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- József Gvadányi was born on 16 October 1725 in Rudabánya, Hungary. He was a writer, known for A peleskei nótárius (1916) and A peleskei nótárius (1975). He died on 21 December 1801 in Szakolca, Hungary.
- Vicente Riva Palacio was born on 16 October 1832 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. He was a writer, known for Monja casada, virgen y mártir (1935), Hombre o demonio (1940) and Martín Garatuza (1935). He died on 22 November 1896 in Madrid, Spain.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
A gifted poet, playwright and wit, Oscar Wilde was a phenomenon in 19th-century England. He was illustrious for preaching the importance of style in life and art, and of attacking Victorian narrow-mindedness.
Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1854. He studied at Trinity College in Dublin before leaving the country to study at Oxford University in England when he was in his early 20s. His prodigious literary talent was recognized when he received the Newdegate Prize for his outstanding poem "Ravenna". After leaving college his first volume of poetry, "Patience", was published in 1881, followed by a play, "The Duchess of Padua", two years later. It was around this time that Wilde sparked a sensation.
On his arrival to America he stirred the nation with his flamboyant personality: wearing long silk stockings--an unusual mode of dress--long, flowing hair that gave the impression to many of an effeminate and a general air of wittiness, sophistication and eccentricity. He was an instant celebrity, but his works did not find recognition until the publication of "The Happy Prince and Other Tales" in 1888. His other noted work was his only novel, was "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1890), which caused controversy as the book evidently attacked the hypocrisy of England. It was later used as incriminating evidence at Wilde's trial, on the basis of its obvious homosexual content.
Wilde was a married man with children, but his private life was as a homosexual. He had an affair with a young snobbish aristocrat named Lord Alfred Douglas. Douglas' father, the Marquess of Queensberry, did not approve of his son's relationship with the distinguished writer, and when he accused Wilde of sodomy, Wilde sued the Marquess in court. However, his case was dismissed when his homosexuality--which at the time was outlawed in England--was exposed. He was sentenced to two years hard labor in prison. On his release he was a penniless, dejected man and soon died in Paris. He was 46.
Wilde is immortalized through his works, and the stories he wrote for children, such as "The Happy Prince" and "The Selfish Giant", are still vibrant in the imagination of the public, especially "The Picture of Dorian Gray", the story of a young handsome man who sells his soul to a picture to have eternal youth and beauty, only to face the hideousness of his own portrait as it ages, which entails his evil nature and degradation. The book has been interpreted on stage, films and television.- Arnold Böcklin was born on 16 October 1827 in Basel, Switzerland. He was a writer, known for The Isle of the Dead (1913). He was married to Angela Pascucci. He died on 16 January 1901 in Fiesole, Tuscany, Italy.
- William Rufus Shafter was born on 16 October 1835 in Galesburg, Michigan, USA. He was married to Harriet Grimes. He died on 12 November 1906.
- Denman Thompson was born on 16 October 1833 in Girard, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer, known for The Hazards of Helen (1914), The Old Homestead (1915) and Sunshine of Paradise Alley (1926). He was married to Maria Bolton. He died on 14 April 1911 in West Swanzey, New Hampshire, USA.
- Franz Reichelt was born on 16 October 1878 in Stetí, Czech Republic. He died on 4 February 1912 in Paris, France.
- Karl Blasel was born on 16 October 1831 in Vienna, Austria. He was an actor, known for Der Unbekannte (1912), Ein Walzertraum (1907) and Karl Blasel als Zahnarzt (1912). He was married to Johanna Wellen. He died on 16 June 1922 in Vienna, Austria.
- Michael Collins was born on 16 October 1890 in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland. He died on 22 August 1922 in Beal-na-Blath, County Cork, Ireland.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Emil Sondermann was born on 16 October 1852 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor and writer, known for Sondi hat Pech (1915), Sondis Glück im Unglück (1915) and Sondis Kleine (1916). He died on 29 August 1927 in Berlin, Germany.- Dore Davidson was born on 16 October 1851 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Welcome Stranger (1924), Intolerance (1916) and Grit (1924). He died on 7 March 1930 in New York City, New York, USA.
