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- Prior to the outbreak of American Civil War, Edward Morrison Alfriend was working as an insurance underwriter at his father's firm in Richmond, Virginian. On 10 June, 1861 he was commissioned a 1st lieutenant in Company E of the 44th Virginia Infantry Division. Less than a year later, on 1 May, 1862, he was promoted to full captain. Alfriend distinguished himself in one battle when he came to the aid of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston after Johnston had become separated from his command and was in peril of being killed or captured by Union soldiers. Some time after the war ended Alfriend began his writing career while working as a partner in his father's insurance business in Richmond. After achieving some success he decided to relocate to New York City in the late 1880s. There he was described by one of his Northern associates as "a portly Southern gentleman with a walrus mustache". Some of Alfriend's more popular plays were "A Woman's Ordeal" (1877), "The Louisianan" (1892), "Across the Potomac" (1894) written with Augustus Pitou "The Diplomat" (1894), "The Great Diamond Robbery" (1895) written with A.C. Wheeler and "His Double Life" (1896). He also contributed articles to many of the popular periodicals of his day. Alfriend once interviewed Edwin Booth for an article he was writing about the acting career of John Wilkes Booth. In 1891 he wrote a Civil War era piece for Cosmopolitan titled "Social Life in Richmond during the War." Edward M. Alfriend had at least two brothers, Frank Heath Alfriend (1841-1887), an author, newspaper reporter, teacher and at the time of his death, assistant librarian for the US Senate. Frank Alfriend is primarily remembered as a friend and biographer of Jefferson Davis. "The life of Jefferson Davis" by Frank H. Alfriend is still available in bookstores today, 140 years after it was first published. Thomas Lee Alfriend (1843-1901) was a sergeant in the Virginia Infantry during the war and later became one of the more successful insurance executives in Virginia. Transcripts of letters Thomas wrote his brother Frank during the Civil War are kept in a special collection at the College of William and Mary Swem Library in Williamsburg, Virginia. Edward Morrison Alfriend passed away in New York City just six months after his brother Thomas had died in Virginia. Both Edward and Thomas' remains are interned at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.
- Soundtrack
George A. Minor was born on 7 December 1845 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. George A. died on 30 January 1904 in Richmond, Virginia, USA.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Producer
American-born English inventor and technician, a pioneer of early cinema design, photography, development, and patents. He was born to English parents in Richmond, Virginia, on July 23, 1854. His parents moved with young Birt to North Carolina and started a plantation there. However, the U.S. Civil War erupted and both parents died defending the plantation. Young Acres, orphaned at 10, went to live with his aunt in Virginia. She recognized his artistic and inventive talents and sent him to Paris to study at the Sorbonne Art Studios. He became enthralled with photography and began to study the science of cameras and the potential for moving pictures. Upon his return from France, he set out on a long journey through the American West. He worked as a lumberjack and studied and traded with Native American tribes. Eventually, his love of photography led him to move to England, where he opened a photography and painting studio in Ilfracombe, Devon. He applied himself to the study and development of photographic chemistry. He wrote scholarly articles on photography and chemical development and became rather well-known in the photographic community. He was invited to join the Royal Meteorological and Photographic Societies. In 1891, he was invited to take over the running of Elliott & Sons, the leading British maker of photographic plates and paper. He moved to London with his relatively new family. He was especially fond of nature photography and developed a slide projector which could crudely replicate, by shuffling rapidly through images, the motion of waves, clouds, and wind-blown trees, a precursor using the persistence of vision effect that would make motion pictures possible. In 1894, Acres met Robert W. Paul, who was interested in creating films that could be shown on Thomas A. Edison's new kinetoscope. Together they invented a camera that would make 35 mm films compatible with Edison's machine. Acres used it to create the first film to be shot in England, Clovelly Cottage, Barnet (1895) or "lncident in Clovelly Cottage," filmed at Acres's home. Acres and Paul began making films of various sporting events as well as human interest and comedy pieces. But the two men were incompatible partners and split up angrily in 1895. Each went his own way, and they became competitors in the business of projector manufacture and sales. Acres in January, 1896, presented the first public projection of motion picture film in Britain with screenings at the Lyonsdown Photographic Club and the Royal Photographic Society. He presented his films at a Royal Command Performance at Marlborough House that summer and was invited to photograph the Prince and Princess of Wales at the Cardiff Exhibition. With a prescient concept of a home-movie market, he invented a 17.5 mm camera called the Birtac that used half the normal amount of film and was small enough to be used by non-professional individuals. His original projector, the Kineopticon, or Kinetic Lantern, he continued to develop and improve. He founded a company, The Northern Photographic Works (later Whetstone Photographic Works), in London. He continued to invent and develop products for motion picture photography, but was reluctant to take part in the increasing entertainment market for films. Thus his business began to suffer, since he preferred to promote (and lecture about) scientific and nature-oriented cinema. He was twice bankrupted and by 1900 had abandoned the film business. He died from peritonitis following appendicitis on December 27, 1918, at 64, survived by his wife of 27 years, Annie, and their two children. He is buried in Walthamstow Cemetery in Greater London.- Soundtrack
A.J. Mills was born in 1871 in Richmond, Surrey, England, UK. He was married to Sarah Jane Daisy Hoile. He died on 17 October 1919 in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, UK.- Novelist and playwright, Marjorie Benton Cooke was born on 27 November, 1876, in Richmond, Indiana. She was the daughter of Joseph H. and Jessie Benton Cooke. Her father was a salesman and had once served as treasurer for the city of Richmond. Marjorie attended preparatory schools in Detroit and Chicago before entering the University of Chicago.
