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1-50 of 660
- Cesare Zoppetti was born on 1 January 1878 in Genoa, Italy. He was an actor, known for Il fu Mattia Pascal (1937), La riva dei bruti (1931) and Stasera alle undici (1938). He died on 15 March 1940 in Rome, Italy.
- Peyo Yavorov was born on 1 January 1878 in Chirpan, Kingdom of Bulgaria. He was a writer, known for Dve hubavi ochi (2001). He was married to Lora Karavelova. He died on 29 October 1914 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
Max Nivelli was born on 1 January 1878 in Katowice, Slaskie, Poland. He is known for Die Tochter des Bajazzo (1919), Liebe und Ehe (1923) and Die Geächteten (1919).- Actor
- Director
Emil Biron was born on 1 January 1878 in Elberfeld, Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Die Weber (1927), Katinka (1918) and Alkohol (1920). He died on 18 January 1952 in Potsdam, Germany.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Ernest Bosnjak was born on 1 January 1878 in Sombor, Austria-Hungary [now Serbia]. He was a producer and director, known for Lazi mene radi (1923). He died on 9 August 1963 in Sombor, Serbia, Yugoslavia.- Leo Lenz was born on 2 January 1878 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Leo was a writer, known for Ehe in Dosen (1939), Der schwarze Husar (1932) and Ehe man Ehemann wird (1941). Leo died on 29 August 1962 in East Berlin, East Germany.
- John Cumberland was born on 2 January 1878 in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. He was an actor, known for A Gay Old Dog (1919), Baby Mine (1917) and The Stimulating Mrs. Barton (1920). He died on 2 July 1954 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Mark Arnshtein was born on 2 January 1878 in Warsaw, Poland. He was a writer, known for Overture to Glory (1940). He died on 4 May 1943 in Warsaw Ghetto, Treblinka, Poland.
- Gerdt von Bassewitz was born on 4 January 1878 in Allewind, Kingdom of Württemberg. He was a writer, known for Peterchens Mondfahrt (1990), Peterchen's Mondfahrt (1959) and Peterchens Mondfahrt (1992). He died on 6 February 1923 in Berlin, Germany.
- A.E. Coppard was born on 4 January 1878 in Folkstone, Kent, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Country Matters (1972), Lux Video Theatre (1950) and Robert Montgomery Presents (1950). He died on 13 January 1957 in London, England, UK.
- Actor
C.B. Steele was born on 4 January 1878 in Illinois, USA. He was an actor. He died on 5 March 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Augustus John was born on 4 January 1878 in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK. He was married to Nettleship, Ida. He died on 31 October 1961.
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Rosa Grünberg was born on 4 January 1878 in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an actress, known for Loving Couples (1964), Amerikaminnen (1908) and Skilda tiders danser (1909). She was married to Yngve Sjöstedt. She died on 11 April 1960.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Carl Sandburg was born on 6 January 1878 in Galesburg, Illinois, USA. He was a writer, known for The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965), American Playhouse (1980) and You Are There (1953). He was married to Lilian Steichen. He died on 22 July 1967 in Flat Rock, North Carolina, USA.- Auguste Bailly was born on 8 January 1878 in Paris, France. Auguste was a writer, known for Naples au baiser de feu (1925), Naples Under the Kiss of Fire (1937) and Flame and the Flesh (1954). Auguste was married to Hortense Sampigny. Auguste died on 22 April 1967 in Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvaux, Jura, France.
- Jean Moreau was born on 8 January 1878 in Sisak, Croatia-Slavonia, Austria-Hungary [now Croatia]. He was an actor, known for Die Toten rächen sich selbst (1920), Flimmersterne (1919) and Alkohol (1920). He died on 28 June 1952 in Berlin, Germany.
- Curt Cappi was born on 8 January 1878 in Weimar, Germany. He was an actor, known for Marriage in Name Only (1930), Das Achtgroschenmädel, Teil 1 (1921) and Der Bankspion (1921). He died on 7 October 1964 in Linz, Austria.
- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Elmer Harris was born on 11 January 1878 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Ransom (1928), No More Women (1924) and Cross Country Cruise (1934). He was married to Wilhelmina B. Henderson. He died on 6 September 1966 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Sydney Jarvis was born on 11 January 1878 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Loose Ankles (1930), Climbing the Golden Stairs (1929) and Casey at the Bat (1927). He was married to Virginia Dare. He died on 6 June 1939 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Bert Van Tuyle was born on 11 January 1878 in New York, USA. He was a director and actor, known for Something New (1920), The Grub Stake (1923) and The Girl from God's Country (1921). He was married to Nell Shipman. He died on 13 June 1951 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
Bert Byrne was born on 11 January 1878 in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, UK. He was an actor. He died in 1948 in Lambeth, London, England, UK.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
Ferenc Molnár was born on 12 January 1878 in Budapest, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was a writer and actor, known for Carousel, Tales of Manhattan (1942) and I'll Be Yours (1947). He was married to Lili Darvas, Sári Fedák and Margit Vészi. He died on 1 April 1952 in New York City, New York, USA.- William Marion was born on 12 January 1878 in California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Hope Diamond Mystery (1921), One Hour (1917) and The Devil to Pay (1920). He died on 3 January 1957 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Jack Pratt was born on 12 January 1878 in New Brunswick, Canada. He was an actor and director, known for Dan (1914), The Rip-Tide (1923) and A Man's Making (1915). He died on 24 December 1938 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Harry Bernard was born on 13 January 1878 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Shadow (1937), Saps at Sea (1940) and Bedtime Worries (1933). He died on 4 November 1940 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actress
- Writer
Elsa Bassermann was born on 14 January 1878 in Leipzig, Germany. She was an actress and writer, known for Der eiserne Wille (1917), Dr. Schotte (1918) and Das Werk seines Lebens (1919). She was married to Albert Bassermann. She died on 30 May 1961 in Baden-Baden, Germany.- Erwin Connelly was born on 14 January 1878 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor, known for Sherlock Jr. (1924), The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) and Beggar on Horseback (1925). He was married to Jane Connelly. He died on 12 February 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Writer
- Actor
- Art Department
H.D.C. Pepler was born on 14 January 1878 in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Everyman (1937), The Pilgrim's Progress (1939) and Hansel and Gretel (1937). He died on 20 September 1951 in Ditchling Common, Sussex, England, UK.- Victor Segalen was born on 14 January 1878 in Brest, Finistère, France. He was a writer, known for Les Immémoriaux (1984). He was married to Yvonne Hebert and Yvonne Hébert. He died on 21 May 1919 in Huelgoat, Finistère, France.
- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Rolf Randolf was born on 15 January 1878 in Vienna, Austria. He was a director and producer, known for Kronprinz Rudolph oder: Das Geheimnis von Mayerling (1919), The Beggar from Cologne Cathedral (1927) and Rächendes Gift (1919). He died on 29 June 1941 in Vienna, Austria.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Born in New York City to a Judge of Special Sessions who was also president of a sewing machine company. Grew up on City Island, New York. Attended Hamilton Military Academy and turned down an appointment to West Point to attend New York Law School, where his law school classmates included future New York City mayor James J. Walker. After a boating accident which led to pneumonia, Carey wrote a play while recuperating and toured the country in it for three years, earning a great deal of money, all of which evaporated after his next play was a failure. In 1911, his friend Henry B. Walthall introduced him to director D.W. Griffith, for whom Carey was to make many films. Carey married twice, the second time to actress Olive Fuller Golden (aka Olive Carey, who introduced him to future director John Ford. Carey influenced Universal Studios head Carl Laemmle to use Ford as a director, and a partnership was born that lasted until a rift in the friendship in 1921. During this time, Carey grew into one of the most popular Western stars of the early motion picture, occasionally writing and directing films as well. In the '30s he moved slowly into character roles and was nominated for an Oscar for one of them, the President of the Senate in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). He worked once more with Ford, in The Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), and appeared once with his son, Harry Carey Jr., in Howard Hawks's Red River (1948). He died after a protracted bout with emphysema and cancer. Ford dedicated his remake of 3 Godfathers (1948) "To Harry Carey--Bright Star Of The Early Western Sky."- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Entering the film industry almost at its beginning, Oscar Apfel began his career in 1911 as a director. He hit the big leagues in 1914 when he was given many prestigious assignments for Paramount Pictures, often in collaboration with Cecil B. DeMille. In 1916, he switched to Fox, and then freelanced for many smaller studios. His directing career began to fizzle out in the 1920s, and he wound up churning out low-budget features for minor studios. He retired from directing in 1927 and began a new career as a character actor, often cast as a senior government official, banker, businessman or other type of authority figure.- John C. McCallum was born on 17 January 1878 in Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for The Voice from the Sky (1929). He died on 1 December 1953 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Will Levington Comfort was born on 17 January 1878 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. Will Levington was a writer, known for Somewhere in Sonora (1933), Somewhere in Sonora (1927) and The Angel of Contention (1914). Will Levington was married to Adith Duffie-Mulholland. Will Levington died on 2 November 1932 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Nap de la Mar was born on 17 January 1878 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He was married to Sien De la Mar-Kloppers. He died on 3 July 1930 in Zeist, Utrecht, Netherlands.
- Anton Hansen Tammsaare was born on 18 January 1878 in Albu, Järvamaa, Estonia. He was a writer, known for Kõrboja peremees (1979), Põrgupõhja uus Vanapagan (1964) and Indrek (1976). He died on 1 March 1940 in Tallinn, Estonia.
- Suzanne Goldstein was born on 18 January 1878 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for The Heir of the Lagarderes (1913), Les larmes du pardon (1919) and Engaged in Spite of Themselves (1911). She died on 27 November 1969 in Montmorency, Val-d'Oise, France.
- Tom Fortune was born on 18 January 1878 in Toronto, Canada. He was an actor, known for Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight? (1909), A Girl of the West (1912) and Slim Driscoll, Samaritan (1913). He died on 16 March 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actress
Jennie Mac (born Yachna Sosa Shimon, later known as Jennie Cecile Simon and Jennie Simon MacMahon) was born in Tsarist Russia into a Jewish family that would emigrate to the United States.
She began her acting career in 1931 at the age of 53 after the death of her husband, William MacMahon. Her daughter, Aline MacMahon, was a well-known film and stage actress who encouraged her mother's new career. Jennie Mac studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She often appeared in the films of her nephew, S. Sylvan Simon.
She died in 1984, several weeks before her 107th birthday, at her home in Beverly Hills.- Rudolf Ritter was born on 19 January 1878 in Brüx, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Most, Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Der Wilderer (1926). He died on 3 June 1966 in Gaildorf, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
- Scottish-born Finlay Currie was a former church organist and choirmaster, who made his stage debut at 20 years of age. It took him 34 more years before making his first film, but he worked steadily for another 30 years after that. Although he was a large, imposing figure, with a rich, deep voice and somewhat authoritarian demeanor, he was seldom cast in villainous parts. He received great acclaim for his role as Magwitch in Great Expectations (1946), and one of his best remembered roles was that of Balthazar in Ben-Hur (1959). He was also Shunderson, Cary Grant's devoted servant with a secret past in People Will Talk (1951). Later in his life he became a much respected antiques dealer, specializing in coins and precious metals (coinage). He died in England at age 90. While his biggest Academy Award-winning film, Ben-Hur (1959) was in its final four+ months of filming, he became a widower when his only wife, Maude Courtney, passed away.
