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- Leon Czolgosz was an American anarchist of Polish extraction who shot President William McKinley while the president was attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in September 1901.
Born in Michigan in May 1873, the 28-year-old Czolgosz was the son of ethnic Polish immigrants from Prussia. He arrived in Buffalo on August 31, 1901 and stalked the president once he arrived at the exposition. He bought a pistol on September 2nd and on September 6th, joined a receiving line at the Temple of Music whose members moved forward to shake hands with the president. The meet-and-greet was only expected to last was 10 minutes, but that was enough to change history.
The assassin had secreted his pistol wrapped in a handkerchief inside his pocket. When he made it to the head of the line and McKinley extended his hand, Czolgosz swatted it away and twice pulled the trigger of his weapon, shooting McKinley in the stomach. The two bullets fired at point-blank range staggered the president, but did not immediately kill him. (He lived on for a week and a day, expiring on the 14th.)
The crowd in the Temple of Music seized Czolgosz and beat him to the point of death before soldiers and police intervened. The near-dead Czolgosz was jailed and stood trial on September 23rd, nine days after McKinley died of his wounds. Czolgosz had been deeply influenced by the anarchists Alexander Berkman (himself the would-be assassin of Henry Clay Frick) and Emma Goldman, whom he had seen give a public speech and subsequently met.
Czolgosz's meeting with Goldman occurred the very same year he killed McKinley, and she was arrested as part of a possible conspiracy but was released for lack of evidence. It was apparent Czolgosz acted alone. Goldman tried to rally support for the assassin, comparing him in print to Brutus who had slain Julius Caesar, but many anarchists shunned Czolgosz, as he had brought opprobrium onto the movement. Theodore Roosevelt, the new president, had declared, "When compared with the suppression of anarchy, every other question sinks into insignificance.
At his arraignment, Czolgosz pleaded guilty, which is not allowed in a capital trial, and the judge changed his plea to "not guilty". His lawyers wanted to go with an insanity defense such as used for Charles J. Guiteau, the assassin of President James Garfield, but a defiant Czolgosz refused to cooperate with them as, to him, they were symbols of the authority he hated and had struck out against in the Temple of Music. He clearly wanted to be martyred, and he was, convicted after a two day trial when the jury came back with a guilty verdict after one hour. He was executed in the electric chair at Auburn State Prison (Auburn, New York) on October 29, 1901, 53 days after he shot and fatally wounded President McKinley. - Bronson Howard was born on 7 October 1842 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a writer, known for The Saphead (1920), Aristocracy (1914) and One of Our Girls (1914). He was married to Alice Culverwell. He died on 4 August 1908 in Avon-by-the-Sea, New Jersey, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Hughie Cannon was born on 9 April 1877 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is known for The Conversation (1974), Miss Congeniality (2000) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). He was married to Emma Dorson. He died on 17 June 1912 in Toledo, Ohio, USA.- Robert Henry Hall was born on 15 November 1837 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He died on 29 December 1914 in Chicago Heights, Illinois, USA.
- George Elwell was born on 21 April 1893 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for The Raiders (1916). He died on 3 November 1916 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Richard Foster Baker was born on 25 January 1857 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a director and actor, known for The Little Girl Next Door (1916), A Bunch of Keys (1915) and Kidder and Ko (1918). He died on 21 February 1921 in Chicago, Illinois, 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.- Frederic S. Isham was born on 29 March 1865 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a writer, known for Nothing But the Truth (1941), The Social Buccaneer (1923) and Nothing But the Truth (1929). He was married to Helen M. Frue. He died on 6 September 1922 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Albert Perry was born in 1869 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Her Excellency, the Governor (1917). He died on 6 May 1933 in St. George, Staten Island, New York, USA.
- Kalla Pasha was born on 5 March 1879 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for West of Zanzibar (1928), The Dictator (1922) and A Small Town Idol (1921). He died on 10 June 1933 in Talmage, California, USA.
