Birth name
William Churchill DeMille
Born July 25, 1878(1878-07-25)Washington, D.C.
DiedMarch 8, 1955 (aged 76)Playa del Ray, California
Spouse(s)Clara BerangerAnna Angela George (1903-1929)
ChildrenAnges DeMille (1905-1993)Peggy George (1908-1978)
Willam C. DeMille (July 25, 1878 – March 8, 1955) was a screenwriter and film director from the silent movie era through the early 1930s. He was also a noted playwright prior to moving into film.
DeMille was born in Washington, D.C to Henry Churchill DeMille (1853–1893), an Episcopal lay minister and playwright from North Carolina, and Matilda Beatrice Samuel (1853–1923), who was born to a Sephardic Jewish family in England but converted to her husband's faith. He was the elder brother of the versatile Cecil B. DeMille, who altered the spelling of his last name when he went to Hollywood, claiming that it fit better on marquees. (William continued to be known as "deMille," while his daughter Agnes chose "de Mille.") William received a bachelor's degree from Columbia University followed by graduate studies at the Academy of Dramatic Arts, at schools in Germany, and a second stint at Columbia studying under Brander Matthews.
In 1903 he married Anna Angela George, the daughter of notable economist Henry George. Anna bore William two children, choreographer Agnes de Mille (named after a younger sister who died in childhood) and actress Peggy George. Professionally, their life was stable. A successful Broadway playwright, William's works were regularly produced by the flamboyant impresario David Belasco. One notable production, The Warrens of Virginia (1907) featured future film star Mary Pickford and Cecil, both struggling actors playing minor roles. Cecil eventually moved to Hollywood and William followed suit. Though not as famous today as Cecil, he was one of the silents' most respected directors. And though most of his silents have been lost, 1921's Miss Lulu Bett shows a delicate touch in the telling of an impoverished spinster's misfortunes in a small town.
One of the writers involved in the film was Clara Beranger. At about this time, William also met Lorna Moon, an established New York author who also wrote sophisticated Hollywood comedies. In 1998, Richard de Mille, who had grown up in Cecil's household, revealed in the memoir My Secret Mother, Lorna Moon that William C. deMille was his father and screenwriter Moon his biological mother. Richard had been adopted by Cecil B. and Constance DeMille to avoid a family scandal. Apparently, William's wife never knew the truth of Richards's birth.
In addition to his filmmaking fame, William deMille was an early member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (His brother was a founding member.) He co-hosted the 1st Academy Awards and solo-hosted the 2nd Academy Awards. He also served as the president of the academy briefly. DeMille helped found the USC Film School in 1929, and after his East Coast theatrical career failed to revive in the early 1930s, he was active on the faculty there until his death. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6101 Hollywood Blvd.
DeMille died in 1955 while living in Playa del Rey, California and was interred in the Hollywood Cemetery.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Harold Lloyd filmography
Early films
The Old Monk's Tale (1913) (uncredited debut)
The Twelfth Juror (1913) (uncredited)
Cupid in a Dental Parlor (1913) (unconfirmed)
Hulda of Holland (1913) (uncredited)
His Chum the Baron (1913) (unconfirmed)
A Little Hero (1913) (uncredited)
Rory o' the Bogs (1913) (uncredited)
Twixt Love and Fire (1914) - also starring Fatty Arbuckle
Sealed Orders (1914) (unconfirmed)
Samson (1914) (uncredited)
The Sandhill Lovers (1914) (as Hal Lloyd)
The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) (uncredited)
Beyond His Fondest Hopes (1915)
Pete, the Pedal Polisher (1915)
Close-Cropped Clippings (1915)
Hogan's Romance Upset (1915) (uncredited)
Willie Runs the Park (1915)
Just Nuts (1915) - as Willie Work
Love, Loot and Crash (1915) (uncredited)
Their Social Splash (1915)
Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers (1915) - also starring Fatty Arbuckle
From Italy's Shores (1915)
Court House Crooks, or Courthouse Crooks (1915) - as Young Man Out of Work (uncredited)
The Hungry Actors (1915)
The Greater Courage (1915)
A Submarine Pirate (1915) - as Cook AND HE HAVES MORE
The Old Monk's Tale (1913) (uncredited debut)
The Twelfth Juror (1913) (uncredited)
Cupid in a Dental Parlor (1913) (unconfirmed)
Hulda of Holland (1913) (uncredited)
His Chum the Baron (1913) (unconfirmed)
A Little Hero (1913) (uncredited)
Rory o' the Bogs (1913) (uncredited)
Twixt Love and Fire (1914) - also starring Fatty Arbuckle
Sealed Orders (1914) (unconfirmed)
Samson (1914) (uncredited)
The Sandhill Lovers (1914) (as Hal Lloyd)
The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) (uncredited)
Beyond His Fondest Hopes (1915)
Pete, the Pedal Polisher (1915)
Close-Cropped Clippings (1915)
Hogan's Romance Upset (1915) (uncredited)
Willie Runs the Park (1915)
Just Nuts (1915) - as Willie Work
Love, Loot and Crash (1915) (uncredited)
Their Social Splash (1915)
Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers (1915) - also starring Fatty Arbuckle
From Italy's Shores (1915)
Court House Crooks, or Courthouse Crooks (1915) - as Young Man Out of Work (uncredited)
The Hungry Actors (1915)
The Greater Courage (1915)
A Submarine Pirate (1915) - as Cook AND HE HAVES MORE
Harold Lloyd
Renewed interest
The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection of DVDs, released November 2005This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted after Thursday, 3 November 2007.
Lloyd kept copyright control of most of his films and re-released them infrequently after his retirement. As a consequence, his reputation and public recognition suffered in comparison with Chaplin and Keaton, whose work has generally been more available.
Also, Lloyd's film character was so intimately associated with the 1920s era that attempts at revivals in 1940s and 1950s were poorly received, when audiences viewed the 1920s (and silent film in particular) as old-fashioned. In the early 1960s, Lloyd produced two compilation films, featuring scenes from his old comedies, Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy (1962) and The Funny Side of Life (1963).
These films were positively received and renewed interest in Lloyd, helping to restore Lloyd's status among film historians. Throughout his later years he screened his films for audiences at special charity and educational events, to great acclaim.
Following his death, most of his feature films were marketed by Time-Life Films and shown frequently on television, but these were poorly presented, with intrusive narration and insensitive musical scores. Through the efforts of Kevin Brownlow and David Gill and the support of granddaughter Suzanne Lloyd Hayes, the British Thames Silents series re-released some of the feature films in the early 1990s on video (with new orchestral scores by Carl Davis).
More recently, the remainder of Lloyd's great silent features and many shorts were fully restored, with new orchestral scores by Robert Israel. These are now frequently shown on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable channel. An acclaimed 1990 documentary by Brownlow and Gill also created a renewed interest in Lloyd's work in the early 1990s. A DVD Collection of restored versions of most of his feature films (and his more important shorts) was released by New Line Cinema in partnership with the Harold Lloyd Trust in November 2005, along with limited theatrical screenings in New York and other cities in the US, Canada and Europe. Annette Lloyd has also said that if there is a large-enough show of support by fans, a second collection may be released in the future
The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection of DVDs, released November 2005This image is a candidate for speedy deletion. It will be deleted after Thursday, 3 November 2007.
Lloyd kept copyright control of most of his films and re-released them infrequently after his retirement. As a consequence, his reputation and public recognition suffered in comparison with Chaplin and Keaton, whose work has generally been more available.
Also, Lloyd's film character was so intimately associated with the 1920s era that attempts at revivals in 1940s and 1950s were poorly received, when audiences viewed the 1920s (and silent film in particular) as old-fashioned. In the early 1960s, Lloyd produced two compilation films, featuring scenes from his old comedies, Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy (1962) and The Funny Side of Life (1963).
These films were positively received and renewed interest in Lloyd, helping to restore Lloyd's status among film historians. Throughout his later years he screened his films for audiences at special charity and educational events, to great acclaim.
Following his death, most of his feature films were marketed by Time-Life Films and shown frequently on television, but these were poorly presented, with intrusive narration and insensitive musical scores. Through the efforts of Kevin Brownlow and David Gill and the support of granddaughter Suzanne Lloyd Hayes, the British Thames Silents series re-released some of the feature films in the early 1990s on video (with new orchestral scores by Carl Davis).
More recently, the remainder of Lloyd's great silent features and many shorts were fully restored, with new orchestral scores by Robert Israel. These are now frequently shown on the Turner Classic Movies (TCM) cable channel. An acclaimed 1990 documentary by Brownlow and Gill also created a renewed interest in Lloyd's work in the early 1990s. A DVD Collection of restored versions of most of his feature films (and his more important shorts) was released by New Line Cinema in partnership with the Harold Lloyd Trust in November 2005, along with limited theatrical screenings in New York and other cities in the US, Canada and Europe. Annette Lloyd has also said that if there is a large-enough show of support by fans, a second collection may be released in the future
Academy Award
In 1952, Lloyd received a special Academy Award for being a "master comedian and good citizen." The second citation was a snub to Chaplin, who at that point had fallen foul of McCarthyism and who had had his entry visa to the United States revoked. Regardless of political aspects, Lloyd accepted the award in good part.
Death
Lloyd died at age 77 from prostate cancer on March 8, 1971, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. . He was interred in a crypt in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
In 1952, Lloyd received a special Academy Award for being a "master comedian and good citizen." The second citation was a snub to Chaplin, who at that point had fallen foul of McCarthyism and who had had his entry visa to the United States revoked. Regardless of political aspects, Lloyd accepted the award in good part.
Death
Lloyd died at age 77 from prostate cancer on March 8, 1971, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. . He was interred in a crypt in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
Walk of Fame
Harold Lloyd has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His was only the fourth ceremony preserving his handprints, footprints, autograph, and outline of his famed glasses, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, in 1927. In 1994, he was honored with his image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.
Harold Lloyd has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His was only the fourth ceremony preserving his handprints, footprints, autograph, and outline of his famed glasses, at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, in 1927. In 1994, he was honored with his image on a United States postage stamp designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld.
Tributes and references to Lloyd
The 2001 Futurama episode "That's Lobstertainment!" was a tribute to Harold Lloyd, featuring an alien version of him, named Harold Zoid.
In the opening scene of Back to the Future, amongst the plethora of clocks in "Doc" Brown's house, one featuring the tiny figure of Lloyd hanging from the hands can be seen.
Lloyd is mentioned in the 2004 movie I, Robot.
The 2001 Futurama episode "That's Lobstertainment!" was a tribute to Harold Lloyd, featuring an alien version of him, named Harold Zoid.
In the opening scene of Back to the Future, amongst the plethora of clocks in "Doc" Brown's house, one featuring the tiny figure of Lloyd hanging from the hands can be seen.
Lloyd is mentioned in the 2004 movie I, Robot.