- Herbert Corthell was born on 20 January 1878 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Bombay Mail (1934), Hidden Enemy (1940) and Duke of the Navy (1942). He was married to Marion Corthell. He died on 23 January 1947 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Additional Crew
- Actress
Ruth St. Denis was born on 20 January 1878 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for The Fall of Babylon (1919), The Lily and the Rose (1915) and Look Your Best (1923). She was married to Ted Shawn. She died on 21 July 1968 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Actor
- Production Manager
Ernest Joy was born on 20 January 1878 in Iowa, USA. He was an actor and production manager, known for Cameo Kirby (1914), The Dancin' Fool (1920) and Joan the Woman (1916). He was married to Jessie Busley and Mabel Van Buren. He died on 12 February 1924 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
- Writer
Harry Weil was born on 20 January 1878 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He was an assistant director and actor, known for Circus Days (1923), Oliver Twist (1922) and A Voice in the Dark (1921). He died on 23 January 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Blanche Friderici was born on 21 January 1878 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for It Happened One Night (1934), Sadie Thompson (1928) and Secrets (1933). She was married to Donald Campbell. She died on 23 December 1933 in Visalia, California, USA.- Egon Friedell was born on 21 January 1878 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was a writer and actor, known for Die Bekehrung des Dr. Wundt (1914), Aus meiner Bibliothek (1969) and Die Marquise von Clermont (1922). He died on 16 March 1938 in Vienna, Austria.
- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
In a career that covered six decades, Constance Collier evolved into one of Broadway and London's finest tragediennes during the first half of the 1900s. While the regal, dark-featured beauty who bore classic Romanesque features enjoyed a transcontinental career like a number of her contemporaries, her theatre success did not encourage an enviable film career. It wasn't until her senior years that Constance engaged in a number of well-regarded supporting performances on screen. Later respect also came as one of Hollywood's premiere drama and voice coaches.
She was born Laura Constance Hardie in Windsor, Berkshire on January 22, 1878, the only child of Auguste Cheetham and Eliza Georgina (Collier) Hardie, both minor professional actors. Young Constance made her stage debut at the age of three as a fairy in a production of "A Midsummer Nights Dream" and the die was cast. By age 6 she was appearing with famed actor/manager Wilson Barrett in "The Silver King". An early break occurred in her teens (1893) when the tall, under-aged beauty was given consent by her parents to become a member of the famed George Edwardes-Hall "Gaiety Girls" dance troupe. Groomed extensively in singing, dancing and elocution, she managed to stand out among those others in the chorus line and went on to featured status in two of Edwardes-Hall's biggest hits, "A Gaiety Girl" and "The Shop Girl" (both 1894).
Legit ingénue roles in "Her Advocate", "Tommy Atkins" and "The Sign of the Cross" followed. Just after the turn of the century (1901) she was invited to join the theatre company of the esteemed Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who had been searching for a comparably tall leading lady to play opposite him. She remained with his company at His Majesty's Theatre for six years where she built up a formidable classical resumé. Alongside Sir Herbert in such plays as "Ulysses", "The Eternal City" and "Nero", Constance also proved a fine Shakespearean with her Olivia, Viola, Portia, Mistress Ford and Cleopatra at the top of the list. She also made a noteworthy Nancy Sykes in "Oliver Twist" which she toured extensively both here and abroad. During this time (1905), she married British-born actor Julian L'Estrange and together they became an internationally respected stage couple.
Ms. Collier made a successful American stage debut in 1908 with "Samson" at the Garrick Theatre in New York opposite well-known American actor/playwright William Gillette, thereby placing herself solidly among the most popular and respected actresses of the day. Among her subsequent Broadway offerings were "Israel" (1909), "Trelawney of the Wells" (1911), "Oliver Twist" (1912), "Othello" (1915) and "The Merry Wives of Windsor" (1917).
Sir Herbert and Constance both appeared as extras in the silent D.W. Griffith classic Intolerance (1916). While still in the U.S., he filmed Macbeth (1916) with Constance as his Lady Macbeth. Not only was the Shakespearean film poorly received but her starring appearances in two other silents released earlier that year, The Tongues of Men (1916) and The Code of Marcia Gray (1916), were also overlooked.
