1900). She was married to W. Graham Brown, Cosmo Gordon Lennox and Alfred E. Izard. She died on 15 October 1942 in London, England, UK.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Ludwig Fulda was born on 15 July 1862 in Frankfurt am Main, Free City of Frankfurt [now Hesse, Germany]. He was a writer, known for Two-Faced Woman (1941), Das verlorene Paradies (1917) and Schwert und Herd (1916). He was married to Helene Anna Klara Grinwalszky and Ida Theumann. He died on 8 April 1939 in Berlin, Germany.- Franklin K. Lane was born on 15 July 1864 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. He died on 18 May 1921 in Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
- Alfred Harmsworth was born on 15 July 1865 in Dublin, Ireland, UK [now Republic of Ireland]. He died on 14 August 1922 in 1 Carlton Gardens, London, England, UK.
- Art Department
Ted Bevis was born on 15 July 1866 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He is known for Tarzan of the Apes (1918). He died on 11 August 1949 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.- Juliska Áldor was born on 15 July 1869 in Pilis, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. She is known for Falusi madonna (1918), Baccarat (1919) and A hadtest parancsnok (1917).
- Spikehorn Meyer was born on 15 July 1870 in Ohio, USA. He died on 19 September 1959 in Gladwin, Michigan, USA.
- Grace Hemingway was born on 15 July 1872 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was married to Clarence Hemingway. She died on 29 June 1951 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
- Camille Robert was born on 15 July 1872. Camille died on 24 March 1957.
- Alfred Hertz was born on 15 July 1872 in Frankfurt, Germany. He was an actor, known for Jazz Mad (1928). He was married to Lilly Dorn. He died on 17 April 1942 in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Minor film player Francis Pierlot came to Hollywood in 1939 at the age
of 63 with the notion that he would retire rather quickly. Instead he
played a steady stream of small character roles in a film career that
spanned well over a decade. Born July 15, 1875 in France, Pierlot came
to the United States when he was still a child and was raised in
Boston. His first contact with the entertainment business was as a
theatre usher at the age of 13. He eventually played vaudeville and was
a reliable performer on Broadway throughout the 20s and 30s with such
shows as "Please Get Married" (1919), Gentlemen of the Press" (1928)
and Knickerbocker Holiday (1938). In the 40s he shifted to films, never
appearing in any flashy parts that would jump out at you but a reliable
sort nevertheless. He played a number of benign, gray-haired fellows,
usually well-dressed, respected and quite approachable. His many films
include The Captain Is a Lady (1940), Henry Aldrich, Editor (1942), Hit the Hay (1945), Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946), The Flame and the Arrow (1950), and, It Happens Every Thursday (1953). On TV he occasionally
played "Mr. Hubert" on Jack Carson's show in the early 50s. Pierlot
died of a heart attack in Hollywood in 1955. - A. Roy Knabenshue was born on 15 July 1875 in Lancaster, Ohio, USA. He died on 6 March 1960 in Temple City, California, USA.