- George Kotsonaros was born on 16 October 1892 in Nauplie, Greece. He was an actor, known for The Wizard (1927), Dangerous Paradise (1930) and The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927). He died on 13 July 1933 in Eutaw, Alabama, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Art Department
Otto Al'Antila was born on 16 October 1885 in Ilmajoki, Finland. He was an actor and writer, known for Teatterituokio (1962), Roinilan talossa (1935) and Pohjalaisia (1925). He died on 13 July 1936 in Seinäjoki, Finland.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Sam Ask was born on 16 October 1878 in Gråmanstorp, Klippan, Skåne län, Sweden. He was a writer and actor, known for Lille Dorrit (1924), Erik XIV (1928) and The Outlaw and His Wife (1918). He died on 15 July 1937 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.- Henry J. Buxton was born on 16 October 1881 in Warren, Massachusetts, USA. He was a writer, known for An Amateur Devil (1920). He was married to Alice W.. He died on 30 August 1939 in Stockton Springs, Maine, USA.
- Joel Jansson was born on 16 October 1874 in Tierp, Uppsala län, Sweden. He was an actor, known for Ådalens poesi (1928) and Norrlänningar (1930). He died on 10 February 1940.
- Dorando Pietri was born on 16 October 1885 in Mandrio, Italy. He was married to Teresa Dondi. He died on 7 February 1942 in San Remo, Liguria, Italy.
- Born in Isernia, Molise, Farinacci was raised in poverty and dropped out of school at a young age, moving to Cremona and beginning working on a railroad there in 1909. Around this time period, he became an irredentist and a major advocate of Italy's participation in the war when World War I began. After the war, Farinacci was an ardent supporter of Benito Mussolini and his fascist movement. He subsequently established himself as the Ras (local leader, a title borrowed from the Ethiopian aristocracy) of the Fascists in Cremona, publishing the newspaper Cremona Nuova (later on Il Regime Fascista) and organizing Blackshirts combat squads in 1919. The Cremona squads were among the most brutal in Italy and Farinacci effectively used them to terrorize the population into submission to Fascist rule. In 1922, Farinacci appointed himself mayor of Cremona. Quickly rising as one of the most powerful members of the National Fascist Party, gathering around him a large number of supporters, Farinacci came to represent the most radical syndicalist faction of the party, one that thought Mussolini to be a too liberal leader (likewise, Mussolini believed Farinacci was too violent and irresponsible). Among Fascists, Farinacci was known to be particularly anti-clerical, xenophobic and antisemitic. Nevertheless, Farinacci's career continued to rise and played a considerable role in establishing Fascist dominance over Italy during and after the 1922 March on Rome. In 1925, Farinacci became the second most powerful man in the country when Mussolini appointed him secretary of the party. He was used by Mussolini to centralize the party and then to purge it of thousands of its radical members. Then, Farinacci was removed. He disappeared from the limelight, practicing law for much of the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1935, Farinacci fought in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War as a member of the Voluntary Militia for National Security (MVSN), the new official name of the Blackshirts, eventually attaining the rank of lieutenant general. He lost his right hand fishing with a grenade. In the same year, Farinacci joined the Grand Council of Fascism and returned to national prominence. In 1937, Farinacci participated in the Spanish Civil War and in 1938 became a governmental minister and enforced the antisemitic racial segregation measures declared by Mussolini. When World War II began, Farinacci sided with Nazi Germany. He frequently communicated with the Nazis and became one of Mussolini's advisers on Italy's dealings with Germany. For his part, Farinacci urged Mussolini to enter Italy into the war as a member of the Axis. In 1941, Farinacci became Inspector of the Militia in Italian-occupied Albania. In July 1943, Farinacci took part in the Grand Council of Fascism meeting which led to Mussolini's downfall. While the majority of the council voted to force Mussolini out of the government, Farinacci did not side against him. After Mussolini's arrest, Farinacci fled to Germany in order to escape arrest. The Nazi hierarchy considered putting Farinacci in charge of a German-backed Italian government in Northern Italy (the Italian Social Republic), but he was passed over in favor of Mussolini when the latter was rescued by Otto Skorzeny in September through the raid known as Unternehmen Eiche. Afterwards, Farinacci went back to Cremona without taking active part in political life. However, he did continue to write politically oriented articles. He also funded the journal Crociata Italica, the main organ of a small group of clerical fascist priests led by Don Tullio Calcagno. He was executed in Vimercate by Italian partisans in 1945.
