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- George Frederick Root was born on 30 August 1825 in Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA. George Frederick was married to Mary Olive Woodman. George Frederick died on 6 August 1895 in Bailey Island, Maine, USA.
- Art Department
- Writer
As youths, Joseph Stringer and his brother, Jack, were merchant sailors in the West Indies trade, Joseph as a ship's carpenter, Jack as a ship's musician (fiddler). In 1891, while his ship was in Boston, he met his soon-to-be wife, a nanny for a Methuen, MA, family, who convinced him to leave the sea and work as a carpenter in Methuen. They traveled in 1894 to his wife's home on Prince Edward Island, Canada, for the birth of their first child. When the child was a year old, they traveled around Cape Horn and settled in fast-growing California. Stringer again took up the carpentry trade in Los Angeles, where he made the acquaintance of D.W. Griffith, and was hired as a motion picture set carpenter. Stringer's special skill was in creating miniature sets for "long shots", especially miniature ships and maritime scenes. He remained in the movie industry until his retirement well into the 1930's.- Ralph Forster was born on 19 October 1863 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Adam Bede (1918), The Passionate Friends (1922) and The Lonely Lady of Grosvenor Square (1922). He died on 5 January 1928 in Lewisham, London, England, UK.
- Poet and illustrator Oliver Herford was born in 1863 in Sheffield, England. When Oliver was six his father, a Unitarian minister, was offered a job in the US and moved the family there, first to Boston and later to Chicago. Oliver was educated in England (Lancaster College) and the US (Antioch College in Ohio). He studied art at the Slade School in London and at Julien's in Paris. In 1893 he began his carer as a writer and illustrator in New York with jobs at "Life" and "Harper's Weekly", among other publications. He married poet and playwright Margaret Regan in 1904. He died in New York City in 1935, and his wife Margaret died not long after.
- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
In the US from the age of 10, he first worked as a journalist-illustrator for the New York World. Interviewing Thomas A. Edison, he so impressed the inventor with his drawings that Edison suggested he allow some of them to be photographed by the Kinetograph camera. The result was a short film, Edison Drawn by 'World' Artist (1896). Fascinated by the new medium, Blackton bought a Kinetoscope from Edison, went into partnership with a friend, Albert E. Smith, and exhibited films with it. In 1897 they added a third partner, William T. Rock, and the young partners converted the projector into a motion-picture camera and established the Vitagraph Company. They started film production in an open-air studio on the roof of the Morse Building at 140 Nassau Street, New York City. Their first film, The Burglar on the Roof (1898), was about 50 feet long, with Blackton playing the leading role. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, they produced Tearing Down the Spanish Flag (1898), probably the world's first propaganda film. Smith operated the camera and Blackton was again the actor, tearing down the Spanish flag and raising the Stars and Stripes to the top of a flagpole. Blackton and his partners continued filming fake and real news events, ranging from Spanish-American War footage to coverage of local fires and crimes in New York City. They constantly expanded their activities and soon moved into the world's first glass-enclosed studios, in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Blackton directed most of the production of this early period, including such story films as A Gentleman of France (1905) and Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman (1905), two milestones in the development of the American feature film. Blackton pioneered the single-frame (one turn, one picture) technique in cinema animation, turning out a number of animated cartoons between 1906 and 1910, including the immensely successful Humorous Phases of Funny Faces (1906), The Haunted Hotel (1907), and The Magic Fountain Pen (1909). He also introduced (in 1908, before Griffith) the close shot, a camera position between the close-up and the medium shot. Like Griffith, he emphasized film editing, setting his films apart from most of the products of this very early period. His film editing was especially noteworthy in his 'Scenes Of True Life' series, a realistic group of films he directed beginning in 1908. Next to Griffith, Blackton was probably the most innovative and creative force in the development of the motion picture art, not only as the director of hundreds of films but also as organizer, producer, actor, and animator. He pioneered the production of two- and three-reel comedies and starred in one such series as a character called Happy Hooligan. Beginning in 1908, he also pioneered the American production of distinguished stage adaptations, including many Shakespeare plays and historical re-creations. When the output at Vitagraph became too heavy for one man to handle, he initiated the system (later to be adopted by Ince) of overseeing the work of several underling directors as production supervisor. In 1917 he left active work with Vitagraph and began independent productions. During WWI, he directed and produced a series of patriotic propaganda films, the most famous of which, and which he also wrote, was The Battle Cry of Peace (1915), based on a hypothetical attack on New York City by a foreign invader. Blackton later went to England, where he directed a number of costume pageants, two of them experiments in color. When Vitagraph was absorbed by Warner Bros. in 1926, Blackton retired. He lost his entire fortune in the 1929 crash and was forced to seek work on a government project in California. Later he was hired as director of production at the Anglo-American Film Company, where he worked until his death. Between 1900 and 1915, Blackton was president of the Vitaphone Company, a manufacturer of record players. In 1915 he organized and became president of the Motion Picture Board of Trade, later known as the Association of Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America. He was also publisher and editor of Motion Picture Magazine, one of America's first film-fan publications.