Harold Lloyd
'Talkies' and semi-successful transition
In 1924 he formed his own independent film production company, the Harold Lloyd Film Corporation, with his films distributed by Pathé and later Paramount and Twentieth Century-Fox. Lloyd was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Lloyd made the transition to sound in 1929 with Welcome Danger (the original unreleased silent version of this film was screened in various cities on the 2005 re-release of Lloyd's films). Released a few weeks before the start of the Great Depression, it was a huge financial success, with audiences eager to hear Lloyd's voice on film. Lloyd's rate of film releases, which had been one or two a year in the 1920s, slowed to about one every two years until 1938.
The films released during this period were: Feet First (1930), with a similar scenario to Safety Last which found him clinging to a skyscraper at the climax; Movie Crazy (1932) with Constance Cummings; The Cat's-Paw (1934), which was a dark political comedy and a big departure for Lloyd; and The Milky Way (1936), which was Lloyd's only attempt at screwball comedy, at that point hugely fashionable.
To this point the films had been personally produced by Lloyd's own company, Unfortunately, his go-getting screen character was now out of touch with Great Depression movie audiences of the 1930s. As the length of time between his film releases increased, his popularity declined, and so did his production company. His final film of the decade, Professor Beware, was made by the Paramount staff, with Lloyd functioning only as actor and partial financier.
On March 23, 1937, Lloyd sold the land of his studio Harold Lloyd Motion Picture Company to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The location is now the site of the Los Angeles California Temple.
Lloyd produced a few comedies for RKO Radio Pictures in the early 1940s but otherwise retired from the screen until 1947. He returned for an additional starring appearance in The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947), an ill-fated homage to Lloyd's career directed by Preston Sturges and financed by Howard Hughes. The idea was to show what happened to Harold's optimistic character from The Freshman in later life. Diddlebock actually opened with footage from The Freshman, and Lloyd was sufficiently youthful-looking to match the older scenes quite well. Lloyd and Sturges had different conceptions of the material, however, and fought frequently during the shoot. The finished film was released briefly in 1947, then shelved by producer Hughes. Hughes recut the film and reissued in 1950 under the title Mad Wednesday. It was a sad end to a brilliant film career.
In 1924 he formed his own independent film production company, the Harold Lloyd Film Corporation, with his films distributed by Pathé and later Paramount and Twentieth Century-Fox. Lloyd was a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Lloyd made the transition to sound in 1929 with Welcome Danger (the original unreleased silent version of this film was screened in various cities on the 2005 re-release of Lloyd's films). Released a few weeks before the start of the Great Depression, it was a huge financial success, with audiences eager to hear Lloyd's voice on film. Lloyd's rate of film releases, which had been one or two a year in the 1920s, slowed to about one every two years until 1938.
The films released during this period were: Feet First (1930), with a similar scenario to Safety Last which found him clinging to a skyscraper at the climax; Movie Crazy (1932) with Constance Cummings; The Cat's-Paw (1934), which was a dark political comedy and a big departure for Lloyd; and The Milky Way (1936), which was Lloyd's only attempt at screwball comedy, at that point hugely fashionable.
To this point the films had been personally produced by Lloyd's own company, Unfortunately, his go-getting screen character was now out of touch with Great Depression movie audiences of the 1930s. As the length of time between his film releases increased, his popularity declined, and so did his production company. His final film of the decade, Professor Beware, was made by the Paramount staff, with Lloyd functioning only as actor and partial financier.
On March 23, 1937, Lloyd sold the land of his studio Harold Lloyd Motion Picture Company to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The location is now the site of the Los Angeles California Temple.
Lloyd produced a few comedies for RKO Radio Pictures in the early 1940s but otherwise retired from the screen until 1947. He returned for an additional starring appearance in The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947), an ill-fated homage to Lloyd's career directed by Preston Sturges and financed by Howard Hughes. The idea was to show what happened to Harold's optimistic character from The Freshman in later life. Diddlebock actually opened with footage from The Freshman, and Lloyd was sufficiently youthful-looking to match the older scenes quite well. Lloyd and Sturges had different conceptions of the material, however, and fought frequently during the shoot. The finished film was released briefly in 1947, then shelved by producer Hughes. Hughes recut the film and reissued in 1950 under the title Mad Wednesday. It was a sad end to a brilliant film career.
Marriage and home
Lloyd married his leading lady, Mildred Davis, on Saturday February 10, 1923. Together, they had two children: Gloria Lloyd (born 1923), and Harold Lloyd, Jr., (1931-1971). They also adopted Peggy (1924-1986) in 1930. Lloyd, for a time, discouraged Davis from continui
ng her acting career. He later relented, but by that time her career momentum was lost. Mildred died in 1969, two years before Lloyd's death.
Harold Lloyd and future wife: Mildred Davis in I Do in 1921
Lloyd's Beverly Hills home, "Greenacres" was built in 1926–1929, with 44 rooms, 26 bathrooms, 12 fountains, 12 gardens, and a nine hole golf course. The estate left the possession of the Lloyd family in 1975, after a failed attempt to maintain it as a public museum.
The grounds were subsequently subdivided, but the main house remains and is frequently used as a filming location, appearing in films like Westworld and The Loved One (film). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lloyd married his leading lady, Mildred Davis, on Saturday February 10, 1923. Together, they had two children: Gloria Lloyd (born 1923), and Harold Lloyd, Jr., (1931-1971). They also adopted Peggy (1924-1986) in 1930. Lloyd, for a time, discouraged Davis from continui
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ng her acting career. He later relented, but by that time her career momentum was lost. Mildred died in 1969, two years before Lloyd's death.Harold Lloyd and future wife: Mildred Davis in I Do in 1921
Lloyd's Beverly Hills home, "Greenacres" was built in 1926–1929, with 44 rooms, 26 bathrooms, 12 fountains, 12 gardens, and a nine hole golf course. The estate left the possession of the Lloyd family in 1975, after a failed attempt to maintain it as a public museum.
The grounds were subsequently subdivided, but the main house remains and is frequently used as a filming location, appearing in films like Westworld and The Loved One (film). It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Radio and retirement
In October 1944, he emerged as the director and host of The Old Gold Comedy Theater, an NBC radio anthology series, when Preston Sturges turned the job down but recommended him for it. The show presented half-hour radio adaptations of recently successful film comedies, launching with a version of Palm Beach Story with Claudette Colbert and Robert Young.
Some saw The Old Gold Comedy Theater as being a lighter version of Lux Radio Theater, and it featured some of the best-known film and radio personalities of the day, including Fred Allen, June Allyson, Lucille Ball, Ralph Bellamy, Linda Darnell, Susan Hayward, Herbert Marshall, Dick Powell, Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, and Alan Young, among others. But the show's half-hour format — which meant the material might have been truncated too severely — and Lloyd's sounding somewhat ill at ease on the air for much of the season (though he spent weeks training himself to speak on radio prior to the show's premiere, and seemed more relaxed toward the end of the series run) may have worked against it.
The Old Gold Comedy Theater ended in June 1945 with an adaptation of Tom, Dick, and Harry, featuring June Allyson and Reginald Gardiner and was not renewed for the following season. Many years later, acetate discs of 29 of the shows were discovered in Lloyd's home, and they now circulate among old-time radio collectors.
Lloyd remained involved in a number of other interests, including civic and charity work. Inspired by having overcome his own serious injuries and burns, he was very active with the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, and eventually rose to that organization's highest office, Imperial Potentate.
He appeared as himself on several television shows during his retirement, first on Ed Sullivan's variety show Toast of the Town June 5, 1949 and again in July 6, 1958. He appeared as the Mystery Guest on What's My Line? in April 26, 1953, and twice on This Is Your Life: on March 10, 1954 for Mack Sennett, and again on December 14, 1955 on his own episode.
Lloyd studied colors, microscopy, and was very involved with photography, including 3D photography and color film experiments. Some of the earliest 2-color Technicolor tests were shot at his Beverly Hills home. He became known for his nude photographs of models
, such as Bettie Page and stripper Dixie Evans, for a number of men's magazines. He also took photos of Marilyn Monroe lounging at his pool in a bathing suit which were published after their deaths. In 2004, his granddaughter Suzanne produced a book of selections from his photographs, Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3D!.
Lloyd also provided encouragement and support for a number of younger actors, including Jack Lemmon, Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner.
In October 1944, he emerged as the director and host of The Old Gold Comedy Theater, an NBC radio anthology series, when Preston Sturges turned the job down but recommended him for it. The show presented half-hour radio adaptations of recently successful film comedies, launching with a version of Palm Beach Story with Claudette Colbert and Robert Young.
Some saw The Old Gold Comedy Theater as being a lighter version of Lux Radio Theater, and it featured some of the best-known film and radio personalities of the day, including Fred Allen, June Allyson, Lucille Ball, Ralph Bellamy, Linda Darnell, Susan Hayward, Herbert Marshall, Dick Powell, Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, and Alan Young, among others. But the show's half-hour format — which meant the material might have been truncated too severely — and Lloyd's sounding somewhat ill at ease on the air for much of the season (though he spent weeks training himself to speak on radio prior to the show's premiere, and seemed more relaxed toward the end of the series run) may have worked against it.
The Old Gold Comedy Theater ended in June 1945 with an adaptation of Tom, Dick, and Harry, featuring June Allyson and Reginald Gardiner and was not renewed for the following season. Many years later, acetate discs of 29 of the shows were discovered in Lloyd's home, and they now circulate among old-time radio collectors.
Lloyd remained involved in a number of other interests, including civic and charity work. Inspired by having overcome his own serious injuries and burns, he was very active with the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, and eventually rose to that organization's highest office, Imperial Potentate.
He appeared as himself on several television shows during his retirement, first on Ed Sullivan's variety show Toast of the Town June 5, 1949 and again in July 6, 1958. He appeared as the Mystery Guest on What's My Line? in April 26, 1953, and twice on This Is Your Life: on March 10, 1954 for Mack Sennett, and again on December 14, 1955 on his own episode.
Lloyd studied colors, microscopy, and was very involved with photography, including 3D photography and color film experiments. Some of the earliest 2-color Technicolor tests were shot at his Beverly Hills home. He became known for his nude photographs of models
, such as Bettie Page and stripper Dixie Evans, for a number of men's magazines. He also took photos of Marilyn Monroe lounging at his pool in a bathing suit which were published after their deaths. In 2004, his granddaughter Suzanne produced a book of selections from his photographs, Harold Lloyd's Hollywood Nudes in 3D!.Lloyd also provided encouragement and support for a number of younger actors, including Jack Lemmon, Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner.
Harold Lloyd
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Harold Clayton Lloyd (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies.
Harold Lloyd ranks alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton as one of the most popular and influential film comedians of the silent film era. Lloyd made nearly 200 comedy films, both silent and "talkies", between 1914 and 1947. He is best known for his "Glasses Character", a resourceful, success-seeking go-getter who was perfectly in tune with 1920s era America.