- Actor
- Writer
Karl Etlinger was born on 16 October 1879 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. He was an actor and writer, known for Liebeswalzer (1930), Die Fledermaus (1931) and The Ringer (1932). He was married to Margarethe Horn and Maria Musehold. He died on 8 May 1946 in Berlin, Germany.- Elsworth Saunders was born on 16 October 1865 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He was an actor, known for The Law of Nature (1917). He was married to Maude Jones Wilkinson. He died on 10 January 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Franz von Epp was born on 16 October 1868 in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria [now Bavaria, Germany]. He died on 31 January 1947 in Munich, Germany.
- Director
- Producer
- Actor
French-born Marcel Varnel began his film career not in France but in Hollywood, as a 30-year-old in 1924. He left Hollywood for Great Britain in the mid-'30s and began turning out a series of low-budget comedies for Will Hay and George Formby, among others. While his films were for the most part undistinguished, they were popular and moved fast, as good comedies are meant to do. His best film is generally considered to be Oh, Mr. Porter! (1937), a Will Hay comedy about a hapless railroad employee who is made stationmaster of a run-down, bottom-of-the-barrel station in Ireland and his efforts to bring it up to speed, only to get involved with ghosts and gun-runners. It garnered Hay some of the best reviews of his career and Varnel's direction of the picture also met with critical acclaim.
He died in an automobile accident in England in 1947 shortly after having finished This Man Is Mine (1946).- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Leo Forbstein began as a violin player at the age of 4. While conducting at the Royal Theater in St. Joseph, Mo., he pioneered and introduced the synchronization of the orchestra with the silent action on the movie screen.
He moved to Hollywood in the mid 1920s where he directed a symphony orchestra at Grauman's Egyptian Theater. He signed as head of the Warner Brothers music department and director of the Vitaphone Orchestra in 1926. Forbstein was nominated for 3 (three) Academy Awards for Best Score: 1936's Anthony Adverse (1936) and The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and 1937's The Life of Emile Zola (1937). He took home the Oscar for his work in Anthony Adverse (1936) (which was the first Oscar ever awarded in this category). He was working on the score for the 1948 Academy Awards show when he suffered a heart attack. A radio tribute in his honor aired April 25, 1958, on radio station KFWB. Paying tribute were: Eddie Cantor, Danny Kaye, Doris Day, Al Jolson, Dinah Shore, Johnny Mercer, Frances Langford, Gordon McRae, Rudy Vallee, Max Steiner and an orchestra of 96 pieces. A personal tribute was also delivered by Jack L. Warner.- Jesse Edward Grinstead was born on 16 October, 1866, at Owensboro, Kentucky, the son of William Grinstead (1825-1900) and Elizabeth Miranda Priest (1833-1940). His father had been a farmer in Missouri before returning to his home state of Kentucky during the American Civil War. At the time of his mother's death (at the age of 107) she was thought to have been the oldest woman in America.
Long before Jesse was born, his father had worked as a guard for Lt. John James Abert (1788 - 1863), of the U.S. Army Topographical Engineers, during his survey of the American Southwest, made nine trips across the American Plains as a wagon-master to New Mexico and California, prospected for gold in California's Sacramento Valley, walked from San Juan del Sur on the Pacific Coast to Lake Nicaragua, transported supplies to the army under the command of Gen. Albert S. Johnston's (1803-1862) while they were stationed at Salt Lake City during the Utah War (1857-58) and conveyed the first threshing machine to Ft. Bridger in the Wyoming Territory
In the late 1860s Jesse's family relocated to Pettis County, Missouri, where his father had farmed before the outbreak of the Civil War. Around 1880 his family moved to Oakland, Indian Territory (now Marshall County, Oklahoma). Later when his family once again decided move on, this time to Texas, Jesse chose to stay behind. For the next few years he supported himself by building cabins, hauling logs, branding cattle, digging wells and even washing clothes. Eventually he found full time employment as a printer for a newspaper in the nearby town of Ardmore. Before devoting his energy fulltime to the newspaper business he had considered practicing law. A learned judge helped make up his mind when he told him: "Young man I think you are ruining a fairly good newspaperman by trying to be a damned poor lawyer".