Not long after her graduation in 1899, she became a successful recitalist of original monologues and sketches. By 1909 she was being called "the cleverest reader of monologues in America". It was also around this time that she began writing one-act plays and poetry. In 1905 she wrote the lyrics to the ditty "Is Yo'? Yo' Is!". Her first book, "The Girl Who Lived in the Woods", was published in 1910 and was followed by "To Mother" (1911), "Dr. David" (1911), "Bambi" (1914), "The Incubus" (1915), "The Duel Alliance" (1915) "Cinderella Jane" (1917) and "The Cricket" (1919). In 1936 her book for young adults, "Bambi" (not the story with Thumper), was serialized on radio starring Helen Hayes. Cooke had also authored a number of popular short stories that appeared in magazines and several plays and screenplays before her career was tragically cut short.
Marjorie Benton Cooke died at the age of 43 on April 26 1920, at Manila, after coming down with pneumonia during an around the world cruise with her mother. Her father had passed away four years earlier in New York City. - Samuel A. Derieux was born on 5 November 1881 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was a writer, known for A Boy and His Dog (1946). He died on 27 February 1922 in New York, New York, USA.
- Edward Peple was born on 10 August 1867 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was a writer, known for Beloved Bachelor (1931), Richard the Brazen (1917) and The Spitfire (1914). He died on 28 July 1924 in New York, New York, USA.
- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Charles Maigne was born on 11 November 1879 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was a writer and director, known for In the Hollow of Her Hand (1918), Her Great Chance (1918) and The Redhead (1919). He was married to Anne Cornwall. He died on 28 November 1929 in San Francisco, California, USA.- Charles Gilpin was born on 20 November 1878 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Ten Nights in a Barroom (1926) and Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913). He was married to Florence Howard and Alice Bynum (actress). He died on 6 May 1930 in Eldredge Park, New Jersey, USA.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Songwriter ("After You've Gone"), composer, author, publisher and singer, educated in New York public schools. He co-founded the Clef Club, and joined the Gotham-Attucks Music Company. He joined ASCAP in 1924 and toured the US and Europe in vaudeville with his chief musical collaborator, Turner Layton. His Broadway stage scores include "Three Showers", and "Strut, Miss Lizzie". His other popular-song compositions include "Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", "Sweet Emmalina My Gal", "Goodbye, Alexander, My Honey", "Down by the River", "If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight" and "My Little Bluebird Was Caught in the Rain".- Soundtrack
Nellie Melba was born on 19 May 1861 in Richmond, Victoria, Australia. She was married to Charles Frederick Nisbett Armstrong. She died on 23 February 1931 in Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.- Writer
- Producer
Sydney Rosenfeld was born on 26 October 1855 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. Sydney was a writer and producer, known for The Senator (1915), Children of Destiny (1920) and The Purple Lady (1916). Sydney was married to Genie H Johnson. Sydney died on 13 June 1931 in New York City, New York, USA.- Jim Blackwell was born on 6 June 1876 in Richmond, Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Love's Wilderness (1924), Desperate Youth (1921) and The Only Son (1914). He died on 27 September 1932.
- Mary Huntress was born in Richmond, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for It Can Be Done (1921), The Romance Promoters (1920) and The Millionaire (1921). She died on 11 December 1933 in Manila, Philippines.
- John Lancaster was born in 1857 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Two Gay Dogs (1912), The Dream of Dan McGuire (1913) and At the Mask Ball (1915). He died on 11 October 1935 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.