His films frequently contained "thrill sequences" of extended chase scenes and daredevil physical feats, for which he is best remembered today. Lloyd hanging from the hands of a clock high above the street in Safety Last! (1923) is one of the most enduring images in all of cinema. Lloyd did many of these dangerous stunts himself, despite having injured himself during the filming of Haunted Spooks (1920) when an accident with a prop bomb resulted in the loss of the thumb and index finger of his right hand (the injury was disguised on film with the use of a special prosthetic glove, though the glove often did not go by unnoticed).
Although Lloyd's individual films were not as commercially successful as Charlie Chaplin's on average, he was far more prolific (releasing twelve feature films in the 1920s while Chaplin released just three), and they made more money overall ($15.7 million to Chaplin's $10.5 million).
Harold Lloyd ranks alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton as one of the most popular and influential film comedians of the silent film era. Lloyd made nearly 200 comedy films, both silent and "talkies", between 1914 and 1947. He is best known for his "Glasses Character", a resourceful, success-seeking go-getter who was perfectly in tune with 1920s era America.
His films frequently contained "thrill sequences" of extended chase scenes and daredevil physical feats, for which he is best remembered today. Lloyd hanging from the hands of a clock high above the street in Safety Last! (1923) is one of the most enduring images in all of cinema. Lloyd did many of these dangerous stunts himself, despite having injured himself during the filming of Haunted Spooks (1920) when an accident with a prop bomb resulted in the loss of the thumb and index finger of his right hand (the injury was disguised on film with the use of a special prosthetic glove, though the glove often did not go by unnoticed).
Although Lloyd's individual films were not as commercially successful as Charlie Chaplin's on average, he was far more prolific (releasing twelve feature films in the 1920s while Chaplin released just three), and they made more money overall ($15.7 million to Chaplin's $10.5 million).
Early life and entry into films 
Harold Lloyd in Safety Last! in 1923
Lloyd was born in Burchard, Nebraska to James Darsie Lloyd and Elizabeth Fraser; his paternal great-grandparents were from Wales. Lloyd had moved west with his family after his father failed in numerous business ventures.
He had acted in theater since boyhood, and started acting in one-reel film comedies shortly after moving to California in 1912 in San Diego, California. Lloyd soon began working with Thomas Edison's motion picture company, and eventually formed a partnership with fellow struggling actor and director Hal Roach, who had formed his own studio in 1913. The hard-working Lloyd became the most successful of Roach's comic actors between 1915 and 1919.
He hired Bebe Daniels as a supporting actress in 1914; the two of them were involved romantically and were known as "The Boy" and "The Girl". In 1919, she left Lloyd because of greater dramatic aspirations. Lloyd replaced Daniels with Mildred Davis in 1919, who the more he watched (from a movie Hal Roach told him to check out) the more he was eager to get her. Lloyd's first reaction in seeing her was that "she looked like a big French doll!"
Lloyd's early film character "Lonesome Luke" was by his own admission a frenetic imitation of Chaplin. By 1918, Lloyd and Roach had developed the "Glasses Character" (always named "Harold" in the films), a much more mature comedy character with greater potential for sympathy and emotional depth. Beginning in 1921, they moved from shorts to feature length comedies. These included the acclaimed Grandma's Boy (1922), which (along with Chaplin's The Kid) pioneered the combination of complex character development and film comedy, the sensational Safety Last! (1923), which cemented Lloyd's stardom, and Why Worry? (1923).
Lloyd and Roach parted ways in 1924, and Lloyd became the independent producer of his own films. These included his most accomplished mature features Girl Shy (1924), The Freshman (1925), The Kid Brother (1927), and Speedy (1928). Welcome Danger (1929) was originally a silent film but Lloyd decided late in the production to remake it with dialogue. All of these films were enormously successful and profitable. They were also highly influential and still find many fans among modern audiences, a testament to the originality and film-making skill of Lloyd and his talented collaborators. Like the other great silent comics, Lloyd was the driving creative force in his films, particularly the feature-length films. From this success he became one of the wealthiest and most influential figures in early Hollywood.
Harold Lloyd in Safety Last! in 1923
Lloyd was born in Burchard, Nebraska to James Darsie Lloyd and Elizabeth Fraser; his paternal great-grandparents were from Wales. Lloyd had moved west with his family after his father failed in numerous business ventures.
He had acted in theater since boyhood, and started acting in one-reel film comedies shortly after moving to California in 1912 in San Diego, California. Lloyd soon began working with Thomas Edison's motion picture company, and eventually formed a partnership with fellow struggling actor and director Hal Roach, who had formed his own studio in 1913. The hard-working Lloyd became the most successful of Roach's comic actors between 1915 and 1919.
He hired Bebe Daniels as a supporting actress in 1914; the two of them were involved romantically and were known as "The Boy" and "The Girl". In 1919, she left Lloyd because of greater dramatic aspirations. Lloyd replaced Daniels with Mildred Davis in 1919, who the more he watched (from a movie Hal Roach told him to check out) the more he was eager to get her. Lloyd's first reaction in seeing her was that "she looked like a big French doll!"
Lloyd's early film character "Lonesome Luke" was by his own admission a frenetic imitation of Chaplin. By 1918, Lloyd and Roach had developed the "Glasses Character" (always named "Harold" in the films), a much more mature comedy character with greater potential for sympathy and emotional depth. Beginning in 1921, they moved from shorts to feature length comedies. These included the acclaimed Grandma's Boy (1922), which (along with Chaplin's The Kid) pioneered the combination of complex character development and film comedy, the sensational Safety Last! (1923), which cemented Lloyd's stardom, and Why Worry? (1923).
Lloyd and Roach parted ways in 1924, and Lloyd became the independent producer of his own films. These included his most accomplished mature features Girl Shy (1924), The Freshman (1925), The Kid Brother (1927), and Speedy (1928). Welcome Danger (1929) was originally a silent film but Lloyd decided late in the production to remake it with dialogue. All of these films were enormously successful and profitable. They were also highly influential and still find many fans among modern audiences, a testament to the originality and film-making skill of Lloyd and his talented collaborators. Like the other great silent comics, Lloyd was the driving creative force in his films, particularly the feature-length films. From this success he became one of the wealthiest and most influential figures in early Hollywood.
Milton Sills
Milton Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was a highly successful American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century.
Milton Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois into a wealthy and highly regarded family. He was the son of a successful mineral dealer father and an heiress mother from a prosperous banking family. Upon completing high-school, Sills was offered a one-year scholarship to the University of Chicago where he studied psychology and philosophy. After graduating, he was offered a position at the university as a researcher and within several years worked his way up to becoming a professor at the school.
In 1905 stage actor Donald Robertson visited the school to lecture on author and playwright Henrik Ibsen and suggested to Sills that he should try his hand at acting. On a whim, Sills agreed and left his prestigious teaching career to embark on a stint in acting. Sills joined Robertson's stock theater company and began touring the country.
In 1908, while Milton Sills was performing in New York City, he garnered critical praise from such notable Broadway producers as David Belasco and Charles Frohman. That same year he made his Broadway debut in This Woman and This Man, which was an immediate success with both the theater-going public and critics. From 1908 to 1914, Sills appeared in about a dozen Broadway shows, becoming a crowd favorite and attaining a great deal of fame.
In 1910 Sills married English stage actress Gladys Edith Wynne. The union produced one child, Dorothy Sills, and the couple divorced in 1925. In 1926, Sills remarried, this time to silent film actress Doris Kenyon, and the couple had a son, Kenyon Clarence Sills, born in 1927.
In 1914 Milton Sills decided to conquer the new medium of motion pictures. He made his film debut the same year in the big-budget drama The Pit for World Company studios and was signed to a contract with film producer William A. Brady. The film was enormously successful and Sills made three more films for the company, including another huge box-office draw The Deep Purple opposite silent screen star Clara Kimball Young. By the late 1910s, Sills had reached leading man status and parted ways with the relatively small World Film company, taking the then unusual path of freelancing as an actor.
By the early 1920s, Sills was enjoying a highly successful acting career and working for such prominent film studios as MGM, Paramount Pictures, and Pathé. Sills was often paired with the most popular leading ladies of the era, including: Geraldine Farrar, Gloria Swanson and Viola Dana. His greatest public and commercial successes came with the now-lost Flaming Youth (1923) opposite Colleen Moore, and the enormous box-office hit The Sea Hawk (1924).
On May 11, 1927, Sills had the distinction of being among the original 36 individuals in the film industry to found the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Fellow performers included: Mary Pickford, Richard Barthelmess, Jack Holt, Conrad Nagel, Douglas Fairbanks, and Harold Lloyd.
Milton Sills made one sound picture, showing that he had an excellent voice. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1930 while playing tennis with his wife at his Santa Barbara, California home at the age of 48. He was interred at the Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Milton Sills was awarded a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6263 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California.
Milton Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois into a wealthy and highly regarded family. He was the son of a successful mineral dealer father and an heiress mother from a prosperous banking family. Upon completing high-school, Sills was offered a one-year scholarship to the University of Chicago where he studied psychology and philosophy. After graduating, he was offered a position at the university as a researcher and within several years worked his way up to becoming a professor at the school.
In 1905 stage actor Donald Robertson visited the school to lecture on author and playwright Henrik Ibsen and suggested to Sills that he should try his hand at acting. On a whim, Sills agreed and left his prestigious teaching career to embark on a stint in acting. Sills joined Robertson's stock theater company and began touring the country.
In 1908, while Milton Sills was performing in New York City, he garnered critical praise from such notable Broadway producers as David Belasco and Charles Frohman. That same year he made his Broadway debut in This Woman and This Man, which was an immediate success with both the theater-going public and critics. From 1908 to 1914, Sills appeared in about a dozen Broadway shows, becoming a crowd favorite and attaining a great deal of fame.
In 1910 Sills married English stage actress Gladys Edith Wynne. The union produced one child, Dorothy Sills, and the couple divorced in 1925. In 1926, Sills remarried, this time to silent film actress Doris Kenyon, and the couple had a son, Kenyon Clarence Sills, born in 1927.
In 1914 Milton Sills decided to conquer the new medium of motion pictures. He made his film debut the same year in the big-budget drama The Pit for World Company studios and was signed to a contract with film producer William A. Brady. The film was enormously successful and Sills made three more films for the company, including another huge box-office draw The Deep Purple opposite silent screen star Clara Kimball Young. By the late 1910s, Sills had reached leading man status and parted ways with the relatively small World Film company, taking the then unusual path of freelancing as an actor.
By the early 1920s, Sills was enjoying a highly successful acting career and working for such prominent film studios as MGM, Paramount Pictures, and Pathé. Sills was often paired with the most popular leading ladies of the era, including: Geraldine Farrar, Gloria Swanson and Viola Dana. His greatest public and commercial successes came with the now-lost Flaming Youth (1923) opposite Colleen Moore, and the enormous box-office hit The Sea Hawk (1924).
