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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 Mission Rejected (2019). He was married to Catherine Taylor. He died on 10 July 1863 in Newport, Rhode Island, USA.- 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.- 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.
- Loyd Wheaton was born on 15 July 1838 in Pennfield, Michigan, USA. He died on 17 September 1918.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.- 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.
- Felix F. Feist was born on 15 July 1883. Felix F. died on 15 April 1936.
- 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.
- 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.- 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.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Editor
- Director
Canadian-born Errol Taggart originally came to the U.S. for his health around 1920. He gave his occupation as a "motion picture actor" in the 1930 census, although it appears he never was credited with any roles. Johnny Eck, who played the half-man in Tod Browning's Freaks (1932), verified in a 1980 interview that Taggart was assistant director for that film.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Earl Taggert was born on 15 July 1895 in Canada. He was an assistant director. He died on 30 August 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
- Additional Crew
Glenn Belt was born on 15 July 1890 in Macy, Indiana, USA. He was an assistant director and production manager, known for The Golden Web (1926), One of the Bravest (1925) and The Final Extra (1927). He died on 1 September 1940 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Walter Benjamin was born on 15 July 1892 in Berlin, Germany. He was a writer, known for L'Art de s'égarer ou l'image du bonheur (2014), Film socialisme (2010) and (Une ballade à travers) Les ruines de Paris (2004). He was married to Dora Kellner. He died on 26 September 1940 in Port Bou, Spain.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Director
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Arch Heath was born on 15 July 1890 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Melody of Love (1928), The Crimson Flash (1927) and Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941). He died on 11 January 1945 in New York City, New York, USA.- Hans Georg von Friedeburg was born on 15 July 1895 in Straßburg, Alsace, Germany [now Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France]. He died on 17 May 1945 in Flensburg, Germany.
- 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.
- Meir Teomi was born on 15 July 1898 in Russia. He was an actor, known for Zot Hi Ha'aretz (1935), Pioneers of Palestine (1933) and Tomorrow's Yesterday (1964). He died on 10 August 1947 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Milton Brown was born on 15 July 1895 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor and assistant director, known for The Squaw Man (1914), The Trail of the Lonesome Pine (1916) and Carmen (1915). He died on 29 March 1948 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Rauli Tuomi was born on 15 July 1919 in Helsinki, Finland. He was an actor, known for 'Minä elän' (1946), The Green Chamber of Linnais (1945) and Suopursu kukkii (1947). He was married to Rakel Linnanheimo. He died on 2 February 1949 in Helsinki, Finland.
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Garland Weaver was born on 15 July 1906 in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. He was an actor. He died on 3 August 1949 in California, USA.- 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.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Craig Reynolds was born on 15 July 1907 in Anaheim, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Perils of Pauline (1933), Back in Circulation (1937) and Love Birds (1934). He was married to Barbara Pepper. He died on 22 October 1949 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Monty Banks was a short, stocky but somehow debonair Italian-born comic actor, later also writer and director. In the US from 1914, he first appeared on stage in musical comedy and cabaret. By 1917 he was working as a dancer in New York's Dominguez Cafe. After this he turned to films, acting and doing stunt work at Keystone, Universal and for Al Christie. Changing his name from Mario Bianchi to Monty Banks may have been prompted by Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle as a passing reference to his playing '"montebanks". By 1919 Banks had moved to Vitagraph to play a villain in The Grocery Clerk (1919), foil to star comic Larry Semon.
Banks first came to the fore in his own right as star of the "Welcome Comedies" made by Warner Brothers. He spent the early 1920s at Fox and Grand Asher, graduating to writing and directing two-reel comedies with himself as the star. Most noteworthy entries in regard to inventive sight gags and Mack Sennett--style madcap plots are Pay or Move (1924) and The Golf Bug (1924). The success of this series prompted Banks to create an independent production company, the Monty Banks Pictures Corporation, in conjunction with writer/director Howard Estabrook. He made several feature-length films for Pathe, including Play Safe (1927)) (generally considered his best work), which featured a climactic runaway train sequence. This style of fast-action slapstick made it inevitable that Banks suffered more than his fair share of injuries, especially since he continued to do many of his own stunts.