- Roy Watson was born on 6 August 1876 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Chasing Trouble (1926), Wolfblood (1925) and Stanley Among the Voodoo Worshipers (1915). He was married to Jane Keckley. He died on 7 June 1937 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Director
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Clifford Smith was born on 22 August 1894 in Richmond, Indiana, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Radio Patrol (1937), Western Hearts (1921) and The Adventures of Frank Merriwell (1936). He died on 17 September 1937 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- R.H. Knorr was born on 22 July 1862 in Richmond Hill, Staten Island, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for A Queen for an Hour (1915). He died on 3 May 1939 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
- E. Alyn Warren was born on 2 June 1874 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Red Wine (1928), They Won't Forget (1937) and Son of the Gods (1930). He died on 22 January 1940 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Lu Miller was born on 3 October 1901 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. She was an actress, known for Hunted Men (1938). She was married to William Ruhl. She died on 2 May 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Eddie Leonard played professional baseball before joining minstrel shows (including the Primrose & West Minstrel Show in 1902), served in the Spanish-American War, and then later sang at Tony Pastor's and other variety theatres. On Broadway, he acted in the musical "Roly Boly Eyes" for which he wrote the title song, and he concluded his career in the Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe in 1940. His autobiography is "What A Life". Joining ASCAP in 1937, his popular-song compositions include "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider", "Just Because She Made Them Goo-Goo Eyes, "Oh, Didn't It Rain?", "I'm On My Way", "I Lost My Mandy", "Sweetness", "Don't You Never Tell a Lie", "Mandy Jane", "Sugar Baby", "Beautiful", "Molasses Candy", and "I Wish I Was Some Little Girlie's Beau".- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Ben Holmes was born on 6 November 1890 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was a director and writer, known for Lightning Strikes Twice (1934), There Goes My Girl (1937) and I'm from the City (1938). He died on 2 December 1943 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Harry Keenan was born on 15 June 1867 in Richmond, Indiana, USA. He was an actor, known for The Strength of Donald McKenzie (1916), The Torch Bearer (1916) and The Waifs (1916). He died on 18 April 1944 in Santa Ana, California, USA.
- Amelie Rives Troubetsky was born on 23 August 1863 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. She was a writer, known for The Fear Market (1920). She was married to Prince Pierre Troubetskoy (artist) and John Armstrong Chanler (lawyer). She died on 15 June 1945 in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA.
- Ellen Glasgow was born on 22 April 1874 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. She was a writer, known for In This Our Life (1942), In This Our Life and Studio One (1948). She died on 21 November 1945 in Richmond, Virginia, USA.
- Putney Dandridge was born on 13 January 1902 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Harlem Is Heaven (1932) and Scandal (1933). He died on 15 February 1946 in New York City, New York, USA.
- George Cummings was born on 4 July 1880 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Alias Jimmy Valentine (1915), The Argyle Case (1917) and The Whipping Boss (1924). He died on 11 March 1946 in Los Angeles County, California, USA.
- William E. Pettus was born on 15 December 1888 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for The Scar of Shame (1929). He was married to Clara B. Floyd. He died on 29 July 1946 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Considered one of the most beautiful actresses of the silent era, Olive Borden was a Mack Sennett bathing beauty at 15 and reached the peak of her career in 1926 when she made 11 films for Fox Studios and was earning $1,500 a week. Refusing to take a salary cut, Borden abruptly left Fox in 1928 and made only a few pictures for other studios before retiring from films in 1938. In 1943, she joined the WACS, and after her discharge, returned to Hollywood in a failed attempt to revive her career. At the time she was quoted as saying, "Since I got out of the Army I've gone from job to job. Something always goes wrong." By 1946 she was found scrubbing floors for a living and in 1947, at the age of 40, died of a "stomach ailment" at the Sunshine Mission - a home for destitute women on Los Angeles' Skid Row.
- Robert Nainby was born on 14 June 1869 in Richmond, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Student's Romance (1935), The Lilac Domino (1937) and Two's Company (1936). He was married to Daisy Maud Annie Kathleen Way. He died on 18 February 1948 in Caterham, Surrey, England, UK.
- Harry Frankel was born on 27 January 1888 in Richmond, Indiana, USA. He died on 12 June 1948 in Richmond, Indiana, USA.