On May 11, 1927, Sills had the distinction of being among the original 36 individuals in the film industry to found the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Fellow performers included: Mary Pickford, Richard Barthelmess, Jack Holt, Conrad Nagel, Douglas Fairbanks, and Harold Lloyd.
Milton Sills made one sound picture, showing that he had an excellent voice. He died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 1930 while playing tennis with his wife at his Santa Barbara, California home at the age of 48. He was interred at the Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Milton Sills was awarded a star on the legendary Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6263 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California.
Conrad Nagel
Conrad Nagel (March 16, 1897 - February 24, 1970) was a successful American screen actor and matinee idol of the silent film era and beyond. He was also a well known television actor and radio performer.
Biography
Born in Keokuk, Iowa, into an upper middle-class family, he was the son of a musician father, Frank, and a mother, Frances (née Murphy), who was a locally praised singer. Nagel’s mother died early in his life, and he always attributed his artistic inclination to growing up in a family environment that encouraged self-expression. His father, Frank, became dean of the music conservatory at Highland Park College and when Nagel was three, the family moved to Des Moines.
After graduating from Highland Park College at Des Moines, Iowa, Nagel left for California to pursue a career in the relatively new medium of motion pictures where he garnered instant attention from the Hollywood studio executives. With his six foot tall frame, blue eyes, and wavy blond hair; the young, Midwestern Nagel was seen by studio executives as a potentially wholesome matinee idol whose unpretentious all-American charm would surely appeal to the nation's nascent film-goers.
Nagel was immediately cast in film roles that cemented his unspoiled lover image. His first film was the 1918 retelling of the Louisa May Alcott classic, Little Women, which quickly captured the public’s attention and set Nagel on a path to silent film stardom. His breakout role came in the 1920 film, The Fighting Chance, opposite Swedish starlet Anna Q. Nilsson.
On May 11, 1927, Nagel was among 35 other film industry insiders to found the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS); a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Fellow actors involved in the founding included: Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Richard Barthelmess, Jack Holt, Milton Sills, and Harold Lloyd. He served as president of the organization from 1932 to 1933. He was also a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
In 1927, Nagel starred alongside Lon Chaney, Sr., Marceline Day, Henry B. Walthall and Polly Moran in the now lost Tod Browning directed horror classic, London After Midnight. The film is quite possibly the most famous and talked about lost film ever.
Unlike so many silent films stars of the Roaring Twenties, Conrad Nagel had little difficulty transitioning to talkies and spent the next several decades being very well received in high profile films as a character actor. He was also frequently heard on radio and made many notable appearances on television. From 1937 to 1947 he hosted and directed the radio program Silver Theater. Later on, from 1949 to 1952 he hosted the popular TV game show, Celebrity Time.
In 1940, Nagel was given an Honorary Academy Award for his work with the Motion Picture Relief Fund. He was the host of the 3rd Academy Awards ceremony held on November 5, 1930, the 5th Academy Awards on November 18, 1932, and a co-host with Bob Hope at the 25th Academy Awards ceremony on March 19, 1953. The 21-year gap between his appearances in 1932 and 1953 is a record for an Oscar ceremonies host. He was also host of the 1930 Emmy Awards.
Nagel married and divorced three times. His first wife, Ruth Helms, gave birth to a daughter, Ruth Margaret, in 1920. His second wife was Lynn Merrick. His third wife was Michael Coulson Smith, who gave birth to a son Michael in the late 1950s.
In 1970, Nagel died in New York City, aged 72, and was cremated at Garden State Crematory in North Bergen, New Jersey.
For his contributions to film, radio, and television, Conrad Nagel was given three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1719 Vine Street (Motion Pictures), 1752 Vine Street (Radio), and 1752 Vine Street (Television).
Born in Keokuk, Iowa, into an upper middle-class family, he was the son of a musician father, Frank, and a mother, Frances (née Murphy), who was a locally praised singer. Nagel’s mother died early in his life, and he always attributed his artistic inclination to growing up in a family environment that encouraged self-expression. His father, Frank, became dean of the music conservatory at Highland Park College and when Nagel was three, the family moved to Des Moines.
After graduating from Highland Park College at Des Moines, Iowa, Nagel left for California to pursue a career in the relatively new medium of motion pictures where he garnered instant attention from the Hollywood studio executives. With his six foot tall frame, blue eyes, and wavy blond hair; the young, Midwestern Nagel was seen by studio executives as a potentially wholesome matinee idol whose unpretentious all-American charm would surely appeal to the nation's nascent film-goers.
Nagel was immediately cast in film roles that cemented his unspoiled lover image. His first film was the 1918 retelling of the Louisa May Alcott classic, Little Women, which quickly captured the public’s attention and set Nagel on a path to silent film stardom. His breakout role came in the 1920 film, The Fighting Chance, opposite Swedish starlet Anna Q. Nilsson.
On May 11, 1927, Nagel was among 35 other film industry insiders to found the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS); a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Fellow actors involved in the founding included: Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Richard Barthelmess, Jack Holt, Milton Sills, and Harold Lloyd. He served as president of the organization from 1932 to 1933. He was also a founding member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).
In 1927, Nagel starred alongside Lon Chaney, Sr., Marceline Day, Henry B. Walthall and Polly Moran in the now lost Tod Browning directed horror classic, London After Midnight. The film is quite possibly the most famous and talked about lost film ever.
Unlike so many silent films stars of the Roaring Twenties, Conrad Nagel had little difficulty transitioning to talkies and spent the next several decades being very well received in high profile films as a character actor. He was also frequently heard on radio and made many notable appearances on television. From 1937 to 1947 he hosted and directed the radio program Silver Theater. Later on, from 1949 to 1952 he hosted the popular TV game show, Celebrity Time.
In 1940, Nagel was given an Honorary Academy Award for his work with the Motion Picture Relief Fund. He was the host of the 3rd Academy Awards ceremony held on November 5, 1930, the 5th Academy Awards on November 18, 1932, and a co-host with Bob Hope at the 25th Academy Awards ceremony on March 19, 1953. The 21-year gap between his appearances in 1932 and 1953 is a record for an Oscar ceremonies host. He was also host of the 1930 Emmy Awards.
Nagel married and divorced three times. His first wife, Ruth Helms, gave birth to a daughter, Ruth Margaret, in 1920. His second wife was Lynn Merrick. His third wife was Michael Coulson Smith, who gave birth to a son Michael in the late 1950s.
In 1970, Nagel died in New York City, aged 72, and was cremated at Garden State Crematory in North Bergen, New Jersey.
For his contributions to film, radio, and television, Conrad Nagel was given three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1719 Vine Street (Motion Pictures), 1752 Vine Street (Radio), and 1752 Vine Street (Television).
Conrad Nagel filmography
The Man Who Understood Women (1959)
A Stranger in My Arms (aka And Ride a Tiger) (1959)
Hidden Fear (1957)
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Stage Struck (1948)
The Adventures of Rusty (1945)
Forever Yours (1945)
I Want a Divorce (1940)
One Million B.C. (1940) .... Narrator
The Mad Empress (1939)
Bank Alarm (1937)
The Gold Racket (1937)
Navy Spy (1937)
The Gold Racket {1937)
Wedding Present (1936)
The Girl From Mandalay (1936)
Ball at Savoy (1936)
One New York Night (1935)
Death Flies East (1935)
One Hour Late (1935)
Dangerous Corner (1934)
The Marines Are Coming (1934)
Ann Vickers (1933)
The Constant Woman (1933)
Fast Life (1932)
Kongo (1932)
Divorce in the Family (1932)
The Man Called Back (1932)
Hell Divers (1931) with Wallace Beery and Clark Gable
The Pagan Lady (1931)
The Reckless Hour (1931)
Son of India (1931)
Three Who Loved (1931)
The Bad Sister (1931)
The Right of Way (1931)
East Lynne (1931)
Free Love (1930)
Today (1930)
Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930)
A Lady Surrenders (1930)
Numbered Men (1930)
One Romantic Night (1930)
The Divorcee (1930)
Redemption (1930)
Second Wife (1930)
The Ship from Shanghai (1930)
Dynamite (1929)
The Sacred Flame (1929)
The Kiss (1929)
The Thirteenth Chair (1929)
The Idle Rich (1929)
Kid Gloves (1929)
The Redeeming Sin (1929)
Red Wine (1928)
The Terror (1928) (uncredited)
Caught in the Fog (1928)
State Street Sadie (1928)
The Mysterious Lady (1928)
The Michigan Kid (1928)
Diamond Handcuffs (1928)
Glorious Betsy (1928)
The Crimson City (1928)
Tenderloin (1928)
If I Were Single (1927)
London After Midnight (1927)
The Girl from Chicago (1927)
Quality Street (1927)
Slightly Used (1927)
Heaven on Earth (1927)
There You Are! (1926)
Tin Hats (1926)
The Waning Sex (1926)
Exquisite Sinner (1926)
Memory Lane (1926)
Dance Madness (1926)
Lights of Old Broadway (1925)
The Only Thing (1925)
Sun-Up (1925)
Pretty Ladies (1925)
Cheaper to Marry (1925)
Excuse Me (1925)
So This Is Marriage? (1924)
The Snob (1924)
Married Flirts (1924)
Sinners in Silk (1924)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1924)
The Rejected Woman (1924)
Three Weeks (1924)
Name the Man (1924)
The Rendezvous (1923)
Lawful Larceny (1923)
Bella Donna (1923)
Grumpy (1923)
Singed Wings (1922)
The Impossible Mrs. Bellew (1922)
Nice People (1922)
The Ordeal (1922)
Hate (1922)
Saturday Night (1922)
Fool's Paradise (1921)
Sacred and Profane Love (1921)
The Lost Romance (1921)
What Every Woman Knows (1921)
Midsummer Madness (1920)
Unseen Forces (1920)
The Fighting Chance (1920)
Romeo's Dad (1919)
The Redhead (1919)
The Lion and the Mouse (1919)
Little Women (1918)
Jack Holt (actor)
Jack Holt (May 31, 1888 – January 18, 1951) was an American motion picture actor
Birth name: Charles John Holt
Born:(1888-05-31)Fordham, New York, U.S.