- George Elton was born on 22 March 1875 in Sheffield, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Glorious Morning (1938). He died on 14 December 1942 in Acton, London, England, UK.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
The daughter of actor-manager Samuel Rupert Woods and actress Lillie Roberts, Ethel Griffies began her own stage career at the age of 3. She was 21 when she finally made her London debut in 1899, and 46 when she made her first Broadway appearance in "Havoc" (1924). Discounting a tentative stab at filmmaking in 1917, she made her movie bow in 1930, repeating her stage role in Old English (1930). Habitually cast as a crotchety old lady with the proverbial golden heart, she alternated between bits and prominently featured roles for the next 35 years. Her larger parts included Grace Poole in both the 1934 (Jane Eyre (1934)) and 1943 (Jane Eyre (1943)) versions of "Jane Eyre" and "Mrs. Bundy", the amateur ornithologist in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963). Every so often she'd take a sabbatical from film work to concentrate on the stage; she made her last Broadway appearance in 1967, at which time she was England's oldest working actress. Presumably at the invitation of fellow Briton Arthur Treacher, Ethel was a frequent guest on TV's The Merv Griffin Show (1962), never failing to bring down the house with her wickedly witty comments on her 80 years in show business.- Donovan Bayley was born on 16 February 1881 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for John Forrest Finds Himself (1920) and The Homemaker (1919). He died in 1939 in Elham, Kent, England, UK.
- Zara Clinton was born on 30 June 1882 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Sunrise (1926) and Painted Daughters (1925). She was married to F. Stuart Whyte. She died on 10 April 1956 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK.
- Horace Sinclair was born on 16 February 1883 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for ...One Third of a Nation... (1939). He died on 19 February 1949 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Romaine Callender was born on 17 February 1883 in Sheffield, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Alibi for Murder (1936), Sharpshooters (1938) and Captain Caution (1940). He died on 5 February 1976 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Ted Edwards was born on 9 May 1884 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Maniac (1934), Fires of Youth (1924) and Polygamy (1936). He died on 29 September 1945 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Stainless Stephen - radio and variety comedian. Arthur Clifford Bayne, a schoolteacher at Crookes Endowed School, made his first stage appearance as "Stainless Stephen" at the Palace, Luton, in September 1921. His London debut was at the Victoria Palace in July 1930. During his act he wore a bowler hat, white tie and a stainless steel waistcoat made in his home town of Sheffield.
- Blossom was born on 21 May 1895 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Home Construction (1926), Broadcasting (1927) and Osculation (1927). She died in 1934 in Kensington, London, England, UK.
- Douglas Burbidge was born on 20 December 1895 in Sheffield, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Sweet Success (1936) and A Voice Said 'Good Night' (1939). He died on 20 June 1959 in London, England, UK.
- Douglas Ives was born on 16 August 1898 in Sheffield, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Brandy for the Parson (1952), The History of Mr. Polly (1959) and ITV Television Playhouse (1955). He died on 6 March 1969 in London, England, UK.
- Eleanor Hallam was born on 5 September 1898 in Totley, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Melody of My Heart (1936), What the Butler Saw (1950) and Those Kids from Town (1942). She died in 1996 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
- Klifton Court was born on 31 May 1899 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Eight Cylinder Love (1934). He died in 1963 in Lambeth, London, England, UK.
- Helena Pickard was born on 13 October 1900 in Handsworth, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Lodger (1944), The Lady with a Lamp (1951) and Vanity Fair (1956). She was married to Herbert Rothbarth and Cedric Hardwicke. She died on 27 September 1959 in Oxfordshire, England, UK.
- Eileen Livesey was born on 17 January 1901 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for La mille et deuxième nuit (1933). She was married to Jack Livesey. She died on 4 February 1995 in Brent, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Phyllis Carr was born on 18 October 1901 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Safe (1930). She died on 19 October 1976 in Black Isle, Ross & Cromarty, Scotland, UK.