From the late 1920s Banks worked in England and made several appearances in sound films. However, his accent proved to be something of an obstacle. He therefore decided, after 1930, to concentrate on directing and producing. He helmed four features starring the popular entertainer Gracie Fields, who became his second wife in 1940. In 1935 he directed a well-received George Formby comedy, No Limit (1935), about the TT motorcycle races on the Isle of Man, which were shot on location there.
With the outbreak of World War II Banks--being an Italian citizen--would have faced internment in England as an enemy alien. He therefore deemed it necessary to flee to Canada, and from there to the neutral United States. He eventually obtained American citizenship, for which he had applied years earlier, but had forgotten to submit the necessary paperwork. Back in Hollywood he ended up at 20th Century-Fox, directing Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in Great Guns (1941), arguably one of their lesser efforts.
Banks died of a heart attack during a trip through Italy in January 1950, aged just 52. Sadly, the majority of his one- and two-reelers are now considered lost films. As a result, his status as a leading comic of the silent screen may have somewhat diminished--except, perhaps, in his home town of Cesena, where a foundation was established in his honor (the "Aula Didattica Monty Banks"), offering students "practical courses on experimental aspects of video production".- Actor
Bud Ernest was born on 15 July 1910 in Dayton, Ohio, USA. He was an actor. He was married to Betty Furness, Gwynne Rupp, Lyda Roberti and Althea Henley. He died on 11 April 1950 in New York City, New York, USA.- Visual Effects
- Sound Department
Gordon Schaefer was born on 15 July 1901 in Canada. He is known for The Fatal Witness (1945) and Love, Honor and Goodbye (1945). He died on 1 May 1951 in Hollywood, California, 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.
- 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.
- 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.- 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.
- Boris Gorbatov was born on 15 July 1908 in Petromarevskiy mine, Slavyanoserbsk uyezd, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire [now Pervomaisk, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine]. She was a writer, known for Miners of the Don (1951), The Taras Family (1945) and Eto bylo v Donbasse (1945). She was married to Nina Arkhipova and Tatyana Okunevskaya. She died on 20 January 1954 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Noel Gay was born on 15 July 1898 in Wakefield, England, UK. He was a composer and writer, known for Great West End Theatres (2012), Get Out (2017) and Matchstick Men (2003). He died on 4 March 1954 in London, England, UK.- Actor
- Stunts
Philip Ahlm was born on 15 July 1905 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. He was an actor. He died on 5 July 1954 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Donato Treviño Flores was born on 15 July 1919 in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. He was an actor, known for Canto a las Américas (1943). He died on 11 October 1954 in Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico.
- 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.
- Wincenty Loskot was born on 15 July 1890 in Warsaw, Poland, Russian Empire [now Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland]. He was an actor, known for Pietro wyzej (1937), Trójka hultajska (1937) and Dorozkarz nr 13 (1937). He was married to Janina Madziarówna. He died on 12 July 1955 in Lódz, Lódzkie, Poland.
- 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.
- Angelo Bruun was born on 15 July 1898 in Nakskov, Denmark. He was an actor, known for Hendes store aften (1954), 5 raske piger (1933) and Tre år efter (1948). He was married to Inger Lassen, Gerda Madsen and Berg, Anne Marie. He died on 30 March 1956 in Græsted, Denmark.
- Camille Robert was born on 15 July 1872. Camille died on 24 March 1957.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Director
Charles R. Rogers was born on 15 July 1892 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and director, known for My Man Godfrey (1936), The Devil Is Driving (1932) and Flying Hostess (1936). He was married to Helen Weiss. He died on 29 March 1957 in Hollywood, California, USA.