In 1893 Jesse founded the Oakland News, a few years later he became owner and editor of the Mountain Sun in Kerrville, Texas. In 1903 Jesse was elected mayor of Kerrville and four years later as their representative in the state legislature. While serving in the legislature he was instrumental in the creation of the State Tubercular Sanatorium in Carlsbad.
Jesse's first wife died shortly after their move to Kerrville. The couple had two boys, Grady H. (1894-1874) and Doyle E. (1897-1951). Within a year he married Gertrude Wright (1868-1946), a widow who operated a boarding house in Kerrville. A daughter, Bessie G. (1903-1958) and two sons, Jesse H. (1901-1942) and Pam (1905-1974), soon followed.
After retiring from the newspaper business in 1917, Jesse began writing Western fiction. Of the some 30 novels, approximately 50 short stories and numerous articles he penned, "The Hill Country" (1923), "The Scourge of the Little C" (1925), "Master Squatter" (1927), "When Texans Ride" (1938), "Flaming Guns" (1938), "Round-Up At Tiger Gap" (1940), "The Flying Y Brand" (1940) and "Feud at Twin Mountain" (1942) were among his most popular. He was a frequent contributor to such popular magazines as Big-Book Western Magazine, Thrilling Ranch Stories and Western Romances. Jesse had also published works under the pseudonyms, Tex Janis, William Crump Rush and George Bowles. In 1921 he began publishing Grinstead's Graphic, a monthly magazine that expressed through his writings and poetry his thoughts, reflections and views about the area of Texas that he called the "Hill Country" (West of Austin and Northwest of San Antonio).
Jesse Edwards Grinstead passed away on 8 March, 1948 at Kerrville after an eight month illness. - Kálmán Horváth was born on 16 October 1877 in Gyõr, Hungary. He was an actor, known for A hercegnö pongyolája (1914), Weisz Pista, a huszár (1913) and A gyilkos (1912). He died on 26 December 1948 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
Harry Rapf was born on 16 October 1880 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a producer and production manager, known for Brown of Harvard (1926), The Night Is Young (1935) and Let Freedom Ring (1939). He was married to Clementine Uhlfelder. He died on 6 February 1949 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Make-Up Department
Karl Herlinger was born on 16 October 1880 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He is known for Give Me a Sailor (1938), New Orleans (1947) and The Judge Steps Out (1948). He died on 6 February 1949 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Carl Herlinger was born on 16 October 1880 in Vienna, Austria. He was an actor, known for Inside the Lines (1918). He died on 6 February 1949 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Zofia Mellerowicz was born on 16 October 1888. She was an actress, known for ABC milosci (1935) and Pawel i Gawel (1938). She died on 30 October 1949 in Kraków, Malopolskie, Poland.
- F.J. Nettlefold was born on 16 October 1867 in Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK. He was a producer, known for Human Desires (1924), Afraid of Love (1925) and Every Mother's Son (1926). He died on 25 November 1949 in Chelwood Vachery, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Maria Melato was born on 16 October 1885 in Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was an actress, known for Il ritorno (1914), Le due Marie (1918) and Il volo degli aironi (1920). She died on 24 August 1950 in Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, Italy.
- Isabel O'Madigan was born on 16 October 1871 in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. She was an actress, known for Bab's Diary (1917), The Egg and I (1947) and Bab's Matinee Idol (1917). She died on 23 January 1951 in Culver City, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Yelizaveta Naydonova was born on 16 October 1876 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. She was an actress, known for Pobeda zhenshchiny (1927), Devi gory (1919) and Brat geroya (1940). She died on 14 June 1951 in Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- August Lähn was born on 16 October 1867. He was a writer, known for Meister Anecker (1958) and Meister Anecker (1965). He died on 15 April 1953 in Bremerhaven, Bremen, Germany.