- Dana Ong was born on 3 July 1874 in Richmond, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for The Cheat (1915), Broadway Arizona (1917) and Wanted: A Home (1916). He died on 31 December 1948 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Bill Robinson quit school at age seven and began work as a professional dancer the following year. Bojangles (the name referred to his happy-go-lucky ebullience) starred in vaudeville, musical stage and movies. He invented the stair tap routine and was considered one of the world's greatest tap dancers. His film debut was in Dixiana (1930). He worked in fifteen movies, but his movie fame came primarily from the films he made with Shirley Temple -- The Little Colonel (1935), The Littlest Rebel (1935), and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938). In 1989 the US Congress named his birth date as National Tap Dancing Day.- An African-American veteran performer who struggled in vain to build a film career following a top role in an early all-black musical, Fannie Belle DeKnight found herself in a dead end situation trapped in an unflattering, stereotyped role and her film career went nowhere. Best known for her benevolent, upbeat character of Mammy in the King Vidor musical Hallelujah (1929), the first all-black feature film, she made only one more film, the musical short A Rhapsody in Black and Blue (1932) starring Louis Armstrong.
She was born Fannie Belle Johnson in Richmond, Virginia on May 22, 1869, during the "Reconstruction" period following the Civil War. Her parents, Frank and Purie Johnson, encouraged her interest in the arts and she grew in popularity singing and performing in church socials and amateur theatre shows. She wound up marrying her pianist Samuel Knight, a Barbados-born musician, in 1896. The couple toured together and she eventually changed her stage name in consideration.
The Texas-born Vidor cast her in her most famous support role (she is billed here as Fanny Belle DeKnight) in 1928 after seeing her in a couple of concert performances. Co-starring Nina Mae McKinney and Daniel L. Haynes and with a 20s flavor, this spiritual film focuses on the toils of a black family living on a cotton plantation in the Deep South. When nothing came of her film career, Fannie and her husband continued to perform musically across the country in concert. She would also appear in short-runs on Broadway, including the drama "Taboo" (1922), "Lulu Belle" (1926) and "Carry Nation" (1932).
The couple eventually retired their act and settled in her native Richmond in later years. She was a widow by the time she died tragically on April 28, 1950, at age 81, after her clothes accidentally caught fire at home from a kitchen wood stove. She was buried in the Woodland Cemetery in Richmond. - Douglas Bronston was born on 23 May 1887 in Richmond, Kentucky, USA. He was a writer, known for Redheads Preferred (1926), The Thrill Hunter (1926) and Husband Hunters (1927). He died on 9 July 1951 in Santa Monica, California, USA.
- British actor Rex Davis began in the theatre in the late 1900's. Handsome, smart, clean-up athletic star of at least 20 British silent drama and comedy films, making his film debut in Edwin J. Collins sporting/drama 'A Sporting Chance' co-starring Una Tristram and Lionel d'Aragon for the Cricks & Martin Film C in 1913, his mos notable role as Gloster Dick in 'The House of Temperley' with Ben Webster at London Film Co in 1913. In 1914 he left his movie career behind him to fight in World War I, he became a war hero earning the Military Cross for his services on the battlefield in France. After leaving the army he resumed his film career starring as Chester Lawton in Percy Nash's sports/drama 'Won by a Head' for Sterling Films in 1920, best remembered in another sports/drama as the boxer Billy Berks in 'The Knockout' co-starring opposite Lillian Hall-Davis for George Samuelson Film Co in 1923, he was last seen on screen in 'Motherland' co-starring Peggy Carlisle in 1927 and as himself in Bert Wynne's drama 'Remembrance' with Enid Stamp-Taylor in 1928. Whatever happened to him afterwards!
- Henry W. Pemberton was born on 15 March 1875 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for The Dead Line (1920), One Hour (1917) and The Way Women Love (1920). He was married to Blanche Koppal and Kathleen C.. He died on 26 July 1952 in Orlando, Florida, USA.
- Additional Crew
Gene Snyder was born on 30 July 1908 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. She is known for Top of the Town (1937). She was married to Dixie Dunbar. She died on 15 April 1953 in New York, New York, USA.- Griffin Jay was born on 29 March 1905 in Richmond, Indiana, USA. Griffin was a writer, known for Air Hawks (1935), Men of the Timberland (1941) and Cry of the Werewolf (1944). Griffin was married to Barbara Helen Herzog. Griffin died on 30 March 1954 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Bobbie Macauley was born on 19 November 1901 in Richmond, Surrey, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Jail Birds (1940) and Music-Hall (1949). She was married to Nat Mills. She died on 20 January 1955 in Chelsea, London, England, UK.