- Fanny Schreck was born on 15 July 1877 in Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg [now Baden-Württemberg], Germany. She was an actress, known for The Hunter of Fall (1936), Die Talfahrt des Severin Hoyey (1922) and The Girl from the Marsh Croft (1935). She was married to Max Schreck. She died on 11 December 1951 in Söflingen, Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Director
H.O. Davis was born on 15 July 1877 in Ohio, USA. H.O. was a writer and director, known for The War of the Tongs (1917), A Phantom Husband (1917) and The Little Orphan (1917). H.O. died on 28 August 1964 in Palm Springs, California, USA.- Cinematographer
A. Lloyd Lewis was born on 15 July 1877. A. Lloyd is known for Just for Tonight (1918), The Victim (1916) and The Tortured Heart (1916).- Director
- Producer
- Art Director
Louis de Carbonnat was born on 15 July 1879 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France. He was a director and producer, known for Le tour de France par deux enfants (1924), Une filleule d'Amérique (1920) and Fils du vent (1920). He died on 30 November 1959 in Paris, France.- Joe Peterman was born on 15 July 1879 in Kensington, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Lads of the Village (1919), The Glad Eye (1920) and The Double Life of Mr. Alfred Burton (1919). He died on 20 June 1938 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
Alfred Sangster was born on 15 July 1880 in Norwood, London, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Wuthering Heights (1948), The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) and The Brontes (1947). He was married to Pauline Lacey. He died on 14 August 1972 in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.- Nathaniel Sack was born on 15 July 1880 in Libau, Russian Empire [now Liepaja, Latvia]. He was an actor, known for The Man from Mexico (1914), The Prince and the Pauper (1915) and You Find It Everywhere (1921). He died on 2 July 1966 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Heinrich Lautensack was born on 15 July 1881 in Vilshofen, Bavaria, Germany. He was a writer, known for 'Tween Heaven and Earth (1913), Mutter und Kind (1916) and Die Stricknadeln (1916). He died on 10 January 1919 in Eberswalde, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Henryk Malkowski was born on 15 July 1881 in Satanov, Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire [now Sataniv, Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine]. He was an actor, known for Janko zwyciezca (1921), Pani minister tanczy (1937) and District Attorney (1933). He was married to Aniela Lomska. He died on 17 February 1959 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Polevitskaya was basically a stage actress, a very famous and talented
stage star. (She is even mentioned in the memoirs of the Russian writer
Konstantin Paustovsky, who saw her on the stage when he was a lad.)
Polevitskaya was educated and trained for a stage acting career in St.
Petersburg (1900-08), and apprenticed in the Kommisarzhevsky Theater.
She then moved to the Ukraine and played many celebrated stage roles
there, 1910-18. Polevitskaya was cast as the young leading lady in such
plays as Camille, Nobleman's Nest (adapted from Turgenev), The Storm
(Ostrovsky), He Who Gets Slapped (Andreyev), and The Idiot (adapt. from
Dostoevsky). Polevitskaya acquired another spelling of her name
("Polewitzkaja") when in 1920 she emigrated from the poverty-stricken
USSR shortly after the Russian Revolution. For the next 35 years, she
lived and acted in such nations as Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia,
and Latvia, sometimes acting in Russian-language plays for a
Russian-speaking (emigre) audience, sometimes speaking German, in 5
German-language films and a number of German-language stage plays. In
her mature years, she also taught acting classes in Vienna, 1943-55.
Polevitskaya did a surprising thing in her mid-seventies: she decided
to return to the USSR after 1955, and lived out her final decades
there, acting in 3 Russian films and teaching drama classes at the
Shchukin School. She died at the age of 92, after a very full and
dramatic life. - Production Manager
- Producer
- Director
André Dugès was born on 15 July 1881 in Saint-Quentin, Francce. He was a production manager and producer, known for The Soul of France (1928), Vie privée (1942) and Après Mein Kampf mes crimes (1940). He died in 1943.- Actor
Nikita Lyan-Kun was born on 15 July 1882 in Shanghai, Great Qing [now China]. He was an actor. He died in 1947 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].- Bernard Merivale was born on 15 July 1882 in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, UK. He was a writer, known for The Flying Fool (1931), Doomed Cargo (1936) and Russia: Land of Tomorrow (1919). He died on 12 May 1939 in London, England, UK.
- Joseph Crehan was born on 15 July 1883 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He was an actor, known for Black Magic (1944), Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) and Kid Galahad (1937). He was married to Dorothy R. Lord. He died on 15 April 1966 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Felix F. Feist was born on 15 July 1883. Felix F. died on 15 April 1936.
- Henning Ohlson was born on 15 July 1884 in Kinstaby, Söderala, Hälsinglands län, Sweden. He was a writer, known for Unelma karjamajalla (1940), Ådalens poesi (1928) and Hennes lilla majestät (1925). He died on 3 January 1941 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.
- Ethel Hook was born on 15 July 1884 in Bedminster, Bristol, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Phototone Reel #1 (1928), Phototone Reel #7 (1928) and Ethel Hook (1926). She was married to Arthur Argent and David Alfred Herbert Hastings-Wilson. She died on 4 January 1975 in West Runton, Norfolk, England, UK.