- Albert Karnatz was born on 9 February 1905 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He died on 15 July 1934 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
George Daly was born on 13 December 1888 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Excuse My Glove (1936). He died on 24 February 1937 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Actor
- Writer
Fred Duprez was born on 6 September 1884 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for My Wife''s Family (1931), Lend Me Your Wife (1935) and My Wife's Family (1941). He was married to Florence Isabel Mathews (actress) and Grace Hazard (actress). He died on 27 October 1938 in shipboard en route to England.- Director
- Producer
Louis Myll was born on 29 April 1871 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a director and producer, known for Keep Moving (1915), The Adopted Baby (1915) and When Ciderville Went Dry (1915). He was married to Alma Hanlon and Corah White. He died on 22 April 1939 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Rudy Wiedoeft was born on 3 January 1893 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for The Caretaker (2016), Darn Tootin (1931) and Rambling 'Round Radio Row #2 (1932). He was married to Mary Murphy. He died on 18 February 1940 in Flushing, Long Island, New York, USA.- Horace Haine was born in 1868 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Kidnapped (1917), The Truth (1920) and The Woman of Lies (1919). He was married to Maude LeRoy. He died on 26 September 1940 in New York, USA.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Director
Rob Wagner moved to Santa Barbara from Detroit in 1906. He settled in Los Angeles about 1909. His first scenario for a film, "The Artist's Sons," was produced by Selig Studios in 1911. Between 1915 and 1918 he wrote a series of articles on the film industry for the Saturday Evening Post. Wagner was Charlie Chaplin's publicity man and confidant for many years. He was a director of Will Rogers film shorts. He was founder, editor and publisher of Rob Wagner's Script, a literary magazine for the film community. The magazine was published from 1929 to 1949.- Brenda Lane was born on 22 April 1902 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for The Flame Fighter (1925), The New Klondike (1926) and Along Came Ruth (1924). She died on 30 November 1942 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Edna Hibbard was born on 12 May 1894 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for The Weavers of Life (1917), The Apaches of Paris (1915) and The Fight (1915). She was married to Lester Bryant, John C. Seager Jr., Stuart Sage and Philip Hart Dunning (stage manager). She died on 26 December 1942 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Edsel Ford was born on 6 November 1893 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a writer, known for Upcoming Ford Project (2021). He was married to Eleanor Clay. He died on 26 May 1943 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
- Production Manager
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
Robert Ross was born on 27 August 1889 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a production manager and assistant director, known for The Phantom Express (1932), Shipwrecked (1926) and Corsair (1931). He was married to Harriett V.. He died on 19 October 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Frank Campeau was born on 14 December 1864 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for 3 Bad Men (1926), Battling Bunyan (1924) and The Life of the Party (1920). He was married to Sarah Estelle Lewis and Lillian Stratton Corbin. He died on 5 November 1943 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Music Department
One of the legions of jazz musicians to have lived hard and died young, pianist and band leader Bob Zurke is best remembered for his association with Bob Crosby's orchestra. Hard drinking and undisciplined, Zurke played with various outfits in New York, Philadelphia, and his native Detroit during the late 1920s and early 1930s. In late 1928 he cut two sides with female band leader Thelma Terry. In January 1937 he joined Bob Crosby, replacing Joe Sullivan, who had been hospitalized with tuberculosis. And except for a 1937 hiatus brought on by a broken leg suffered in horseplay with Bob Haggart, remained with them until the summer of 1939. He then formed his own short lived big band, and with only average arrangements and a poor rhythm section, it broke up the following spring.
Zurke was very popular and well respected by jazz fans and musicians alike for his piano work. In 1939 he won Downbeat magazine's poll for best piano player.
Zurke spent a brief period in jail due to alimony problems and continued to work as a pianist, first in Chicago, then moving to Detroit, then to St. Paul, and finally to Los Angeles, where he performed at "The Hangover Club" from August 1942 until his death in 1944. He collapsed while in the club and was taken to Los Angeles General Hospital where he died 24 hours later, only 32 years of age. A month before he died he had recorded the background piano music for the Technicolor cartoon film, "Jungle Jive" which was "a Tour De Force display of keyboard magic".- Lyricist, author and songwriter ("At Dawning", "From the Land of the Sky-Blue Water") and teacher, who taught school in Nebraska. She joined ASCAP in 1927, and her chief musical collaborator was Charles Wakefield Cadman. Her other popular-song compositions include "From Wigwam to Tepee" and "I Hear a Thrush at Eve".