- Mabel Love was born on 16 October 1874 in Folkestone, England, UK. She was an actress, known for In Another Girl's Shoes (1917) and Theatrical Motor Party (1905). She died on 15 May 1953 in Weybridge, Surrey, England, UK.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Veteran cinematographer George S. Barnes had a well-earned reputation for reliability and a knack for combining artistry with economic efficiency. As a result, he was seldom out of work.
Having started as a still photographer for Thomas H. Ince in 1918, Barnes quickly rose through the ranks to director of photography. In the course of his career he spent time at just about every major studio in Hollywood: Paramount (1919-21), Metro (1924-25), United Artists (1926-31), MGM (1932), Warner Brothers (1933-38), 20th Century-Fox (1940-41), Universal (1942) and RKO (1942-48). During the 1920s he was the primary cinematographer for Samuel Goldwyn and was largely responsible for the success of films like The Dark Angel (1925). Under his auspices Gregg Toland learned his craft, particularly Barnes' trademark soft-edged, deep-focus photography and intuitive composition and camera movement. Barnes was an expert at lighting. He often utilized curtains or reflective surfaces to create patterns of light and shade. Most importantly, he perfectly suited the required style of photography to each individual assignment. He brought a vivid opulence to the dullish Technicolor romance Frenchman's Creek (1944), making it a triumph of style over content. His 'catoon colours' were just as perfectly suited to the fantasy adventure Sinbad, the Sailor (1947). At Warner Brothers the dark, somewhat grainy texture of films like Marked Woman (1937) was in sync with the realistic look the studio wanted to achieve for its product. He also excelled at shooting vivid dramatic scenes, such as the flood sequences featured in The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926).
Barnes did his best work in the 1940s, shooting two classic Alfred Hitchcock thrillers: for Rebecca (1940) he created an atmosphere of sinister foreboding, right from the beginning, with his shots of Manderley (Barnes was hired because Toland was unavailable, but he ended up winning an Academy Award); and Spellbound (1945), with its unsettling surrealist Salvador Dalí-designed dream sequence of wheels, eyes and staircases. A lesser, but nonetheless good-looking, addition to Barnes' resume is a minor film noir, The File on Thelma Jordon (1949). In contrast, he created a suitably lavish look for his color photography, which enlivened two charismatic swashbuckling adventures, The Spanish Main (1945) and Sinbad, the Sailor (1947). Popular with directors and producers (though he was once fired by David O. Selznick for failing to bring the best out of Jennifer Jones) and stars (Bing Crosby) alike, Barnes was continually employed until his retirement in 1953. He was also popular with the ladies, to which his seven marriages testify. One of his wives was the actress Joan Blondell.- Additional Crew
Theron Bamberger was born on 16 October 1892 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is known for Tomorrow, the World! (1944) and Footlights and Kleiglights (1951). He was married to Phyllis Perlman. He died on 14 September 1953 in New York City, New York, USA.- Eugene O'Neill, the winner of four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama and the 1936 Nobel Prize for Literature, is widely considered the greatest American playwright. No one, not Maxwell Anderson, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, nor Edward Albee, approaches O'Neill in terms of his artistic achievement or his impact on the American theater.
James O'Neill, one of the most popular actors of the late 19th century, was his father, so one could say that Eugene O'Neill was born to a life in the theater. His father, who had been born into poverty in Ireland before emigrating to the United States, developed his craft and became a star in the theaters of the Midwest. He married Mary Ellen "Ella" Quinlan, the Irish-American daughter of a wealthy Cleveland businessman, whose death when she was a teenager had hurt her emotionally. She remained emotionally fragile throughout her life, a condition exacerbated by a further tragedy, the loss of a child. A further strain was placed on her when it was discovered that James had lived in "concubinage" with a common-law wife who later sued him for child support and alimony, claiming he had fathered her child. Both were pious and believing Catholics.