- Music Department
- Writer
- Actor
Lyricist ("Cabin in the Sky") and author, educated at the Richmond Academy of Arts and Sciences and Columbia University. For Broadway, he wrote lyrics for "Ballet Ballads", "Polonaise", and "Candide", sketches and lyrics for the revue "Pins and Needles", and book and lyrics for the 1954 New York Drama Critics award winning "The Golden Apple". Joining ASCAP in 1940, his chief musical collaborators included Vernon Duke, Earl Robinson, Duke Ellington, Jerome Moross, Bronislau Kaper and Douglas Moore.- Actress
Elinor Fair was born Elinor Virginia Crowe on December 21, 1903 in Richmond, Virginia. Sadly her only brother died in 1904 shortly before his third birthday. The family moved to Seattle, Washington where her father was the manager of a credit card company. After her parents divorced Elinor and her mother lived in Paris, France. When she was a child she began her career performing in vaudeville. Her dream was to become a opera star. At the age of twelve she made her film debut in the 1916 drama The End Of The Trail. Fox offered her a five year contract in 1919. Elinor appeared in the films Loves Is Love and Be A Little Sport, and The Miracle Man with Lon Chaney. The beautiful brunette started dating Lew Cody, her costar in Wait For Me. In 1924 she was chosen as one of the Wampas Baby Stars along with Clara Bow. Then Cecille B. Demile cast her in his 1926 film The Volga Boatman costarring William Boyd. She and William fell in love and were married in January of 1926. They worked together in the films The Yankee Clipper and Jim The Conqueror. For a while Elinor put her career on hold and became a full-time housewife. Unfortunately her marriage to William ended in 1930. She returned to acting with a role in the 1932 adventure 45 Calibre Echo. That same year she became engaged to actor Frank Clark. Following a fight with Frank she impulsively married Thomas W. Daniels, a stunt man, on December 27, 1932.
The marriage was annulled a few weeks later. Her final film was the 1934 comedy Broadway Bill. Surprisingly she remarried Thomas W. Daniels in July of 1934. Eleven months later she divorced him claiming he "criticized her and called her unseemly names." By this time she was bankrupt and suffering from alcoholism. Her ex-husband William Boyd began helping her financially. In December of 1936 she was found wandering the streets looking shabby and confused. Elinor was taken to a hospital where she was diagnosed with an acute nervous condition. She married actor Jack White in Las Vegas in 1941. After they divorced in 1944 she married Merle Aubert Martin. The couple moved to Seattle, Washington but Merle struggled to find work. During the early 1950s Elinor was diagnosed with a liver condition caused by her chronic alcoholism. She and her husband briefly returned to California in 1956 ask her Hollywood friends for financial help. Tragically she was hospitalized in the Spring of 1957 and went into a hepatic coma. On April 26, 1957 Elinor died from cirrhosis of the liver at the age of fifty-three. She was cremated and her ashes were given to her husband.- Henry Pleasant was born on 22 September 1882 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Ties of Blood (1921) and Secret Sorrow (1921). He was married to Gladys Lambert and Levette Mack. He died on 10 March 1958 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
British leading man of primarily American films, one of the great stars of the Golden Age. Raised in Ealing, the son of a successful silk merchant, he attended boarding school in Sussex, where he discovered amateur theatre. He intended to attend Cambridge and become an engineer, but his father's death cost him the financial support necessary. He joined the London Scottish Regionals and at the outbreak of World War I was sent to France. Seriously wounded at the battle of Messines--he was gassed--he was invalided out of service scarcely two months after shipping out for France. Upon his recovery he tried to enter the consular service, but a chance encounter got him a small role in a London play. He dropped other plans and concentrated on the theatre, and was rewarded with a succession of increasingly prominent parts. He made extra money appearing in a few minor films, and in 1920 set out for New York in hopes of finding greater fortune there than in war-depressed England. After two years of impoverishment he was cast in a Broadway hit, "La Tendresse". Director Henry King spotted him in the show and cast him as Lillian Gish's leading man in The White Sister (1923). His success in the film led to a contract with Samuel Goldwyn, and his career as a Hollywood leading man was underway. He became a vastly popular star of silent films, in romances as well as adventure films. The coming of sound made his extraordinarily beautiful speaking voice even more important to the film industry. He played sophisticated, thoughtful characters of integrity with enormous aplomb, and swashbuckled expertly when called to do so in films like The Prisoner of Zenda (1937). A decade later he received an Academy Award for his splendid portrayal of a tormented actor in A Double Life (1947). Much of his later career was devoted to "The Halls of Ivy", a radio show that later was transferred to television The Halls of Ivy (1954). He continued to work until nearly the end of his life, which came in 1958 after a brief lung illness. He was survived by his second wife, actress Benita Hume, and their daughter Juliet Benita Colman.- Princess Alexandra was born on 17 May 1891 in Richmond-upon-Thames, London, England, UK. She was married to Prince Arthur of Connaught. She died on 26 February 1959 in London, England, UK.