Died: January 18, 1951 (aged 62)Sawtelle, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Spouse(s): Margaret Woods Margaret Woods (1916 – January 18, 1951) (his death) 3 children
Early life
Born Charles John Holt in New York City. Staunch, granite-jawed American leading man of silent and early talkie films, much associated with Westerns. A native of New York City, Holt often claimed to have been born in Winchester, Virginia, where he grew up. He attended Trinity School in Manhattan, then the Virginia Military Institute, from which he was expelled for bad behavior. Giving up his vague hopes of becoming a lawyer, he went on the road, engaging in numerous occupations. He mined gold in Alaska, worked as both a railroad and a civil engineer, delivered mail, rode herd on cattle, and played parts in traveling stage productions. While looking for work as a surveyor in San Francisco in 1914, he volunteered to ride a horse over a cliff in a stunt for a film crew shooting in San Rafael. In gratitude, the director gave him a part in the film. Holt followed the movie people to Hollywood and began getting bits and stunt jobs in the many Westerns and serials being made there. He impressed a number of co-workers at Universal Pictures, among them Francis Ford and his brother John Ford, and Grace Cunard. Holt soon became a frequent supporting player in their films, and then a star in serials
Death
Jack Holt died from a heart attack in Los Angeles, California and is buried there in the Los Angeles National Cemetery. His son Tim and daughter Jennifer would both have successful careers as film actors.
Contribution
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Jack Holt has a star on the Hollywood Wal of Fame at 6313-1/2 Hollywood Blvd.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Jack Holt has a star on the Hollywood Wal of Fame at 6313-1/2 Hollywood Blvd.
Richard Barthelmess
Richard "Dick" Semler Barthelmess (May 9, 1895 – August 17, 1963) was a silent film star. The son of an actress, Barthelmess began acting in college, doing amateur productions. Convinced by a family friend, actress Alla Nazimova, to try acting professionally, he made his first film appearance in 1916 in the serial Gloria's Romance as an extra. His next role, in War Brides opposite Alla Nazimova, attracted the attention of legendary director D. W. Griffith, who offered him several important roles, finally casting him opposite Lillian Gish in Broken Blossoms (1919) and Way Down East (1920).
In the coming years, he was one of Hollywood's highest paid performers, starring in such classics as The Patent Leather Kid (1927) and The Noose (1928); he was nominated for Best Actor at the first Academy Awards for his performance in both these films. He also founded his own production company, Inspiration Film Company, together with Charles Duell and Henry King. One of their films, Tol'able David (1921), in which Barthelmess starred as a teenage mailman who finds courage, was a major success, and is considered by many to be his finest performance.
With the advent of the sound era, Barthelmess' fortunes changed. He made several films in the new medium, most notably Son of the Gods (1930), The Dawn Patrol (1930) and The Last Flight (1931) and a supporting role as Rita Hayworth's character's husband in Only Angels Have Wings (1939), but he failed to maintain the stardom of his silent film days and gradually left entertainment. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in World War II, served as a lieutenant commander, and never returned to film, preferring instead to live off his investments. He died of cancer in 1963 and was interred at the Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum in Hartsdale, Westchester County, New York, USA.
Barthelmess was one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
For his contribution as an actor, Richard Barthelmess was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In the coming years, he was one of Hollywood's highest paid performers, starring in such classics as The Patent Leather Kid (1927) and The Noose (1928); he was nominated for Best Actor at the first Academy Awards for his performance in both these films. He also founded his own production company, Inspiration Film Company, together with Charles Duell and Henry King. One of their films, Tol'able David (1921), in which Barthelmess starred as a teenage mailman who finds courage, was a major success, and is considered by many to be his finest performance.
With the advent of the sound era, Barthelmess' fortunes changed. He made several films in the new medium, most notably Son of the Gods (1930), The Dawn Patrol (1930) and The Last Flight (1931) and a supporting role as Rita Hayworth's character's husband in Only Angels Have Wings (1939), but he failed to maintain the stardom of his silent film days and gradually left entertainment. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in World War II, served as a lieutenant commander, and never returned to film, preferring instead to live off his investments. He died of cancer in 1963 and was interred at the Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum in Hartsdale, Westchester County, New York, USA.
Barthelmess was one of the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
For his contribution as an actor, Richard Barthelmess was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Original 36 founders of the Academy
Actors
Richard Barthelmess
Jack Holt
Conrad Nagel
Milton Sills
Douglas Fairbanks
Harold Lloyd
Mary Pickford
Directors
Cecil B. DeMille
Frank Lloyd
Henry King
Fred Niblo
John M. Stahl
Raoul Walsh
Writers
Joseph Farnham
Benjamin Glazer
Jeanie MacPherson
Bess Meredyth
Carey Wilson
Frank E. Woods
Technicians
J. Arthur Ball
Cedric Gibbons
Roy J. Pomeroy
Producers
Fred Beetson
Charles H. Christie
Sid Grauman
Milton E. Hoffman
Jesse L. Lasky
M. C. Levee
Louis B. Mayer
Joseph M. Schenck
Irving Thalberg
Harry Warner
Jack Warner
Harry Rapf
Lawyers
Edwin Loeb
George W. Cohen
Actors
Richard Barthelmess
Jack Holt
Conrad Nagel
Milton Sills
Douglas Fairbanks
Harold Lloyd
Mary Pickford
Directors
Cecil B. DeMille
Frank Lloyd
Henry King
Fred Niblo
John M. Stahl
Raoul Walsh
Writers
Joseph Farnham
Benjamin Glazer
Jeanie MacPherson
Bess Meredyth
Carey Wilson
Frank E. Woods
Technicians
J. Arthur Ball
Cedric Gibbons
Roy J. Pomeroy
Producers
Fred Beetson
Charles H. Christie
Sid Grauman
Milton E. Hoffman
Jesse L. Lasky
M. C. Levee
Louis B. Mayer
Joseph M. Schenck
Irving Thalberg
Harry Warner
Jack Warner
Harry Rapf
Lawyers
Edwin Loeb
George W. Cohen
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Membership
All members must be invited to join. Invitation comes from the Board of Governors. Membership eligibility may be achieved by a competitive nomination or a member may submit a name based on other significant contribution to the field of motion pictures.
New membership proposals are considered annually. The Academy does not publicly disclose its membership, although past press releases have announced the names of those who have been invited to join.
Academy membership is divided into 15 Branches, representing different disciplines in motion pictures. Members may not belong to more than one Branch. Members whose work does not fall within one of the Branches may belong to a group known as "Members At Large."
Academy Branches
Actors
Art Directors
Cinematographers
Directors
Documentary
Executives
Film Editors
Makeup
Music
Producers
Public Relations
Short Films and Feature Animation
Sound
Visual Effects
Writers
All members must be invited to join. Invitation comes from the Board of Governors. Membership eligibility may be achieved by a competitive nomination or a member may submit a name based on other significant contribution to the field of motion pictures.
New membership proposals are considered annually. The Academy does not publicly disclose its membership, although past press releases have announced the names of those who have been invited to join.
Academy membership is divided into 15 Branches, representing different disciplines in motion pictures. Members may not belong to more than one Branch. Members whose work does not fall within one of the Branches may belong to a group known as "Members At Large."
Academy Branches
Actors
Art Directors
Cinematographers
Directors
Documentary
Executives
Film Editors
Makeup
Music
Producers
Public Relations
Short Films and Feature Animation
Sound
Visual Effects
Writers
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Founded on May 11, 1927 in Los Angeles, California, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) is a professional honorary organization ostensibly dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures.
The Academy is composed of over 6,000 motion picture professionals. While the great majority of its members are based in the United States, membership is open to qualified filmmakers around the world. As of 2004, the Academy roster included theatrical filmmakers from 36 countries.
The Academy is known around the world for its annual Academy Awards, informally known as the Oscars. In addition, the Academy gives Student Academy Awards annually to filmmakers at the undergraduate and graduate level; awards up to five Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting annually; and operates the Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, California and the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood, California.
The current president of the Academy is Sid Ganis.
The Academy is composed of over 6,000 motion picture professionals. While the great majority of its members are based in the United States, membership is open to qualified filmmakers around the world. As of 2004, the Academy roster included theatrical filmmakers from 36 countries.
The Academy is known around the world for its annual Academy Awards, informally known as the Oscars. In addition, the Academy gives Student Academy Awards annually to filmmakers at the undergraduate and graduate level; awards up to five Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting annually; and operates the Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills, California and the Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study in Hollywood, California.
The current president of the Academy is Sid Ganis.
Director
Around the World in 80 Minutes with Douglas Fairbanks (1931) (as Douglas Fairbanks Sr.)
Arizona (1918)
AND MORE
He was portrayed by Kevin Kline in the 1992 film Chaplin.
In the song "Who Killed Mr. Moonlight?" on the album Burning from the Inside by Bauhaus, there is a reference to "Douglas Fairbanks stunts".
Fairbanks celebrated youth and vitality, and said he hoped he wouldn't live to see fifty.
He is mentioned near the end of the film Blazing Saddles, in which Hedley LeMarr sees a walk of fame of Douglas Fairbanks and says, "How did he do such fantastic stunts with such little feet?"
British singer Kate Bush mentions the actor in the song 'Moments Of Pleasure' (1993). She sings about meeting 'The Red Shoes' director Michael Powell: "he meets us at the lift, like Douglas Fairbanks, waving his walking stick - but he isn't well at all"
Around the World in 80 Minutes with Douglas Fairbanks (1931) (as Douglas Fairbanks Sr.)
Arizona (1918)
AND MORE
He was portrayed by Kevin Kline in the 1992 film Chaplin.
In the song "Who Killed Mr. Moonlight?" on the album Burning from the Inside by Bauhaus, there is a reference to "Douglas Fairbanks stunts".
Fairbanks celebrated youth and vitality, and said he hoped he wouldn't live to see fifty.
He is mentioned near the end of the film Blazing Saddles, in which Hedley LeMarr sees a walk of fame of Douglas Fairbanks and says, "How did he do such fantastic stunts with such little feet?"
