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- Actor
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The son of a lumberman, Tom Mix joined the army as a young man and was an artillery sergeant during the Philippine campaign from 1898 to 1901, though he never saw action. In fact, Mix deserted from the army and carefully kept the facts about his military service a closely guarded secret. About 1903 he was drum major with the Oklahoma Cavalry Band, playing in the St. Louis World's Fair. In 1904 he was a bartender and sheriff/marshal in Dewey, Oklahoma. He was in a series of Wild West shows, such as The Miller Bros. Wild West Show, from 1906-1909; the Widerman show in Amarillo, Texas; with wife Olive Mix in Seattle's Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition; and Will A. Dickey's Circle D Ranch. The latter supplied Selig Pictures with cowboys and Indians for movies and, in 1910, Mix was hired by Selig to provide and handle horses. His first movie was Ranch Life in the Great Southwest (1910). He continued with Selig until 1917, writing and directing as well as acting. He was signed by Fox Films in 1917 and remained with them until 1928, averaging five or so films a year. His popularity eclipsed all other great cowboy stars (Hoot Gibson and even the legendary William S. Hart) of the silent era and he earned--and spent--millions.
In addition to Mix's riding and shooting skills, the films also showcased the talents of his amazing horse, Tony the Horse. Sound and encroaching middle age were not favorable to Mix, and after making a handful of pictures during the sound era he left the film industry after 1935's serial, The Miracle Rider (1935) (a huge hit for lowly Mascot Pictures, grossing over $1 million; Mix earned $40,000), touring with the Sells Floto Circus in 1930 and 1931 and the Tom Mix Circus from 1936 to 1938. While Mix was a great showman, the combination of the Depression and the high overhead of his traveling shows conspired against his success. Mix developed a comical style, emphasizing fast action thrills to a greater extent than had been common in earlier westerns, and he did his own stunts. He was king of the cowboys during the 1920s and remained popular on radio and in comic books for more than a decade after his death. He died in an auto accident in 1940.- Although he occasionally played honest police officials or army officers, New York-born C. Henry Gordon excelled at playing oily, duplicitous villains, whether gangsters, businessmen or evil rulers. Among the many evildoers he portrayed, his most memorable would have to be the murderous Surat Khan, who massacred prisoners, women and children, in the classic Errol Flynn swashbuckler The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936).
- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
First of all, the cross-eyed comedian of silent days was not born that way. Supposedly his right eye slipped out of alignment while playing the role of the similarly afflicted Happy Hooligan in vaudeville and it never adjusted. Ironically, it was this disability that would enhance his comic value and make him a top name.
Ben Turpin was born in New Orleans in 1869, the son of a French-born confectionery store owner. When 7 years old, his father moved to New York's lower East Side. A wanderlust fellow by nature, Turpin lived the life of a hobo in his early adult years. He started up his career by chance while bumming in Chicago where he drew laughs at parties. An ad in a newspaper looking for comedy acts caught his eye and he successfully booked shows along with a partner. Going solo, he performed on the burlesque circuit as well as under circus tents and invariably entertained his audiences by doing tricks, vigorous pratfalls and, of course, crossing his eyes. One of his more familiar sight gags was a backwards tumble he called the "108." He happened upon the Happy Hooligan persona while playing on the road and kept the hapless character as part of routine for 17 years.
He started in films at age 38 in 1907, joining Essanay Studios shortly after the company began operating in Chicago. He also became their resident janitor for a spell. He stayed with the company for two years but remained on the edges of obscurity. Appearing sporadically in silent comedy shorts, he typically played dorky characters who always did something wrong. His big break came when he returned to Essanay and was introduced to Charles Chaplin, who immediately took to him and set him up with Mack Sennett. By 1917 Sennett had turned Turpin into a top comedy draw. With his trademark crossed eyes and thick mustache, he made scores of slapstick films alongside the likes of Mabel Normand and 'Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle', among others. Most notable were his films that parodied hit movies of the day such as his The Shriek of Araby (1923), in which his character lampooned Rudolph Valentino. Turpin's true forte was impersonating the most dashingly romantic and sophisticated stars of the day and turning them into clumsy oafs.
Turpin retired from full time acting in 1924 to care for his ailing wife Canadian comedy actress Carrie Turpin (nee LeMieux). After her death the following year he returned but his marquee value had slipped drastically. The advent of sound pretty much marked the end to his special brand of physical comedy. He was only glimpsed from then on, mostly in comic cameos for other top stars such as a bit as a plumber with Laurel & Hardy in Saps at Sea (1940), his last. He died of heart disease that same year.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
While Charley Chase is far from being as famous as "The Big Three" (Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd) today, he's highly respected as one of the "greats" by fans of silent comedy.