- Champion long distance runner Ernest "Ernie" Harper was born on August 2, 1902 in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England. Harper finished fifth in the 1,000 meter race and fourth in the individual cross country event at the 1924 Olympics. Ernest subsequently finished 22nd in the 1928 Olympic marathon and went on to win a silver medal for England by placing second in the men's marathon at the 1936 Olympic games in Berlin, Germany. Moreover, Harper not only was the Northern Counties champion for the years 1923, 1925-1926, and 1928-1930, but also finished second in the six miles event at the 1930 British Empire Games, won the Amateur Athletics Association ten miles title in 1923, 1926-1927, and 1929, and represented England in the International Cross Country Championships for nine successive years from 1923 to 1931 (Harper won the English title in both 1927 and 1929 as well as won the individual competition in 1926). In addition, Ernest ran for the Hallamshire Harriers athletic club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Harper eventually turned pro in 1939. Ernest died at age 77 on October 9, 1979 in Tullamarine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Eddie Laughton was born on 20 June 1903 in Sheffield, Yorkshire [now South Yorkshire], England, UK. He was an actor, known for Highway Patrol (1938), Girls of the Road (1940) and My Son Is a Criminal (1939). He was married to Dorothea M. Appel, Mary Eaton and Lytha M. Pratt McPhail. He died on 21 March 1952 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Frank Barnes was born on 17 June 1904 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Count of Monte Cristo (1956). He was married to Elizabeth Gilbert and Daphne Maddox. He died in 1986 in Surrey, England, UK.
- Reginald Dixon was born on 16 October 1904 in Sheffield, England, UK. He died on 9 May 1985 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK.
- Max Melford was born on 28 November 1904 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Echo of Applause: An Excursion Into Motion Pictures (1946). He died in 1986 in Reading, Berkshire, England, UK.
- Douglas Birkenshaw was born on 27 January 1906 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Collaborators (1973) and The Discovery of Television (1966).
- Additional Crew
Phyllis Loughton was born on 23 August 1907 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She is known for Reap the Wild Wind (1942), The Dark Mirror (1946) and Song of Surrender (1949). She was married to George Seaton. She died on 20 September 1987 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Douglas Ward was born on 6 March 1908 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Mizzen Cross Trees (1937), Balalaika (1948) and Derby Day (1937). He died in 1980 in Camden, London, England, UK.
- Angus Bethune was born on 10 September 1908 in Sheffield, Tasmania, Australia. He was married to Alexandra Perronet Pritchard. He died on 22 August 2004 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
- Sammy Wragg was born on 26 March 1909 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Lucky Blaze (1933). He died on 21 November 1983 in Newbury, Berkshire, England, UK.
- Ben Warriss was born on 29 May 1909 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Rhythm Serenade (1943), Double Cross (1956) and Stick 'Em Up (1950). He was married to Virginia Vernon and Meggie Eaton. He died on 14 January 1993 in Twickenham, England, UK.
- Vi Tomlinson was born on 13 July 1909 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She died in 1994 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Jimmy Jewel was born on 4 December 1909 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for The Avengers (1961), Nearest and Dearest (1972) and Thicker Than Water (1968). He was married to Belle Bluett. He died on 3 December 1995 in London, England, UK.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Phyllis Robins was born on 1 February 1910 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Murder at the Cabaret (1936), Showtime (1946) and I Became a Criminal (1947). She died on 16 March 1982 in Buckinghamshire, England, UK.- The movie character actor Skelton Knaggs, who was possessed of one of the most unusual visages ever to grace motion pictures, was born Skelton Barnaby Knaggs in the Hillsborough district of Sheffield, England on June 27, 1911. Before he became known for his unusual physical appearance that was put to good use in many horror films and thrillers, he was a man of the theater: he learned his craft after moving to London to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Upon graduation, he became a Shakespearean actor, appearing on stage in Shakespeare's Cymbeline, but he is known as a movie actor, first plying that trade in English quota quickies in the 1930s, making his debut in The High Command (1936), in support of Lionel Atwill. At the end of the decade, as the war clouds gathered over Europe, he appeared in Michael Powell's U-Boat 29 (1939) with Conrad Veidt.
After moving to Los Angeles, California, Knaggs found steady work in Hollywood movies. His diminutive frame and eccentric-looking looking appearance led to him being type-cast in sinister parts, usually in horror movies. Knaggs was employed by directors for his ability to inject a menacing mood into a picture through his unique presence alone.
He made his American film debut in the 1939 Poverty Row potboiler Torture Ship (1939) for the Producers Distributing Corporation. Knaggs appeared as a murderer shanghaied by a mad doctor played by Irving Pichel, who indulged his penchant for medical research on a ship stocked with criminals as a floating laboratory, the villains used as guinea pigs for glandular experiments. He next appeared in the Victor McLaglen picture Diamond Frontier (1940) at Universal. He did not appear again in motion pictures until 1943, when he was cast in Thumbs Up (1943) at Republic. From then on, he had a busy movie career for the next 12 years.
