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- Guy Woodward was born in 1868 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for A Shanghaied Jonah (1917), Hula Hula Land (1917) and The Betrayal of Maggie (1917). He died on 20 August 1919 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
- Peter Raymond was born in 1871 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for The Little Giant (1926), On with the Dance (1920) and Democracy: The Vision Restored (1920). He died on 30 March 1927 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Jere Austin was born on 24 March 1876 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for The School for Scandal (1914), The Desperate Game (1925) and The Trap (1919). He died on 12 November 1927 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
John Griffith Wray was born on 30 August 1881 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a director and writer, known for The Gilded Butterfly (1926), Her Reputation (1923) and Human Wreckage (1923). He was married to Bradley King and Virginia Brissac. He died on 12 July 1929 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Lillian Shaffner was born in 1861 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for The Sunbeam (1916) and The Other Man (1916). She was married to Major Ben M. Schaffner (attorney). She died on 8 January 1930 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Evelyn Hoey started her career on stage at age 10 in Minneapolis, MN. The height of her prominence on the stage was achieved when she appeared with Leon Errol in "Yours Truly" in 1928. She went to London to appear in "Good News" and in 1929 was singing Cole Porter's songs in a Paris nightclub. It was there E. Ray Goetz heard her and signed her as the torch singer for "Fifty-Million Frenchmen" in 1929. She appeared in the "Vanderbuilt Revue," "Walk a Little Faster," and in films in The 20th Amendment (1930).
A diminutive, blue-eyed actress with honey-colored hair, she was known for her musical comedy singing and a drawling lyrical "blues" voice that enraptured audiences in New York, Paris and London. She was found dead with a .45-cal. bullet wound through her head on September 12, 1935, in the home of Henry H. Rogers III, grandson of the co-founder of the Standard Oil Co. Also present was cinematographer William J. Kelly. Rogers had co-produced with the explorer Henry McCracken the film "An Old Fashioned Garden," a prim comedy about life among the nudists. It passed the censors, but it may never have been released.- Visual Effects
- Art Department
Byron L. Crabbe was born on 5 May 1894 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He is known for King Kong (1933), The Last Days of Pompeii (1935) and Son of Kong (1933). He died on 9 June 1937 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Actor
- Script and Continuity Department
Keene Thompson was born on 15 November 1885 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Only the Brave (1930), Man Against Woman (1932) and Let's Go (1923). He died on 11 July 1937 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Like Charles Chaplin's sidekick, Eric Campbell, Harold Lloyd needed his own giant when casting Why Worry? (1923) in 1922. Lloyd first had his eyes on George Auger (Cardiff Giant) who worked at Ringling Brothers sideshow as a giant. But Auger died before the film started, and a search went out for a replacement. The producer Hal Roach heard of a shoemaker who was constructing a pair of shoes for a "Norwegian living in Minnesota", and his name was John Aasen. His mother was Kristi Danielsen (b. 1868) from Numedal, Norway. She emigrated to the US via Liverpool during spring of 1887. It is not 100% certain who Aasen's father was, but while working in Eggedal, Norway, Kristi Danielsen met the Swedish Nils Jansson Bokke who reached a prominent 244 cm (8 ft) in height. It had to have been "The clash of the Titans" when the couple met, as Aasen's mother had her own merit with the height of 220 cm (7 ft 2½ in). But the passenger list on board D/S "Rollo" listed Kristi Danielsen as single. Later that year Aasen was born and it can only be speculated if his father was the Swede. Some sources lists him as 273 cm (nearly 9 ft) tall and with a weight of 251 kilos (553 lbs). Nearly 8 meters (8¾ yds) of material was needed to make him a suit. In other words; impressive! The annual Nummedalslagets yearbook of 1925 wrote: "Apparently the world's tallest human (in the civilized world) with a loving and sympathetic personality who always appears courteous and modest. In Harold Lloyd's film classic, Why Worry? (1923), Aasen plays "Colosso". He is suffering from a toothache and stuck in jail with other prisoners of a revolution in Chile. Lloyd is Harold von Pelham as the rich hypochondriac who ends up in the same prison as Colosso and cures his toothache. Forever grateful, Colosso aids van Palham in his adventures as escapees from the prison. With a cannon on his back and bullets hanging from his neck, the pair become an unusual couple who create comic mayhem. The film became one of the largest box-office attractions of 1923. Aasen was a great success in his first film and appeared in several others, but not with the same impact. It is said he mastered Norwegian fluently and for many years performed as a "Sideshow" attraction for C.A. Wortham Shows. He died on the 1st August 1938 in Mendocino, California.