British singer Kate Bush mentions the actor in the song 'Moments Of Pleasure' (1993). She sings about meeting 'The Red Shoes' director Michael Powell: "he meets us at the lift, like Douglas Fairbanks, waving his walking stick - but he isn't well at all"
Douglas Fairbanks
Writer
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932) (story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Iron Mask (1929) (also story) (also titles) (as Elton Thomas)
The Gaucho (1927) (story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Black Pirate (1926) (story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924) (as Elton Thomas) (story)
Robin Hood (1922) (story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Three Musketeers (1921)
The Nut (1921) (as Elton Thomas)
The Mark of Zorro (1920) (scenario) (uncredited)
The Mollycoddle (1920) (uncredited)
When the Clouds Roll by (1919) (story) (uncredited)
His Majesty, the American (1919) (as Elton Banks) (scenario)
The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919) (as Elton Banks) (story) (as Elton Banks)
Arizona (1918)
Bound in Morocco (1918) (also story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Man from Painted Post (1917) (scenario)
Down to Earth (1917) (story)
The Good Bad Man (1916)
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932) (story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Iron Mask (1929) (also story) (also titles) (as Elton Thomas)
The Gaucho (1927) (story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Black Pirate (1926) (story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924) (as Elton Thomas) (story)
Robin Hood (1922) (story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Three Musketeers (1921)
The Nut (1921) (as Elton Thomas)
The Mark of Zorro (1920) (scenario) (uncredited)
The Mollycoddle (1920) (uncredited)
When the Clouds Roll by (1919) (story) (uncredited)
His Majesty, the American (1919) (as Elton Banks) (scenario)
The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919) (as Elton Banks) (story) (as Elton Banks)
Arizona (1918)
Bound in Morocco (1918) (also story) (as Elton Thomas)
The Man from Painted Post (1917) (scenario)
Down to Earth (1917) (story)
The Good Bad Man (1916)
Douglas Fairbanks
Producer
Crime Over London (1936) (producer)
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932) (producer)
Reaching for the Moon (1930) (producer) (uncredited)
The Iron Mask (1929) (producer)
The Gaucho (1927) (producer)
The Black Pirate (1926) (producer)
Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925) (producer)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924) (producer)
Robin Hood (1922) (producer)
The Three Musketeers (1921) (producer)
The Nut (1921) (producer)
The Mark of Zorro (1920) (executive producer)
When the Clouds Roll by (1919) (producer)
His Majesty, the American (1919) (producer)
The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919) (producer)
Arizona (1918) (producer)
He Comes Up Smiling (1918) (producer)
Bound in Morocco (1918) (producer)
Say! Young Fellow (1918) (producer)
Mr. Fix-It (1918) (producer)
Headin' South (1918) (producer)
A Modern Affair (1917) (producer)
Reaching for the Moon (1917) (producer)
Down to Earth (1917) (producer)
In Again, Out Again (1917/II) (producer)
Crime Over London (1936) (producer)
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932) (producer)
Reaching for the Moon (1930) (producer) (uncredited)
The Iron Mask (1929) (producer)
The Gaucho (1927) (producer)
The Black Pirate (1926) (producer)
Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925) (producer)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924) (producer)
Robin Hood (1922) (producer)
The Three Musketeers (1921) (producer)
The Nut (1921) (producer)
The Mark of Zorro (1920) (executive producer)
When the Clouds Roll by (1919) (producer)
His Majesty, the American (1919) (producer)
The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919) (producer)
Arizona (1918) (producer)
He Comes Up Smiling (1918) (producer)
Bound in Morocco (1918) (producer)
Say! Young Fellow (1918) (producer)
Mr. Fix-It (1918) (producer)
Headin' South (1918) (producer)
A Modern Affair (1917) (producer)
Reaching for the Moon (1917) (producer)
Down to Earth (1917) (producer)
In Again, Out Again (1917/II) (producer)
Filmography
Actor
The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) .... Don Juan
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932) .... Steve Drexel
Reaching for the Moon (1930) .... Larry Day
Terra Melophon Magazin Nr. 1 (1930) .... (episode "Welches ist ihr Typ")
The Taming of the Shrew (1929) .... Petruchio
The Iron Mask (1929) .... D'Artagnan
The Gaucho (1927) .... The Gaucho
The Black Pirate (1926) .... The Black Pirate
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) (uncredited) .... Crowd extra in chariot race
Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925) .... Don Cesar de Vega/Zorro
The Thief of Bagdad (1924) .... The Thief of Bagdad
Robin Hood (1922) .... Earl of Huntingdon/Robin Hood
The Three Musketeers (1921) .... D'Artagnan
The Nut (1921) .... Charlie Jackson
The Mark of Zorro (1920) .... Don Diego Vega/Señor Zorro
The Mollycoddle (1920) .... Richard Marshall III, IV and V
When the Clouds Roll by (1919) .... Daniel Boone Brown
His Majesty, the American (1919) .... William Brooks
The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919) .... Teddy Drake
Arizona (1918) .... Lt. Denton
Sic 'Em, Sam (1918) .... Democracy
He Comes Up Smiling (1918) .... Jerry Martin
Bound in Morocco (1918) .... George Travelwell
Say! Young Fellow (1918) .... The Young Fellow
Mr. Fix-It (1918) .... Dick Remington
Headin' South (1918) .... Headin' South
A Modern Musketeer (1917) .... Ned Thacker
Reaching for the Moon (1917) .... Alexis Caesar Napoleon Brown
The Man from Painted Post (1917) .... 'Fancy Jim' Sherwood
Down to Earth (1917) .... Billy Gaynor
Wild and Woolly (1917) .... Jeff Hillington
In Again, Out Again (1917/II) .... Teddy Rutherford
All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan (1917)
The Americano (1916) .... Blaze Derringer
The Matrimaniac (1916) .... Jimmie Conroy
American Aristocracy (1916) .... Cassius Lee
Manhattan Madness (1916) .... Steve O'Dare
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916) (uncredited) .... Man on White Horse (French Story)
The Half-Breed (1916) .... Lo Dorman
Flirting with Fate (1916) .... Augy Holliday
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916) .... Coke Ennyday
Reggie Mixes In (1916) .... Reggie Van Deuzen
The Good Bad Man (1916) .... Passin' Through
The Habit of Happiness (1916) .... Sunny Wiggins
His Picture in the Papers (1916) .... Pete Prindle
Double Trouble (1915) .... Florian Amidon/Eugene Brassfield
Martyrs of the Alamo (1915)
The Lamb (1915) .... Gerald
Actor
The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) .... Don Juan
Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932) .... Steve Drexel
Reaching for the Moon (1930) .... Larry Day
Terra Melophon Magazin Nr. 1 (1930) .... (episode "Welches ist ihr Typ")
The Taming of the Shrew (1929) .... Petruchio
The Iron Mask (1929) .... D'Artagnan
The Gaucho (1927) .... The Gaucho
The Black Pirate (1926) .... The Black Pirate
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) (uncredited) .... Crowd extra in chariot race
Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925) .... Don Cesar de Vega/Zorro
The Thief of Bagdad (1924) .... The Thief of Bagdad
Robin Hood (1922) .... Earl of Huntingdon/Robin Hood
The Three Musketeers (1921) .... D'Artagnan
The Nut (1921) .... Charlie Jackson
The Mark of Zorro (1920) .... Don Diego Vega/Señor Zorro
The Mollycoddle (1920) .... Richard Marshall III, IV and V
When the Clouds Roll by (1919) .... Daniel Boone Brown
His Majesty, the American (1919) .... William Brooks
The Knickerbocker Buckaroo (1919) .... Teddy Drake
Arizona (1918) .... Lt. Denton
Sic 'Em, Sam (1918) .... Democracy
He Comes Up Smiling (1918) .... Jerry Martin
Bound in Morocco (1918) .... George Travelwell
Say! Young Fellow (1918) .... The Young Fellow
Mr. Fix-It (1918) .... Dick Remington
Headin' South (1918) .... Headin' South
A Modern Musketeer (1917) .... Ned Thacker
Reaching for the Moon (1917) .... Alexis Caesar Napoleon Brown
The Man from Painted Post (1917) .... 'Fancy Jim' Sherwood
Down to Earth (1917) .... Billy Gaynor
Wild and Woolly (1917) .... Jeff Hillington
In Again, Out Again (1917/II) .... Teddy Rutherford
All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan (1917)
The Americano (1916) .... Blaze Derringer
The Matrimaniac (1916) .... Jimmie Conroy
American Aristocracy (1916) .... Cassius Lee
Manhattan Madness (1916) .... Steve O'Dare
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916) (uncredited) .... Man on White Horse (French Story)
The Half-Breed (1916) .... Lo Dorman
Flirting with Fate (1916) .... Augy Holliday
The Mystery of the Leaping Fish (1916) .... Coke Ennyday
Reggie Mixes In (1916) .... Reggie Van Deuzen
The Good Bad Man (1916) .... Passin' Through
The Habit of Happiness (1916) .... Sunny Wiggins
His Picture in the Papers (1916) .... Pete Prindle
Double Trouble (1915) .... Florian Amidon/Eugene Brassfield
Martyrs of the Alamo (1915)
The Lamb (1915) .... Gerald
After he began an affair with Lady Sylvia Ashley, Fairbanks and Pickford separated in 1933. Fairbanks, Sr. and Mary Pickford divorced in 1936, with her keeping Pickfair. On March 7, 1936, in Paris, France, he and Ashley were married.
He continued to be marginally involved in motion picture industry and United Artists, but his later years lacked the intense focus of his film years. His health continued to decline, and in his final years he resided at 705 Ocean Front (now Pacific Coast Highway) in Santa Monica California, although much of his time was spent traveling abroad with Sylvia.
In December, 1939, at 56, Fairbanks had a heart attack in his sleep and died a day later at his home in Santa Monica. By some accounts, he had been obsessively working-out against medical advice, trying to regain his once-trim waistline. Fairbanks famous last words were "I've never felt better." 1 His funeral service was held at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather Church at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, where he was placed in a crypt in the Great Mausoleum.
He was deeply mourned and honored by his colleagues and fans for his contributions to the film industry and Hollywood. Two years following his death, he was removed from Forest Lawn by his widow, who commissioned an elaborate marble monument for him, with long rectangular reflecting pool, raised tomb, and classic Greek architecture, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The remains of his son Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. were also interred here upon his death in 2000.
There is a witty reference to him in the David Lean film A Passage to India (set in Edwardian India) in which one of the characters performs acrobatic feats on the side of a train calling, "I am Douglas Fairbanks!"
He continued to be marginally involved in motion picture industry and United Artists, but his later years lacked the intense focus of his film years. His health continued to decline, and in his final years he resided at 705 Ocean Front (now Pacific Coast Highway) in Santa Monica California, although much of his time was spent traveling abroad with Sylvia.
In December, 1939, at 56, Fairbanks had a heart attack in his sleep and died a day later at his home in Santa Monica. By some accounts, he had been obsessively working-out against medical advice, trying to regain his once-trim waistline. Fairbanks famous last words were "I've never felt better." 1 His funeral service was held at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather Church at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, where he was placed in a crypt in the Great Mausoleum.
He was deeply mourned and honored by his colleagues and fans for his contributions to the film industry and Hollywood. Two years following his death, he was removed from Forest Lawn by his widow, who commissioned an elaborate marble monument for him, with long rectangular reflecting pool, raised tomb, and classic Greek architecture, at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The remains of his son Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. were also interred here upon his death in 2000.
There is a witty reference to him in the David Lean film A Passage to India (set in Edwardian India) in which one of the characters performs acrobatic feats on the side of a train calling, "I am Douglas Fairbanks!"
By 1920, Fairbanks had completed twenty-nine films (twenty-eight features and one two-reel short), which showcased his ebullient screen persona and athletic ability. By 1920, he had the inspiration of staging a new type of adventure-costume picture, a genre that was then out of favor with the public. In the The Mark of Zorro, Fairbanks combined his appealing screen persona with the new adventureous, costume element. It was a smash success and parlayed the actor into the rank of superstar. For the remainder of his career in silent films, he continued to produce and star in ever more elaborate, impressive costume movies. Fairbanks spared no expense and effort in these films, which established the standard for all future swashbucking films.