- William Fountaine was born on 15 August 1897 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Hallelujah (1929), Deceit (1923) and The Dungeon (1922). He died on 6 December 1945 in Manhattan, New York, USA.
- Writer
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Harry von Tilzer was born on 8 July 1872 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a writer and composer, known for You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010), Night School (2018) and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007). He died on 10 January 1946 in New York City, New York, USA.- Special Effects
- Cinematographer
- Visual Effects
Vernon L. Walker was born on 2 May 1894 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a cinematographer, known for Notorious (1946), Suspicion (1941) and Citizen Kane (1941). He was married to Lottie J. Walker. He died on 14 March 1948 in Balboa Island, Newport Beach, California, USA.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Seymour Simons was born on 14 January 1896 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Seymour is known for Beginners (2010), A Good Year (2006) and Sweet and Lowdown (1999). Seymour died on 12 February 1949 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Frank Graham was born on 22 November 1914 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Cosmo Jones in the Crime Smasher (1943), The Three Caballeros (1944) and Horton Hatches the Egg (1942). He died on 2 September 1950 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Leo Diegel was born on 27 April 1899 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Match Play (1930), Screen Snapshots Series 9, No. 13 (1930) and Swing with Bing (1940). He was married to Violet Bird. He died on 8 May 1951 in North Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actor
Milton Gowman was born on 2 August 1903 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor. He died on 17 August 1952 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Mable Withee was born in 1900 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for Once to Every Man (1918). She was married to Larry Puck and Herman Leon Sarshik. She died on 3 November 1952 in Bayside, New York, USA.
- Blanche Rose was born on 16 August 1880 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for Call of the West (1930), Buy Me That Town (1941) and Smudge (1922). She was married to ? Starr and ? Smith. She died on 5 January 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Howard Nelson was born on 30 March 1900 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for Nobody's Children (1920). He was married to Mary K. (Cole) Redden and Edna Warsaw Lee. He died on 18 February 1953 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
- Chet Miller was born on 19 July 1902 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. He died on 15 May 1953 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.
- Writer
- Producer
Boyce DeGaw was born on 13 August 1900 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Don't Bet on Blondes (1935), The Girl of the Golden West (1938) and The Moon's Our Home (1936). He died on 5 July 1953 in Dallas, Texas, USA.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian was born on 19 January 1896 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for The Most Dangerous Game (1932), State Trooper (1933) and Vanity Street (1932). He was married to Gladys Newbold. He died on 13 December 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Don Cameron was born on 21 December 1905 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He died on 17 November 1954 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Jessie Deppen was born on 10 July 1881 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. Jessie is known for Wings (1927), We're No Angels (1989) and Poor Little Butterfly (1930). Jessie died on 22 January 1956 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Songwriter ("In the Cool of Evening"), producer, author, director and artist, educated at the University of Detroit and the Detroit Art School. He was an early designer of sheet music covers. In 1907 he came to New York, and designed and directed an act for Lillian Russell. In 1912, he became the chief writer and assistant to Florenz Ziegfeld, lasting to 1926. He composed Broadway stage scores and sketches for thirteen editions of the "Ziegfeld Follies" and two editions of "Ziegfeld's 9 O'Clock Revue", "No Foolin'", and "Zig-Zag" (in London), and he originated and directed eleven editions of the "Ziegfeld Midnight Frolics". He produced and directed the musicals "Yours Truly" and "Take the Air" (for which he also composed the score). He was president of the Catholic Actors Guild, and won an NAACC award. Joining ASCAP as a charter member in 1914, he became an ASCAP director in 1920, lasting to 1957. He served as ASCAP's president from 1924 to 1941. His chief musical collaborator was David Stamper, and he also worked with Rudolf Friml, Jerome Kern, Mischa Elman, Augustus Thomas, Werner Janssen, James Hanley, Ray Hubbell, Victor Herbert and Louis Hirsch. His song compositions include "Daddy Has a Sweetheart (and Mother Is Her Name)", "Hello, Frisco", "Have a Heart", "Hello, My Dearie", "Tulip Time", "Sally, Won't You Come Back?", "Sweet Sixteen", "Sunshine and Shadows", "The Love Boat", "My Rambler Rose", "'Neath the South Sea Moon", "Lovely Little Melody", "No Foolin'", "Florida, the Moon and You", "Some Boy", and "Garden of My Dreams".- Additional Crew
- Actor
Freddie Fralick was born on 4 June 1888 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for The Price of Art (1912), Badly Wanted (1913) and Si's Wonderful Mineral Spring (1914). He died on 13 May 1958 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Art Director
- Art Department
George Dudley was born on 8 May 1897 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an art director, known for The Rains Came (1939), The Bride Wore Crutches (1940) and High School (1940). He died on 5 June 1959 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Marilyn Johnson was born on 19 September 1922 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for Secrets of a Sorority Girl (1945), Wife Decoy (1945) and A Hit with a Miss (1945). She was married to Forrest Tucker. She died on 19 July 1960 in Beverly Hills, California, USA(undisclosed).