They had three sons, including James Jr. (born 1878) and Edmund (1883), who died at the age of two from measles, leaving Ella distraught. Their last son, Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (his middle name a salute to the British prime minister who was in favor of home rule for Ireland), was born at the Barrett Hotel (home of many theatrical artistes) in New York City, on October 16, 1888. Supposedly, it was a difficult delivery, and in the spirit of the times, Ella was given morphine for her pain. She became an addict.
James O'Neill made a fortune playing The Count of Monte Cristo, both on Broadway in multiple productions and as a touring show. However, he suffered an artistic death as a performing artiste through the sheer repetition of the Monte Cristo role, which he turned to repeatedly as it always proved a success. He reportedly played the role at least 4,000 times, perhaps nearly twice that number. He would provide the prototype for the character of James Tyrone, the pater familias in his son's "Long Day's Journey Into Night". James O'Neill Sr. knew that he had suffered artistically from his commercial instincts, and Eugene never forgot that. His son remained steadfast in his own fidelity to his principles of artistic integrity.
The father also was a notorious skinflint, terrified that some unforeseen calamity would throw him back into the hellish poverty of his childhood in Ireland. Both young Gene and his older brother Jamie tried their hands at acting, and though Jamie was more successful than Gene, he never developed a significant, independent career as a professional thespian due to instability caused by his alcoholism. Jamie relied on his father for work, which further fueled his drinking.
Jamie was a full-blown alcoholic, just like his younger brother, Gene, and he drank himself to death at a relatively young age, a fate Gene managed to avoid, but not from lack of trying. The characters of Jamie in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and James Tyrone Jr. in "A Moon for the Misbegotten" were based on him.
As a young man, Eugene suffered from tuberculosis, which likely exacerbated his propensity for pessimism (the stuff of his life became the guts of his last masterpiece, "Long Day's Journey Into Night"). His pessimistic, tragic outlook on life likely was hereditary: O'Neill's two sons, Eugene O'Neill Jr. and Shane O'Neill, became substance abusers as adults: Eugene Jr. was an alcoholic and Shane was a heroin addict. Both committed suicide. He disowned his daughter Oona Chaplin, for marrying Charles Chaplin, who was just six months younger than O'Neill himself. He had never had much to do with her anyway, nor any of his children. His life was devoted to writing.
After recovering from tuberculosis, O'Neill attended Princeton for the 1907-08 term, but was kicked out after his freshman year, allegedly for being drunk and disorderly at a reception held by the university president, future President of the United States Woodrow Wilson. For the next eight years he led a freebooting existence, fortune-hunting for gold in South America and plying the seas as an able-bodied seaman, while trying to drink himself to death (he even made an attempt at suicide). Eventually he returned to New York City and tried his hand at playwriting, and with the financial help of his father, studied playwriting at Harvard in 1915. His father was unimpressed by the results, and died the same year his son made his big breakthrough on Broadway (he did live to see the production of Eugene's first full-length play, "Beyond the Horizon", which opened on February 2, 1920 and ran for a then-impressive 111 performances, and its honoring with the 1920 Pulitzer Prize for Drama that May. James O'Neill Sr. died on August 10, 1920. His namesake, James O'Neill Jr., died three years later, at the age of 45.)
Where Eugene truly learned his craft was in the writing of one-act melodramas that dealt with the lives of sailors, that were performed by the Provincetown Players, which had theaters in Provincetown on Cape Cod and off of Washington Square in New York City (John Ford made a 1940 movie out of four of his sea plays, collected in The Long Voyage Home (1940)). The theater he created was a reaction against the theater of his father, the old hoary melodramas that packed them in for a night of crowd-pleasing entertainment.
Eugene started out as a dramatist at a time when there was an average of 70 plays being performed on Broadway each week. The Great White Way resembled a modern movie multiplex in that potential theatergoers would peruse the various marquees in and around Times Square seeking an entertainment for the night. At the time O'Neill began to establish himself, in pre- and post-World War I era, entertainment was first and foremost in most people's minds.
The movies and O'Neill would change that. The competition of the more sophisticated movies of the late silent era, and then the talkies, usurped the position of Broadway and the theater as the premier venue for American entertainment. The light plays that were the equivalent of television fare became extinct. Musicals continued to thrive, as did comedies, but drama became more serious and developed a psychological depth. O'Neill was the midwife of the phenomenon.