In 1921, he, Pickford, Chaplin, and others, helped to organize the Motion Picture Fund to assist those in the industry who could not work, or were unable to meet their bills.
During the first ceremony of its type, he and Pickford placed their hand and foot prints in wet cement at the newly opened Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on April 30, 1927. Fairbanks was elected first President of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences that same year, and he hosted the first Academy Awards presentation (then held as a banquet, rather than today's big ceremony). Fairbanks' also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7020 Hollywood Boulevard.
Douglas Fairbanks as the title role in Robin Hood (1922).
His last silent film was The Iron Mask (1929). Although Fairbanks flourished in the silent film genre, the restrictions of early sound films dulled his enthusiasm for movie-making. Also, his althletic abilities and general health began to decline at this time, in part due to years of heavy chain-smoking. He and Pickford chose to make their first talkie as a joint venture, playing Petruchio and Kate in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (1929). This film, and his subsequent sound films, were poorly received by the public. The last movie he acted in was the British production The Private Life of Don Juan (1934), after which he retired from acting.
In 1921, he, Pickford, Chaplin, and others, helped to organize the Motion Picture Fund to assist those in the industry who could not work, or were unable to meet their bills.
During the first ceremony of its type, he and Pickford placed their hand and foot prints in wet cement at the newly opened Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on April 30, 1927. Fairbanks was elected first President of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences that same year, and he hosted the first Academy Awards presentation (then held as a banquet, rather than today's big ceremony). Fairbanks' also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7020 Hollywood Boulevard.
Douglas Fairbanks as the title role in Robin Hood (1922).
His last silent film was The Iron Mask (1929). Although Fairbanks flourished in the silent film genre, the restrictions of early sound films dulled his enthusiasm for movie-making. Also, his althletic abilities and general health began to decline at this time, in part due to years of heavy chain-smoking. He and Pickford chose to make their first talkie as a joint venture, playing Petruchio and Kate in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew (1929). This film, and his subsequent sound films, were poorly received by the public. The last movie he acted in was the British production The Private Life of Don Juan (1934), after which he retired from acting.
Douglas Fairbanks
Motion Pictures
Fairbanks signed a contract with Triangle Pictures in 1915 and began working under the supervision of D.W. Griffith. His athletic abilities were not appreciated by Griffith, however, and he was brought to the attention of Anita Loos and John Emerson, who wrote and directed many of his early romantic comedies.
He met actress and businesswoman Mary Pickford at a party in 1916 and they began having an affair. In 1917, they, along with Charlie Chaplin, traveled across the U.S. by train selling war bonds. Pickford and Chaplin were then the two highest paid movie stars in Hollywood. Fairbanks set up his own production company, the Douglas Fairbanks Film Corporation. Within eighteen months of his arrival, Fairbanks' popularity and business acumen raised him up to be the third highest paid. To curtail these stars' astronomical salaries, the large studios attempted to monopolize the distributors and exhibitors.
On December 1, 1918 in New Rochelle, New York, Sully won an interlocutory decree of divorce from Fairbanks, as well as custody of their son. The record of testimony referred to the co-respondent as "an unknown woman." The decree was made final March 5, 1919.
To avoid being 0controlled by the studios and to protect their independence, Fairbanks, Pickford, Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith formed United Artists in 1919, which created their own distributorships and gave them complete artistic control over their movies and the profits generated. The company was kept solvent in the years immediately after its formation largely from the success of Fairbanks' films.
Fairbanks was determined to have Pickford become his wife, but she was still married to actor Owen Moore. They were both concerned about bad publicity and the effect it could have on the moviegoing p0ublic, who might boycott their efforts at the theater should they marry each other. He finally gave her an ultimatum. She then obtained a fast divorce in the small Nevada town of Minden on March 2, 1920. Fairbanks leased the Beverly Hills mansion Grayhall and was rumoured to have used it during his courtship of Pickford. (Grayhall was subsequently owned by, among others, the financier Bernard Cornfeld.)
The couple were married March 28, 1920, by the pastor of Temple Baptist Church, at his residence on West Fourth Street in Los Angeles. Pickford's divorce from Moore was contested by Nevada legislators, however, and the dispute was not settled until 1922. Even though the lawmakers objected to the marriage, the public went wild over the idea of "Everybody's Hero" marrying "America's Sweetheart." The couple was greeted by crowds of up to 300,000 people in London and Paris during their European honeymoon, becoming Hollywood's first celebrity marriage.
During the years they were married, Fairbanks and Pickford were regarded as "Hollywood Royalty," and they were famous for entertaining at their Beverly Hills estate, Pickfair. Sir Harry Lauder's nephew, Matt C. Lauder Jr., (1899-1972), a professional golfer who owned a property near Pasadena, California, taught Fairbanks to play golf.
Fairbanks signed a contract with Triangle Pictures in 1915 and began working under the supervision of D.W. Griffith. His athletic abilities were not appreciated by Griffith, however, and he was brought to the attention of Anita Loos and John Emerson, who wrote and directed many of his early romantic comedies.
He met actress and businesswoman Mary Pickford at a party in 1916 and they began having an affair. In 1917, they, along with Charlie Chaplin, traveled across the U.S. by train selling war bonds. Pickford and Chaplin were then the two highest paid movie stars in Hollywood. Fairbanks set up his own production company, the Douglas Fairbanks Film Corporation. Within eighteen months of his arrival, Fairbanks' popularity and business acumen raised him up to be the third highest paid. To curtail these stars' astronomical salaries, the large studios attempted to monopolize the distributors and exhibitors.
On December 1, 1918 in New Rochelle, New York, Sully won an interlocutory decree of divorce from Fairbanks, as well as custody of their son. The record of testimony referred to the co-respondent as "an unknown woman." The decree was made final March 5, 1919.
To avoid being 0controlled by the studios and to protect their independence, Fairbanks, Pickford, Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith formed United Artists in 1919, which created their own distributorships and gave them complete artistic control over their movies and the profits generated. The company was kept solvent in the years immediately after its formation largely from the success of Fairbanks' films.
Fairbanks was determined to have Pickford become his wife, but she was still married to actor Owen Moore. They were both concerned about bad publicity and the effect it could have on the moviegoing p0ublic, who might boycott their efforts at the theater should they marry each other. He finally gave her an ultimatum. She then obtained a fast divorce in the small Nevada town of Minden on March 2, 1920. Fairbanks leased the Beverly Hills mansion Grayhall and was rumoured to have used it during his courtship of Pickford. (Grayhall was subsequently owned by, among others, the financier Bernard Cornfeld.)
The couple were married March 28, 1920, by the pastor of Temple Baptist Church, at his residence on West Fourth Street in Los Angeles. Pickford's divorce from Moore was contested by Nevada legislators, however, and the dispute was not settled until 1922. Even though the lawmakers objected to the marriage, the public went wild over the idea of "Everybody's Hero" marrying "America's Sweetheart." The couple was greeted by crowds of up to 300,000 people in London and Paris during their European honeymoon, becoming Hollywood's first celebrity marriage.
During the years they were married, Fairbanks and Pickford were regarded as "Hollywood Royalty," and they were famous for entertaining at their Beverly Hills estate, Pickfair. Sir Harry Lauder's nephew, Matt C. Lauder Jr., (1899-1972), a professional golfer who owned a property near Pasadena, California, taught Fairbanks to play golf.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Stage career
Douglas Fairbanks began acting on the Denver stage at an early age, doing amateur theatre. He was in summer stock at the Elitch Gardens Theatre, becoming a sensation in his teens. He attended East Denver High School, and was once expelled for dressing up the campus statues on St. Patrick's Day. He left during his senior year. He said he attended Colorado School of Mines, then Harvard University for a term. No record of attendance has been located, but an article about whether or not he attended Mines recounts a professor once saying Fairbanks was asked to leave because of a prank not long after he began.
He moved to New York in the early 1900s to pursue an acting career, joining the acting troupe of British actor Frederick Warde who had discovered Fairbanks performing in Denver. He worked in a hardware store and as a clerk in a Wall Street office before his Broadway debut in 1902.
On July 11, 1907 in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, he married Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of wealthy industrialist, Daniel J. Sully. They had one son, Douglas Elton Fairbanks (actor Douglas Fairbanks, JR., who was born on December 9, 1909 and who died on May 7, 2000). The family moved to Hollywood in 1915.
Douglas Fairbanks began acting on the Denver stage at an early age, doing amateur theatre. He was in summer stock at the Elitch Gardens Theatre, becoming a sensation in his teens. He attended East Denver High School, and was once expelled for dressing up the campus statues on St. Patrick's Day. He left during his senior year. He said he attended Colorado School of Mines, then Harvard University for a term. No record of attendance has been located, but an article about whether or not he attended Mines recounts a professor once saying Fairbanks was asked to leave because of a prank not long after he began.
He moved to New York in the early 1900s to pursue an acting career, joining the acting troupe of British actor Frederick Warde who had discovered Fairbanks performing in Denver. He worked in a hardware store and as a clerk in a Wall Street office before his Broadway debut in 1902.
On July 11, 1907 in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, he married Anna Beth Sully, the daughter of wealthy industrialist, Daniel J. Sully. They had one son, Douglas Elton Fairbanks (actor Douglas Fairbanks, JR., who was born on December 9, 1909 and who died on May 7, 2000). The family moved to Hollywood in 1915.
DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS
He was born Douglas Elton Ullman in Denver, Colorado, the son of Hezekiah Charles Ullman (born September 1833) and Ella Adelaide Marsh (born 1850). His half-brother was John Fairbanks (born 1873); and his full brother was Robert Payne Ullman (March 13, 1882-February 22, 1948).
Fairbanks's father, who was born in Pennsylvania to a Jewish family, was a prominent New York attorney. His mother (a Roman Catholic) was born in New York, and was previously married to a man named John Fairbanks, who left her a widow. She then married a man named Wilcox, who turned out to be abusive. Her divorce was handled by Ullman, whom she later married.
In about 1881, Charles Ullman purchased several mining interests in the Rocky Mountains and relocated the family to Denver, where he re-established his law practice. Ullman abandoned the family when Douglas was five years old, and he and Robert were raised by their mother.
Fairbanks's father, who was born in Pennsylvania to a Jewish family, was a prominent New York attorney. His mother (a Roman Catholic) was born in New York, and was previously married to a man named John Fairbanks, who left her a widow. She then married a man named Wilcox, who turned out to be abusive. Her divorce was handled by Ullman, whom she later married.
In about 1881, Charles Ullman purchased several mining interests in the Rocky Mountains and relocated the family to Denver, where he re-established his law practice. Ullman abandoned the family when Douglas was five years old, and he and Robert were raised by their mother.