- Director
- Music Department
- Producer
Horace Shepherd was born on 10 October 1892 in Richmond, Surrey, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for The Music Maker (1936), The Flamingo Affair (1948) and Love on Leave (1940). He died on 10 March 1960 in Holloway, London, England, UK.- Producer
- Actor
- Director
Mack Sennett was born Michael Sinnott on January 17, 1880 in Danville, Quebec, Canada, to Irish immigrant farmers. When he was 17, his parents moved the family to East Berlin, Connecticut, and he became a laborer at American Iron Works, a job he continued when they moved to Northampton, Massachusetts. He happened to meet Marie Dressler in 1902, and through her went to New York City to attempt for a career on the stage. He managed some burlesque and chorus-boy parts. In 1908, he began acting in Biograph films. His work there lasted until 1911; it included being directed by D.W. Griffith and acting with Mary Pickford and Mabel Normand. By 1910, he was directing.
In 1912, he and two bookies-turned-producers--Adam Kessel and Charles Bauman--formed the Keystone Film Company. Sennett brought Mabel Normand with him and soon added Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Chester Conklin Al St. John, Slim Summerville, Minta Durfee and Charles Chaplin (who was directed by Sennett in 35 comedies during 1914). He told Chaplin, "We have no scenario--we get an idea, then follow the natural sequence of events until it leads up to a chase, which is the essence of our comedy." To the slapstick chase gags of the Keystone Kops were gradually added the Bathing Beauties and the Kid Komedies. In 1915 he, Griffith and Thomas H. Ince formed Triangle Films.
Comedy moved from improvisational slapstick to scripted situations. Stars like Bobby Vernon and Gloria Swanson joined him. In 1917, he formed Mack Sennett Comedies, distributing through Paramount--and later Pathe--and launching another star, Harry Langdon. When Sennett returned to Paramount in 1932, he produced shorts featuring W.C. Fields and musical ones with Bing Crosby. After directing his only Buster Keaton film, The Timid Young Man (1935), he returned to Canada a pauper. In 1937, he was awarded a special Oscar--"to the master of fun, discoverer of stars... for his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen."
Mack Sennett died at age 80 on November 5, 1960 in Woodland Hills, California, and was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. For his contributions to the motion picture industry, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.- Actor
- Soundtrack
James Alexander was born in Indiana, on May 20, 1914. He appeared in only a few motion pictures during his brief career and did not start acting until he was 38 years old, with his film debut in the 1952 motion picture "Jack and the Beanstalk", starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
His later credits include "Port of Hell" (1954), "Treasure of Ruby Hills" (1955), "Las Vegas Shakedown" (1955), and "Night Freight" (1955). He had roles in the television shows "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok" and "The Abbott and Costello Show." He died in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 46.- Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Alan Campbell was born on 21 February 1904 in Richmond, Virginia, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for A Star Is Born (1937), A Star Is Born (1954) and The Little Foxes (1941). He was married to Dorothy Parker. He died on 14 June 1963 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Bernard Cyril Freyberg was born in Richmond, Surrey, on March 21st 1889
- the son of a Surveyor. At the age of two, he and his parents settled
In February 1917, he was appointed Brigadier General, the youngest in the British Army at that time. By the end of the war, he had been awarded two bars to his Distinguished Service Order, and the Order of the Companions of St. Michael and St. George.
Upon demobilisation in 1919, he was commissioned into the Regular Army, and served in the Grenadier Guards - as well as in staff positions. Due to heart problems from his war service, he retired with the rank of Major General in 1937, having been awarded the Order of the Bath in 1936. In 1940, he was granted command of the 2nd New Zealand Division, and served in Egypt and Greece. In 1942, he was promoted to Lieutenant General, and given a knighthood.
Upon retirement in 1946, he was governor-general of New Zealand, and the holder of the US Legion of Merit. In 1951, he was given the title of Baron Freyberg of Wellington and Munstead. He died on July 4th 1963, in Windsor, as a result of a rupture to one of his wounds from the Gallipoli campaign, leaving a widow and son.