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Clyde McClary was born on 10 July 1888 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Speedy Spurs (1926), Range Riders (1934) and Paradise Valley (1934). He died on 30 June 1939 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Norman Spencer was born on 3 March 1891 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for The Big Chance (1933), The New Adventures of Tarzan (1935) and The Song of the Flame (1930). He was married to Leona Hannah Matthews. He died on 15 February 1940 in Manhattan, New York, USA.- Bob Erickson was born on 10 October 1898 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Riders of the Rio Grande (1929). He died on 21 January 1941 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.
- Bide Dudley was born on 8 September 1877 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Bide was a writer, known for Signs of Trouble (1917), Bobby the Office Boy (1920) and Pep (1920). Bide died on 5 January 1944 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Joe McMichael was born on 16 January 1916 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Melody Lane (1941), Moonlight in Hawaii (1941) and San Antonio Rose (1941). He died on 12 February 1944 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Stunts
James Notaro was born on 10 February 1907 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Double or Nothing (1937). He died on 31 January 1946 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Editor
John Colton was born on 31 December 1887 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a writer and editor, known for The Invisible Ray (1935), The Wind (1928) and Two Lovers (1928). He died on 26 December 1946 in Gainesville, Texas, USA.- Kay Van Riper was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1908. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in education. She relocated to Los Angeles in 1929 and began writing for and acting in local radio programs. After recuperating from a car accident, she went to work for MGM in the late 1930s as a scriptwriter, with her first film being one of Mickey Rooney's "Andy Hardy" series, A Family Affair (1937). She also wrote the scripts for several of MGM's most well-known musicals, such as Babes in Arms (1939) and Strike Up the Band (1940). She died in 1948.
- Actor
- Writer
Lew Meehan (birthname James Llewellyn Meehan)was born September 7, 1890 in Red Lake Falls, Minnesota and died on August 10, 1951 in Los Angeles, California. His film career began in 1921 and ended in 1944, albeit he appears in a stock footage montage, as a police car driver (from "Waterfront Lady" (1935)) in 1947's "Dick Tracy Meets Grusome". His flat-and-crooked nose and morose appearance relegated he spend most of his 200-plus film career as an uncredited henchman with few lines of dialogue but, once in a while,he moved upward to the position of dog-kicking henchman or even a credited none-to-bright hired gunman in "The Red Rope (1937)". His 1942 World War II draft registration card has his occupation as...Freelance actor-motion pictures... and the "person who will always know your address " line listed Screen Actors Guild, with a notation of "(no relatives)".- Tom B. Forman was born on 29 October 1891 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Dangerous Crossroads (1933), Kosher Kitty Kelly (1926) and Devil's Dice (1926). He died on 16 November 1951 in Venice, California, USA.
- Jack Raymond was born on 14 December 1901 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for The Affairs of Jimmy Valentine (1942), Scarlet River (1933) and The Last Command (1928). He died on 5 December 1951 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- Marjorie Zier was born on 3 February 1909 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for A Racing Romeo (1927), Cactus Trails (1927) and Phantom of the Range (1928). She was married to Michael Cudahy, Richard Conover, Pickering and Page. She died on 9 March 1952 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Adele Lacy was born on 8 September 1910 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for The Wyoming Whirlwind (1932), Vanishing Men (1932) and When a Man Rides Alone (1933). She was married to Walter Futter and Madison S. Lacy. She died on 3 July 1953 in Mexico City, Mexico.