Eugene O'Neill helped foster the maturation of American drama, as he incorporated the techniques of both European expressionism and realism in his work. Influenced by Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, brought to the American stage a tragic vision that influenced scores of American playwrights that followed.
Eugene O'Neill died in the Shelton Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1953. Allegedly, his last words were, "Born in a hotel room, and goddammit! Died in one!" His health had been hurt by his alcoholism and he suffered from Parkinson's disease-like tremors of his hands that had made it difficult, if not impossible, to write since the early 1940s. It is believed that he suffered cerebellar cortical abiotrophy, a neurological disease in which certain neurons in the cerebellum of the brain die off, adversely affecting the balance and coordination of the sufferer. As a dramatist, he had flourished on Broadway from 1920, when his first full-length work, "Beyond the Horizon", debuted, winning him his first Pulitzer, until 1934, when his first and only comedy, Ah, Wilderness! (debut October 1933) came to an end that June and his play, "Days Without End," was staged in repertory between January and November). After 1934, he entered a cocoon, staying away from Broadway until after World War II, when the 1946 production of "The Iceman Cometh" debuted. The first production of "Iceman" failed, and O'Neill's reputation suffered, but the 1956 production of "Iceman" starring Jason Robards and directed by José Quintero was a great success, as was the posthumous production of "Long Day's Journey Into Night", which brought O'Neill his fourth Pulitzer. The two plays solidified his legend. - Lucyna Messal was born on 16 October 1886 in Warsaw, Poland, Russian Empire [now Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland]. She was an actress, known for Szczesliwa trzynastka (1938), One Step (1913) and Tance niedzwiedzie (1913). She died on 10 December 1953 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.
- Cia Fornaroli was born on 16 October 1887 in Milan, Italy. She was an actress, known for L'ira (1918), Cura di baci (1916) and L'anello di Pierrot (1917). She died on 17 August 1954 in Riverdale, New York, USA.
- Wilfred Lytell was born on 16 October 1891 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Heliotrope (1920), Thunderbolts of Fate (1919) and The Trail of the Law (1924). He was married to Jessie Mueller. He died on 10 September 1954 in Salem, New York, USA.
- Vilhelm Buhl was born on 16 October 1881 in Fredericia, Denmark. He was married to Thyra Schmidt. He died on 18 December 1954 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Sergey Dneprov was born on 16 October 1884 in Moscow, Russian Empire [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for Pervopechatnik Ivan Fedorov (1941), The Oppenheim Family (1939) and Vesenniy potok (1941). He died on 14 March 1955 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia].
- Joel Thorne was born on 16 October 1914 in New York, New York, United States. He died on 17 October 1955 in North Hollywood, California, United States.
- Kasia Orzazewski was born on 16 October 1888 in Poland. She was an actress, known for Call Northside 777 (1948), Thieves' Highway (1949) and The Red Danube (1949). She died on 17 July 1956 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Raoul Aslan was born on 16 October 1886 in Salonica, Ottoman Empire [now Thessaloniki, Greece]. He was an actor, known for Götz von Berlichingen (1955), Das andere Ich (1918) and Gold (1920). He died on 18 June 1958 in Attersee, Upper Austria, Austria.
- Ethel Buckley was born on 16 October 1880 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She was an actress, known for Driving a Girl to Destruction (1911) and The Luck of Roaring Camp (1911). She was married to George Marlow. She died on 8 September 1958 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Francesco De Robertis was born on 16 October 1902 in San Marco in Lamis, Puglia, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for Alfa Tau! (1942), La donna che venne dal mare (1957) and The Woman Who Came from the Sea (1954). He died on 3 February 1959 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jalmari Parikka was born on 16 October 1891 in Sortavala, Finland. He was an actor, known for Stolen Death (1938), Rosvo Roope (1949) and Kulkurin valssi (1941). He died on 27 March 1959 in Helsinki, Finland.- Harald Holst was born on 16 October 1886 in Denmark. He was an actor, known for Lynet (1934), Thummelumsen (1941) and Søren Søndervold (1942). He died on 1 February 1960 in Denmark.