- Ed Reulbach was born on 1 December 1882 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He died on 17 July 1961 in Glens Falls, New York, USA.
- Gene 'Big Daddy' Lipscomb was born on 9 August 1931 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He died on 10 May 1963 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
Louis Germonprez was born on 14 May 1892 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was an assistant director and production manager, known for The Fighting Guardsman (1945), Avalanche (1946) and Queen of Burlesque (1946). He died on 7 July 1963 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Dolores Reed was born on 11 October 1932 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She was an actress, known for Invasion of the Star Creatures (1962), Hit and Run (1957) and Anybody Can Play (1958). She was married to Boyce Leon Mosco, Larry Eugene Reed and Philip Hoffman. She died on 4 August 1963 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Production Manager
- Additional Crew
Don Robb was born on 3 December 1903 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He was a production manager, known for The Ten Commandments (1956), Hatari! (1962) and The Girls of Pleasure Island (1953). He was married to Helen Margaret Williams. He died on 4 January 1964 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Claire Anderson was born Claire Mathes on May 8, 1895 in Detroit, Michigan. She moved to Hollywood and became one of Mack Sennett's first bathing beauties. Claire was five feet, five inches tall and 132 pounds. She started making movies with Keystone in 1914 (she also used the screen name Cora Anderson). Claire appeared in dozens of comedy shorts including His Baby Doll (1917) and A Clever Dummy (1917). While filming The Lion and the Girl (1916) she bravely got into a cage with an actual lion. Mack Sennett signed her to a long term contract for $675 a week. In 1918 Claire was given starring roles in Mlle. Paulette (1918), The Mask (1918), and Mile.
After leaving Keystone she worked for Fox. She co-starred with Tom Mix in The Road Demon (1921) and with John Gilbert in The Yellow Stain (1922). Claire married auto dealer Harry H. Anderson but they divorced in 1926. He had been having an affair with bathing beauty Florence Omley and Claire sued her for "alienation of affection". Florence responded to the lawsuit by challenging Claire to a fist fight. Claire retired from making movies and moved to Venice, California. She died on March 23, 1964 at the age of sixty-eight. - Actor
Ross Wilson Forrester was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents Charles Forrester and Jane Courthope were popular vaudeville performers. Ross's grandmother, singer Fanny Marston, was known as the "California nightingale". At the age of three Ross began appearing on stage with his parents. He starred on Broadway in Oliver Twist and toured Europe for several years. In 1924 Ross costarred with actress Maryon Aye in a Los Angeles production of White Collars. Ross and Maryon were married in September of 1936 (he was her third husband). He had bit parts in the movies Lady Scarface and The Big Street. During the 1930s he worked on numerous radio shows. He retired from acting and got a job at Hughes Aircraft company. Ross was with his wife Maryon Aye the night she committed suicide in 1951. He later said he never took her threats of suicide seriously. In 1953 Ross married actress Pauline Garon. She had been one of Maryon's close friends. Ross died on December 22, 1964 at the age of sixty-six.