- Jerome Odlum was born on 26 August 1905 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a writer, known for Strange Affair (1944), Each Dawn I Die (1939) and The Fast and the Furious (1954). He died on 2 March 1954 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Bernard Suss was born on 20 August 1889 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Valiant Is the Word for Carrie (1936), The Arkansas Traveler (1938) and Mountain Rhythm (1939). He died on 20 September 1955 in Tampa, Florida, USA.
- Jon Junior was born on 17 December 1890 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for The Phantom Buster (1927), The Misleading Lady (1916) and My Best Girl (1927). He died on 30 September 1955 in San Francisco, California, USA.
- Barton Hepburn was born on 28 February 1906 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944), Dynamite (1929) and Inside the Law (1942). He died on 9 October 1955 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Lois Austin was born on 3 April 1901 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for The Spider Woman Strikes Back (1946), G.I. War Brides (1946) and Down Texas Way (1942). She was married to Charles Barton and Arthur Leon Yarborough. She died on 26 April 1957 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Film producer Michael Todd was one of the major contributors to technical innovation in the film industry in the 1950s. Having worked with Fred Waller and Cinerama, he got tired of the three-panel format, left the company and tried to find the process for making "Cinerama coming from one hole". He joined forces with the American Optical Co. and developed a system using 65mm cine cameras at 30 fps and wide angle-photography (approx 150 degrees). The system was named Todd-AO after its inventors and was by far the best big-screen system ever seen, when it was introduced with Oklahoma! (1955). The Todd-AO prints used 70mm film with a 2.2:1 ratio. Sound was six-track magnetic only, with five channels behind the screen and one surround channel, with Perspecta coding (a switch stereo device) The 70mm Todd-AO productions were premiered through Magna Theatre Corp., which also co-produced the pictures. Due to the non-standard speed, the first two Todd-AO pictures (the other was Around the World in 80 Days (1956)) were parallel-shot in 35mm CinemaScope with 24 fps for general release, but for the third production, South Pacific (1958), the Todd-AO pictures were all shot in 24 fps. Todd was killed in a plane crash in 1958, but his system lived on, adopted as the wide super format of 20th Century-Fox, which used it all through the 1960s. During that period a number of alternate processes developed, of which Super Panavision became the most used.- Don Gardner was born on 16 January 1932 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for West Point (1956), Perry Mason (1957) and Medic (1954). He died on 21 September 1958 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
George Chesebro was an American character actor who, after a few leading roles in silent films, became an omnipresent bit player in "B" westerns. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chesebro became involved in traveling stock theater productions before the age of 20, and by 1911 was a seasoned performer. He played in a musical spectacular that toured Asia for two years, then returned to America and played in stock and vaudeville. Moving to Los Angeles in 1915, Chesebro began to supplement his vaudeville career with movie work and quickly began moving up the ladder of film success. World War I interrupted his work (sources differ as to whether he served in the US Navy or US Army). Following the war he resumed his movie career, starring in several popular serials. His popularity and the size of his roles waned during the 1920s, and with the arrival of talkies he was most often seen as heavies, henchmen and cops in a huge number of westerns and crime dramas, most of them low-budget. He became a fixture in "B" westerns, rarely billed but always familiar, and finished out his career in the 1950s with the demise of the B-Western. Occasional TV appearances marked his retirement, and he died in 1959, two months prior to his 71st birthday.- Writer
- Director
- Additional Crew
Harry O. Hoyt was born on 6 August 1885 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Bitter Apples (1927), The Lost World (1925) and The Rider of the King Log (1921). He died on 29 July 1961 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Reed Brown Jr. was born on 3 December 1897 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Woman in the Dark (1934), The Horror (1932) and The Policy Girl (1934). He was married to Ruth Mero. He died on 26 July 1962 in Mount Vernon, New York, USA.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Charles Reisner (also frequently billed as "Riesner") started his professional life as a prizefighter. He performed in vaudeville for ten years and eventually wound up writing lyrics for musical comedy on Broadway. After a spell under the auspices of impresario Charles B. Dillingham, Reisner moved to California in 1915, finding a job as an actor in one-reel comedies at Universal. He added further credentials to his resume at Vitagraph before his arrival at Keystone, where he made the acquaintance of Charles Chaplin. Before long his innate ability to devise intricate visual sight gags got him involved as a gag writer (as well as occasional bit part actor) in classic Chaplin comedies at First National, including A Dog's Life (1918) and The Kid (1921). His collaboration with the famous comic ended with The Gold Rush (1925), for which Reisner was credited as assistant director.