Douglas Fairbanks (May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer, who became noted for his swashbuckling roles in silent movies such as The Mark of Zorro (1920), The Three Musketeers (1921), Robin Hood (1922), The Thief of Bagdad (1924) and The Black Pirate (1926).
1st Academy Awards
The 1st Academy Awards were presented on May 16, 1929 at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Tickets cost $5 and fewer than 250 people attended. The whole ceremony lasted only 15 minutes. Unlike later events, the winners had been announced months prior to the ceremony. This was also the only Academy Award ceremony not to be broadcast in some way.
Unlike later ceremonies, awards could be granted to an actor or director for multiple works within a year. Emil Jannings, for example, was given the Best Actor award for his work in both The Way of All Flesh and The Last Command.
Unlike later ceremonies, awards could be granted to an actor or director for multiple works within a year. Emil Jannings, for example, was given the Best Actor award for his work in both The Way of All Flesh and The Last Command.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Blockbusters
The drive to produce a spectacle on the movie screen has largely shaped American cinema ever since. Spectacular epics which took advantage of new widescreen processes had been increasingly popular from the 1950 onwards. Since then, American films have become increasingly divided into two categories: blockbusters and independent films. Studios have focused on relying on a handful of extremely expensive releases every year in order to remain profitable. Such blockbusters emphasize spectacle, star power, and high production value, all of which entail an enormous budget. Blockbusters typically rely upon star power and massive advertising to attract a huge audience. A successful blockbuster will attract an audience large enough to offset production costs and reap considerable profits. Such productions carry a substantial risk of failure, and most studios release blockbusters that both over- and underperform in a year.
The drive to produce a spectacle on the movie screen has largely shaped American cinema ever since. Spectacular epics which took advantage of new widescreen processes had been increasingly popular from the 1950 onwards. Since then, American films have become increasingly divided into two categories: blockbusters and independent films. Studios have focused on relying on a handful of extremely expensive releases every year in order to remain profitable. Such blockbusters emphasize spectacle, star power, and high production value, all of which entail an enormous budget. Blockbusters typically rely upon star power and massive advertising to attract a huge audience. A successful blockbuster will attract an audience large enough to offset production costs and reap considerable profits. Such productions carry a substantial risk of failure, and most studios release blockbusters that both over- and underperform in a year.
The 'New Hollywood' and Post-classical cinema
'Post-classical cinema' is a term used to describe the changing methods of storytelling in the New Hollywood. It has been argued that new approaches to drama and characterization played upon audience expectations acquired in the classical period: chronology may be scrambled, storylines may feature "twist endings", and lines between the antagonist and protagonist may be blurred. The roots of post-classical storytelling may be seen in film noir, in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and in Hitchcock's storyline-shattering Psycho.
'New Hollywood' is a term used to describe the emergence of a new generation of film school-trained directors who had absorbed the techniques developed in Europe in the 1960. Filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Brian de Palma, Martin Scorsese, William Friedkin and Steven Spielberg came to produce fare that paid homage to the history of film, and developed upon existing genres and techniques. In the early 1970s, their films were often both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. While the early New Hollywood films like Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider had been relatively low-budget affairs with amoral heroes and increased sexuality and violence, the enormous success enjoyed by Coppola, Spielberg and Lucas with The Godfather, Jaws, and Star Wars, respectively helped to give rise to the modern "blockbuster", and induced studios to focus ever more heavily on trying to produce enormous hits.
'Post-classical cinema' is a term used to describe the changing methods of storytelling in the New Hollywood. It has been argued that new approaches to drama and characterization played upon audience expectations acquired in the classical period: chronology may be scrambled, storylines may feature "twist endings", and lines between the antagonist and protagonist may be blurred. The roots of post-classical storytelling may be seen in film noir, in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), and in Hitchcock's storyline-shattering Psycho.
'New Hollywood' is a term used to describe the emergence of a new generation of film school-trained directors who had absorbed the techniques developed in Europe in the 1960. Filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Brian de Palma, Martin Scorsese, William Friedkin and Steven Spielberg came to produce fare that paid homage to the history of film, and developed upon existing genres and techniques. In the early 1970s, their films were often both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. While the early New Hollywood films like Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider had been relatively low-budget affairs with amoral heroes and increased sexuality and violence, the enormous success enjoyed by Coppola, Spielberg and Lucas with The Godfather, Jaws, and Star Wars, respectively helped to give rise to the modern "blockbuster", and induced studios to focus ever more heavily on trying to produce enormous hits.
Golden Age of Hollywood
During the so-called Golden age of Hollywood , which lasted from the end of the silent era in American cinema in the late 1920s to the late 1950s, movies were issued from the Hollywood studios like the cars rolling off Henry Ford's assembly lines; the start of the Golden Age was arguably when The Jazz Singer was released in 1927 and increased box-office profits for films as sound was introduced to feature films. Most Hollywood pictures adhered closely to a formula—Western, slapstick comedy, musical, animated cartoon, biopic (biographical picture)—and the same creative teams often worked on films made by the same studio. After The Jazz Singer was released in 1927, Warner Bros. gained huge success and was able to acquire their own string of movie theaters, after purchasing Stanley Theaters and First National Productions in 1928; MGM had also owned a string of theaters since forming in 1924, know through Loews Theaters, and the Fox film Corporation owned the Fox theatre strings as well. Also, RKO- another company that owned theaters-had formed in 1928 from a merger between Keith-Orpheum Theaters and the Radio Corporation of America RKO formed in response to the monopoly Western Electric's ERPI had over sound in films as well, and began to use sound in films through their own method known as Photophone. Paramount, who already acquired Balaban and Katz in 1926, would answer to the success of Warner Bros. and RKO, and buy a number of theaters in the late 1920's as well, before making their final purchase in 1929, through acquiring all the individual theaters belonging to the Cooperative Box Office, located in Detroit, and dominate the Detroit theaters. For instance, Cedric Gibbons and Herbert stothart always worked on MGM, Alfred Newman worked at Twentieth Century Fox for twenty years, Cecil B. De Mille's films were almost all made at Paramount, director Henry King's films were mostly made for Twentieth-Century Fox, etc. And one could usually guess which studio made which film, largely because of the actors who appeared in it; MGM, for example, claimed it had contracted "more stars than there are in heaven." Each studio had its own style and characteristic touches which made it possible to know this - a trait that does not exist today. Yet each movie was a little different, and, unlike the craftsmen who made cars, many of the people who made movies were artists. For example, To Have and Have Not (1944) is famous not only for the first pairing of actors Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) and Lauren Bacall (1924- ) but also for being written by two future winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature: Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), author of the novel on which the script was nominally based, and William Faulkner (1897-1962), who worked on the screen adaptation.
Moviemaking was still a business, however, and motion picture companies made money by operating under the studio system. The major studios kept thousands of people on salary—actors, producers, directors, writers, stuntmen, craftspersons, and technicians. And they owned hundreds of theaters in cities and towns across the nation, theaters that showed their films and that were always in need of fresh material.
Many film historians have remarked upon the many great works of cinema that emerged from this period of highly regimented filmmaking. One reason this was possible is that, with so many movies being made, not every one had to be a big hit. A studio could gamble on a medium-budget feature with a good script and relatively unknown actors: Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles (1915-1985) and often regarded as the greatest film of all time, fits that description. In other cases, strong-willed directors like Howard Hawks (1896-1977) and Frank Capra (1897-1991) battled the studios in order to achieve their artistic visions. The apogee of the studio system may have been the year 1939, which saw the release of such classics as The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wuthering Heights, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Only Angels Have Wings, Ninotchka, and Midnight. Among the other films from the Golden Age period that are now considered to be classics: Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, the original King Kong, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
During the so-called Golden age of Hollywood , which lasted from the end of the silent era in American cinema in the late 1920s to the late 1950s, movies were issued from the Hollywood studios like the cars rolling off Henry Ford's assembly lines; the start of the Golden Age was arguably when The Jazz Singer was released in 1927 and increased box-office profits for films as sound was introduced to feature films. Most Hollywood pictures adhered closely to a formula—Western, slapstick comedy, musical, animated cartoon, biopic (biographical picture)—and the same creative teams often worked on films made by the same studio. After The Jazz Singer was released in 1927, Warner Bros. gained huge success and was able to acquire their own string of movie theaters, after purchasing Stanley Theaters and First National Productions in 1928; MGM had also owned a string of theaters since forming in 1924, know through Loews Theaters, and the Fox film Corporation owned the Fox theatre strings as well. Also, RKO- another company that owned theaters-had formed in 1928 from a merger between Keith-Orpheum Theaters and the Radio Corporation of America RKO formed in response to the monopoly Western Electric's ERPI had over sound in films as well, and began to use sound in films through their own method known as Photophone. Paramount, who already acquired Balaban and Katz in 1926, would answer to the success of Warner Bros. and RKO, and buy a number of theaters in the late 1920's as well, before making their final purchase in 1929, through acquiring all the individual theaters belonging to the Cooperative Box Office, located in Detroit, and dominate the Detroit theaters. For instance, Cedric Gibbons and Herbert stothart always worked on MGM, Alfred Newman worked at Twentieth Century Fox for twenty years, Cecil B. De Mille's films were almost all made at Paramount, director Henry King's films were mostly made for Twentieth-Century Fox, etc. And one could usually guess which studio made which film, largely because of the actors who appeared in it; MGM, for example, claimed it had contracted "more stars than there are in heaven." Each studio had its own style and characteristic touches which made it possible to know this - a trait that does not exist today. Yet each movie was a little different, and, unlike the craftsmen who made cars, many of the people who made movies were artists. For example, To Have and Have Not (1944) is famous not only for the first pairing of actors Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) and Lauren Bacall (1924- ) but also for being written by two future winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature: Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), author of the novel on which the script was nominally based, and William Faulkner (1897-1962), who worked on the screen adaptation.
Moviemaking was still a business, however, and motion picture companies made money by operating under the studio system. The major studios kept thousands of people on salary—actors, producers, directors, writers, stuntmen, craftspersons, and technicians. And they owned hundreds of theaters in cities and towns across the nation, theaters that showed their films and that were always in need of fresh material.
Many film historians have remarked upon the many great works of cinema that emerged from this period of highly regimented filmmaking. One reason this was possible is that, with so many movies being made, not every one had to be a big hit. A studio could gamble on a medium-budget feature with a good script and relatively unknown actors: Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles (1915-1985) and often regarded as the greatest film of all time, fits that description. In other cases, strong-willed directors like Howard Hawks (1896-1977) and Frank Capra (1897-1991) battled the studios in order to achieve their artistic visions. The apogee of the studio system may have been the year 1939, which saw the release of such classics as The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Wuthering Heights, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Only Angels Have Wings, Ninotchka, and Midnight. Among the other films from the Golden Age period that are now considered to be classics: Casablanca, It's a Wonderful Life, the original King Kong, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
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