Along with his classical acting training, Knaggs' looks and demeanor (to say nothing about that memorable name) enabled him to make the transition to higher-budgeted films produced by the major studios, although he remained typecast in creepy roles. He became a regular supporting player in Universal Pictures B horror picture unit, popping up in such classics of the genre as House of Dracula (1945) (in which he appeared as the rabble rouser "Steinmuhl"). Other memorable roles came in The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) and Terror by Night (1946), the latter movie being the penultimate entry in the Basil Rathbone & Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes series at Universal. In the Holmes movie, Knaggs has a role as a stealthy assassin.
Typed in malevolent supporting parts from the beginning of his career in Hollywood, it was a genre ghetto that he could not break out of. However, it did provide him with the finest role of his career, and the one part that came closest to a starring role, the mute Finn in producer Val Lewton's The Ghost Ship (1943) (directed by Mark Robson). Knaggs played a Finnish seaman in the psychological thriller (a mute, though his character narrates the film's key sections with an internal voice-over monologue). Despite turning in a fine performance in one of the seminal classics of the horror genre, Knaggs' reputation did not gain much luster as "The Ghost Ship" was withdrawn from distribution soon after its release due to legal problems, not going back into circulation until the mid-1990s.
He played villains in Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946) and Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) (in which the spectacularly unattractive Knaggs mocks Boris Karloff's "gruesome" face).
Knaggs briefly returned to England in the late 1940s, marrying Thelma Crawshaw in 1949. Returning to Hollywood as the decade of the 1950s approached, Knaggs appeared the lab assistant of mad doctor 'Alan Napier' in the 1949 Bowery Boys film "Master Minds" (featuring 'Glenn Strange' as the monster "Atlas"), as a villain in Columbia's science-fiction serial Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (1951), and as one of the sidekicks of Robert Newton's Blackbeard, the Pirate (1952). The last film in which he appeared was Fritz Lang's Moonfleet (1955).
In 1955, Knaggs died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 43. His like will likely never be seen again! - Margery Pickard was born on 17 December 1911 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Dark Journey (1937), Holiday Lovers (1932) and Sing As We Go! (1934). She was married to Dr. Leonard Heatley Woods. She died on 11 March 1991 in Chichester, Sussex, England, UK.
- Terry Cantor was born on 8 January 1912 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Queenie's Castle (1970), All Creatures Great and Small (1978) and Oh No, It's Selwyn Froggitt (1974). He was married to Ada Hayes (stage name: Adele Cantor). He died on 7 April 1979 in Palma, Mallorca, Spain.
- Jack Reynolds was born on 6 April 1912 in Sheffield, England, UK.
- Philip Allen was born on 8 July 1912 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was married to Marjorie Brenda Coe. He died on 27 November 2007 in Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK.
- Rae Allan was born on 4 April 1915 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Budds of Paragon Row (1959) and Gallows Glorious (1938). She died in 1988 in Westminster, London, England, UK.
- Roy Shaw was born on 8 July 1918 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Your Sunday Paper (1967), Tonight (1975) and Saturday Review (1986). He was married to Gwenyth Baron. He died on 15 May 2012 in Hove, East Sussex, England, UK.
- Actor
- Writer
Wilfred Harrison was born on 22 August 1918 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Calendar Girls (2003), Prime Suspect (1991) and Emmerdale Farm (1972). He died on 22 November 2009 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, UK.- Norman Mitchell was born on 27 August 1918 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), Oliver! (1968) and Beryl's Lot (1973). He was married to Pauline Southcombe and Laura Deane. He died on 19 March 2001 in Downham Market, Norfolk, England, UK.
- Jimmy Fletcher was born on 28 November 1918 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He died in 1994 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK.
- Dickie Arnold was born on 31 December 1918 in Sheffield, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Magnificent Evans (1984), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and How We Used to Live (1968). He died on 6 January 1990 in Leeds, England, UK.
- Production Designer
Stephen Doncaster was born on 11 May 1919 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a production designer, known for The Avengers (1961), Undermind (1965) and Redcap (1964). He was married to Margaret Wendy Turner. He died on 13 February 2018 in Stockport, Cheshire, England, UK.- Peggy Evans was born on 10 January 1921 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Blue Lamp (1950), Penny and the Pownall Case (1948) and Murder at 3am (1953). She was married to Peter Stevens and Michael Howard. She died on 26 July 2015.
- John Gatenby Bolton was born on 5 June 1922 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was married to Letty Bolton. He died on 6 July 1993 in Buderim, Queensland, Australia.
- Alan Gibson was born on 28 May 1923 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Christian Forum (1954), Westward Ho! (1953) and The World About Us (1967). He was married to Rosemary King and Olwen Thomas. He died on 10 April 1997 in Taunton, Somerset, England, UK.