- Charles Eichman was born on 15 July 1884 in Oregon, USA. He was an actor, known for The Land Just Over Yonder (1916). He died on 11 March 1956 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Once a boxer, brawny character actor Tom Kennedy began his film career
early in the silent era. He frequently played big, dumb, likable,
working-class types, such as in
The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937).
He also worked with W.C. Fields,
The Marx Brothers, and
Stan Laurel and
Oliver Hardy in a career that lasted until
his death at the age of 80.- Carl Johannesson was born on 15 July 1885 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. He was an actor, known for Gustaf III och Bellman (1908), Wolo czawienko (1916) and Mästerkatten i stövlar (1918). He died on 2 January 1953 in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden.
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Serge Bertensson was born on 15 July 1885 in Terijoki, Finland. He was a writer, known for The Heat's On (1943), The Men in Her Life (1941) and Sins of Jezebel (1953). He died on 14 March 1962 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Harold Chapin was born on 15 July 1886 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for The New Morality (1953) and Art and Opportunity (1953). He was married to Calypso Valetta. He died on 26 September 1915 in Loos-en-Gohelle, Hauts-de-France, France.
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Louis Izoird was born on 15 July 1886 in Sète, Hérault, France. Louis was a composer, known for Le chant de l'amour (1935), My Wife's Husband (1963) and La Caissière du Grand Café (1947). Louis died on 28 October 1974 in Paris, France.- Director
- Writer
- Production Designer
Marco de Gastyne was born on 15 July 1888 in Paris, France. He was a director and writer, known for Douchka (1964), Madonna of the Sleeping Cars (1928) and La châtelaine du Liban (1926). He was married to Choura Milena and Mary Christian. He died on 8 November 1982 in Paris, France.- Sound Department
- Special Effects
In association with Warner Bros. executive
Sam Warner, Nathan Levinson helped
bring the first sound to motion pictures in
Don Juan (1926). He also worked with
Warners on
The Jazz Singer (1927). Starting
as a wireless telegraph operator at the age of 14, he later served as a
major in WWI. He started in the film industry in 1926 and in 1941
received a special Academy Award for his outstanding service in
preparing the film industry for wartime mobilization and the production
of army training films.- Ida Newton was born on 15 July 1888 in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. She was an actress, known for Corinth House (1961), Miss Mabel (1958) and The General Motors Hour (1960). She died on 22 April 1975 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born July 15, 1889 in San Francisco, unappreciated character player
Marjorie Rambeau worked on the stage from the age of 12. In the 1910s
and 1920s, she became a prominent Broadway lead, noted for her serene
beauty, elegant poise and touching theatrics. Around the same time she
made a few silent films that went nowhere. Leaving the Broadway scene
in the late 20s she focused on Hollywood but, by this time, her looks
had hardened enough that she would only be considered for character,
not romantic leads.
Marjorie surprised everybody and turned in sterling, flashy support
work as blowsy, aging floozies and other pathetic, hard-luck dames. She
played an alcoholic mom in Min and Bill (1930) opposite Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler, then
succeeded Dressler herself as the salty waterfront title character in
Tugboat Annie Sails Again (1940). Nominated twice for Oscars as the prostitute mother of Ginger Rogers
in Primrose Path (1940) and the mother at odds with daughter/star Joan Crawford in
Torch Song (1953), Marjorie was never given the acclaim she deserved. Her
versatility was for all to see in such roles as the backwoods Bessie
Lester in Tobacco Road (1941), and she continued to own her own scenes in such
films as A Man Called Peter (1955), The View from Pompey's Head (1955) and as Steve Cochran's
alcoholic mom in Slander (1957).
Offscreen, her private life proved as stormy and difficult as those of
her characters. She married three times, her first husband being
actor/writer/director Willard Mack. Moreover, alcohol played a strong, sad
part in her personal life as well. A number of serious car accidents
left her in disabled health for much of her later life. Sadly, she is
little remembered except by the most devoted fans of film trivia. In
all fairness, her films are definitely worth a look, if but for her
scenes alone. Marjorie passed away in 1970 at age 80.- Actor
- Director
Jack Connolly was born on 15 July 1889 in Denver, Colorado, USA. He is known for Milady o' the Beanstalk (1918), Graft (1915) and The Little Diplomat (1919).