Moving on to Warner Brothers, he directed Charles' brother Syd Chaplin in The Man on the Box (1925), Oh! What a Nurse! (1926) and The Better 'Ole (1926). Reisner also worked on the frenetic Buster Keaton comedy Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928), using many of the old sight gags from bygone days of vaudeville comedy. Alas, it failed at the box office and proved to be Keaton's last film for his own production company.
During the 1930s Reisner made occasional forays into mystery and crime drama with minor entries like Sophie Lang Goes West (1937), but he was always more comfortable directing the screen's zaniest comedians, from Jack Benny in It's in the Air (1935) to The Marx Brothers in their hilarious and underrated The Big Store (1941), from Bud Abbott and Lou Costello who were Lost in a Harem (1944) to Joan Davis in one of the screen's last full-on slapstick farces, The Traveling Saleswoman (1950).- Before his movie career, George Meader was a leading character tenor at the Metropolitan Opera, NY, from 1921-35. His debut was in DIE TOTE STADT (THE DEAD CITY) by Korngold, who also moved on to Hollywood as a composer. Among his many roles, Meader sang the major tenor roles in operas by Richard Wagner, such as David in MEISTERSINGER and Mime in SIEGFRIED.
- Margaret Quimby was born on 6 December 1904 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for The Radio Detective (1926), Lucky Boy (1929) and The Whole Town's Talking (1926). She died on 26 August 1965 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
Fred Quimby was an American animation producer. He served as the executive in charge of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio from 1937 to 1955. He worked with prominent directors, such as Tex Avery, Joseph Barbera, and William Hanna. His studio won 8 Academy Awards for Best Animated Short Film. He is chiefly remembered as a producer for the original "Tom and Jerry" film series.
In 1886. Quimby was born in Minneapolis, the largest and most-populous city in the US state of Minnesota. Early in his life, he worked as a journalist, before starting a career in film.
In 1907, Quimby became the manager of film theater in Missoula, Montana. He later joined the staff of the film production company Pathé. He became a member of its board of directors, but left in 1921 to try his lack as an independent producer. From 1924 to 1927, Quimby worked for Fox Film. In 1927, he was hired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). He served for a time as the nominal head of its short films department.
In 1937, Quimby became the head of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio, MGM's new animation subsidiary. His name became well known due to its prominence in the cartoon credits. He had a difficult relationship with his staff members. He was not an animator himself, and had no previous experience in animation. He served chiefly as a liaison between the animators and MGM executives. He consistently turned down requests for bigger budgets, raises and special dispensations of funds. His employees considered him humorless.
In 1939, Quimby approved the production of " Puss Gets the Boot" by directors Barbera and Hanna. The film introduced the characters of Tom Cat and Jerry Mouse, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Quimby was at first not interested in producing more Tom and Jerry films, but changed his mind due to the first film's critical and financial success. As a producer, he claimed sole responsibility for the success of the new series.