Tragedy struck in October of 1918. She and her husband, L'Estrange, had begun a Broadway run together of "The Ideal Husband" only a month earlier. During the run he contracted the deadly Spanish influenza which had spread worldwide and died of pneumonia at the untimely age of 40. The grief-stricken actress finished the play's run into November then returned to England where she appeared in the films The Impossible Woman (1919), Bleak House (1920) and The Bohemian Girl (1922). Among her London theatre successes were "Our Betters" (1923) at the Globe Theatre, which ran for over twelve months, and "Hamlet" wherein she played Queen Gertrude opposite John Barrymore's Great Dane (1925) at the Haymarket Theatre. Constance also moved into writing and penned her own play "Forever", which was based on the George L. Du Maurier novel "Peter Ibbetson". She then co-wrote with actor/friend Ivor Novello the play "The Rat" (1924), in which Novello starred and which Collier produced.
The advent of sound provided the exciting opportunity for the eloquent Collier to work in the U.S., but not necessarily as an actress. By helping established silent film stars transition into talkies, she became Hollywood's foremost drama and voice coach. Finding less and less time for stage work, she directed a Broadway production of "Camille" in 1931. She did, however, manage to appear in productions of "Peter Ibbetson" (1931), which she also staged, "Dinner at Eight (1932) and "Hay Fever" (1933) all in New York. Her final Broadway curtain call was taken as Madame Bernardi in "Aries Is Rising" (1939) at New York's Golden Theatre.
In later years, she continued to coach (among her students were Marilyn Monroe) and write, but she also found time to return to the large screen in a dozen or so films, usually providing stately support. She appeared in a range of movies from the Shirley Temple vehicle Wee Willie Winkie (1937) to the film noir piece The Dark Corner (1946). Better known roles during this period include those in Stage Door (1937), playing, quite appropriately and amusingly, the resident drama coach, An Ideal Husband (1947), excellent as Lady Markby, and Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948). Her last film was Whirlpool (1950).
Constance Collier died of natural causes in New York on April 25, 1955, and left behind her 1929 memoirs "Harlequinade". She had no children.- Ben Deeley, also known as J. Bernard Deeley and N. Bernard Deeley, according to various sources, grew up in Folsom, California. As a teenager, he competed to sign up 100 subscribers to the Sacramento Bee, which would earn him a free bicycle. He entered vaudeville in the 1900s, appearing in several blackface acts. For sixteen years, he wore blackface as the title character in an act entitled "The New Bell Boy." He also wrote the lyrics to several songs, including "The Alamo Rag" and "We've Kept the Golden Rule." Deeley entered films in 1914, beginning with comedy shorts. In early 1924, he returned to vaudeville, again in a blackface act.
He met his first wife, Maria Wayne, while doing vaudeville in Los Angeles. But they separated, and Wayne entered films. Deeley divorced her in Chicago, citing abandonment. He had already met actress Barbara La Marr, and they had appeared in a vaudeville act together. He married La Marr in New Jersey in 1918. But this marriage was also doomed. La Marr had married Philip Ainsworth in 1916, but they soon sued each other for divorce. Ainsworth was then sent to San Quentin, after passing bad checks. Eight months later, La Marr married Deeley. La Marr then contended her marriage to Deeley was not legal since she had not lived a year in Illinois. They separated, and La Marr filed for divorce, but eventually dropped the suit. She then sought an annulment, which was granted in 1920. Things got worse for Deeley when an attorney, Herman Roth, was arrested on extortion charges. The lawyer had threatened La Marr, telling her he planned to amend a divorce complaint he had filed on behalf of Deeley so as to include seven names of prominent film personalities (including Roscoe Arbuckle) as correspondents. Before these issues could be straightened out, Deeley died of double pneumonia in Los Angeles, on September 23, 1924. He was 46. - Born in the upstate New York town of Horseheads in 1878, William Desmond began his show business career in vaudeville and on the stage. He had his own theatrical company by the time he made his film debut in Kilmeny (1915). Starting out in dramatic parts, Desmond soon switched to westerns and action serials, and became a major western star. When the sound era began Desmond was almost 50 years old, and was soon relegated to supporting roles. He continued making films into the 1940s.