In May 1955, Quimby retired at the age of 69. Barbera and Hanna replaced him as the new heads of the studio. The studio did not long survive Quimby's departure, as MGM shut down its animation subsidiary in 1957. Quimby lived in retirement for 10 years. In September 1965, Quimby died from a heart attack in Santa Monica, California. He was 79-years-old.- Additional Crew
Leo Morton Schulman was born on 1 November 1895 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Leo Morton is known for The Return of Doctor X (1939), Caught (1949) and We Are Not Alone (1939). Leo Morton died on 1 December 1965 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Aileene Aalbu was born on 5 February 1909 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for Young Man of Manhattan (1930). She was married to Ernie Fliegel. She died on 25 June 1966 in Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA.
- William Kincaid was born on 26 April 1895 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He died on 27 March 1967 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Jimmie Horan was born on 23 October 1907 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for F Troop (1965), Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958) and Cavalcade of America (1952). He died on 4 May 1967 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Ms. Andrews and her sisters, Patty and Maxene, were one of the most successful women's singing groups, with 19 gold records and sales of nearly 100 million copies. The sisters began performing in the early 1930s when the Depression wiped out their father's business. In 1937, the sisters scored their first big hit with 'Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen.' In addition to 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy', their best-known songs included 'Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree' and 'Rum and Coca Cola'. The trio officially broke up after the death of Laverne in 1967, and a suitable replacement could not be found.
- Production Manager
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Mattison was born on 9 July 1890 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a production manager and assistant director, known for South Sea Woman (1953), El cantante de Napoles (1935) and Lightning Strikes Twice (1951). He died on 23 July 1967 in Costa Mesa, California, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Frank S. Mattison was born on 9 July 1890 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a director and writer, known for The Better Man Wins (1922), Girls Who Dare (1929) and A Horse on Broadway (1926). He died on 23 July 1967 in Orange County, California, USA.- William Scott was born on 1 August 1896 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for The Earth Woman (1926), Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley (1918) and Smoke Bellew (1929). He died on 22 August 1967 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Bee Monson was born Beatrice Susan French on April 11, 1900 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her father, Elmer French, owned a dry goods store. The family later moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. During World War 1 she entertained soldiers at Fort Douglas . After her father died she moved to Los Angeles with her mother Anna. Bee was signed by Marion Con productions in 1919 and started playing bit parts. Then she was offered a contract with Jack White's Mermaid pictures. The raven haired beauty was Lloyd Hamilton's leading lady in the comedies April Fool and Moonshine. Her nickname was "The Honey Girl". She also played on an all-female baseball team in Hollywood. In 1921 she appeared in the Western The Sheriff of Hope Eternal. This would be her final film. The twenty-one year old decided to give up acting. Bee married Edward Kenton Cleary, a salesman, in 1924. For several years she worked as a corset designer. Then she started a new career as a beautician. Tragically in 1935 her husband Edward died from tuberculosis. She continued to live a quiet life in Los Angeles. On December 31, 1967 she died at the age of sixty-seven.
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Richard Landry was born on 13 September 1919 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an assistant director, known for The Great Race (1965), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and A Man Called Shenandoah (1965). He died on 27 May 1968 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Margaret Morris was born on 7 November 1898 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for Born to the West (1926), Beasts of Paradise (1923) and The Woman I Love (1929). She died on 7 June 1968 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Cy Walter was born on 16 September 1915 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Three's Company (1950). He died on 18 August 1968 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Animation Department
- Art Department
- Writer
Ken Hultgren was born on 14 November 1915 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was a writer, known for Sleeping Beauty (1959), Bambi (1942) and Popeye the Sailor (1960). He died on 13 December 1968.- Westbrook Pegler was born on 2 August 1894 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. He was an actor, known for Madison Square Garden (1932), The Ben Hecht Show (1958) and The Merv Griffin Show (1962). He was married to Maud Towart, Pearl Dorne and Julia Harpman. He died on 24 June 1969 in Tucson, Arizona, USA.