Chase (real name Charles Parrott) was born in Maryland, USA, in 1893. After a brief career in vaudeville, burlesque, and musical comedy he appeared with Al Christie at Universal Studios as a comedian in 1913 before moving to the Mack Sennett Studios the following year. His career in films did not start off with remarkable success. He played bit parts in a large number of short comedies, coming to notice in 'The Knockout' with Charlie Chaplin, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Edgar Kennedy and The Keystone Cops. This was followed by appearing in a number of films written and directed by Chaplin. At the end of 1914 he was one of the stars in the spectacular Tillie's Punctured Romance featuring all the stars on the lot, and which took 14 weeks to shoot. He spent another year with Sennett starring in his own shorts, one of his first being Settled at the Seaside co starring Mae Busch. In 1915he started directing films using his real name and switching to his stage name when starring. He moved to Fox Studios in 1916 where he directed, wrote and starred in comedies some of which featured Chester Conklin. After a couple of further studio moves he rejoined Sennett then went to Paramount before arriving at Hal Roach Studios in 1920 as a director, before Roach realized what a gifted performer he had hired. "I can play anything!" Chase told Roach, and eventually his claim was confirmed. Although Mack Sennett's Keystone studio has earned legendary status as the ultimate factory of comic invention, it can hardly be denied that Roach developed a more refined style of comedy which obviously fitted Chase better (indeed, Sennett's unsophisticated product increasingly lost favor with the movie-going public by the early 1920s, while Roach's studio flourished). During five years, 1924-29, he starred in nearly a hundred two-reelers, most of which were directed by Leo McCarey.
Chase usually portrayed an apparently gentle and charming man who in reality, it eventually turned out, was quite a loser after all. His character was largely inspired by Lloyd Hamilton, another neglected comedian whom Chase had directed in several two-reelers. Among Charley's most memorable shorts are Innocent Husbands, Mighty Like a Moose, and Movie Night.
From the beginning, Charley Chase was a "critics' darling," but none of his movies were remarkably successful at the box office. There is no official "explanation" to this, but one reason may be that Chase, in contrast to the more popular clowns, never starred in any feature during the silent period. On a personal level, Chase was severely hobbled by alcoholism, which is unapparent in his films.
Chase made several promising appearances after the talkies arrived, in 1929-30, especially in Laurel and Hardy's highly acclaimed feature Sons of the Desert (1933). Despite this, he was never offered any further appearances in features. But he continued to perform in shorts and did also direct some of the Three Stooges' early movies. He died in 1940, not yet 47 years of age, of a heart attack. It is reasonable to believe that his early death was to a large extent caused by his addiction to alcohol, a problem which had troubled his family for several years. His brother James, also an actor, had died the year before. The two brothers had been close throughout their lives, although their personal problems frequently affected each other (or perhaps that was the reason for their being so close.) Chase was married to Bebe Eltinge from 1914, a marriage that lasted until his death and produced two daughters, Polly and June.
Chase's silent work was celebrated on DVD in two volumes from Kino Video. At long last his comic genius is being recognized.- "There are no second acts in American lives," wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald, who himself went from being the high priest of the Jazz Age to a down-and-out alcoholic within the space of 20 years, but not before giving the world several literary masterpieces, the most famous of which is "The Great Gatsby" (1924).
He was born in 1896 to a mother who spoiled him shamelessly, leading him to grow up an especially self-possessed young man. While he was obsessed by the image of Princeton University, he flunked out, less interested in Latin and trigonometry than bathtub gin and "bright young things". The brightest was an unconventional young lady from Montgomery, Alabama named Zelda Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald invoked the jealousy of numerous local boys, some of whom had even begun a fraternity in Zelda's honor, by snagging her shortly before the publication of his first novel, "This Side of Paradise". The novel was a huge success, and Fitzgerald suddenly found himself the most highly-paid writer in America.
During the mid-to-late '20s the Fitzgeralds lived in Europe among many American expatriates including Gertrude Stein, Cole Porter, Ernest Hemingway and Thornton Wilder. He wrote what is considered his greatest masterpiece, "The Great Gatsby", while living in Paris. It was at the end of this period (1924-30) that his marriage to the highly strung, demanding and mentally unstable Zelda began to unravel. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent much of the rest of her life in a variety of mental institutions. Fitzgerald turned more and more to alcohol. In 1930 a major crisis came when Zelda had a series of psychotic attacks, beginning a descent into madness and schizophrenia from which she would never recover. Much of Fitzgerald's income would now be dedicated to keeping his wife in mental hospitals. Emotionally and creatively wrung out, he wrote "Tender is The Night" (1934), the story of Dick Diver and his schizophrenic wife Nicole, that shows the pain that he felt himself. In the mid-30s Fitzgerald had a breakdown of his own. He had become a clinical alcoholic, something he would detail in his famous "The Crack-Up" series of essays.
With Zelda institutionalized on the East Coast, it was Hollywood that proved to be Fitzgerald's salvation. Although he had little success in writing for films, which he had attempted several times previously, he was paid well and gained a new professional standing. His experiences there inspired "The Last Tycoon", his last--and unfinished--novel which some believe might have been his greatest of all. Fitzgerald died at the home of his mistress, writer Sheilah Graham, of a heart attack in 1940, believing himself to be a failed and broken man. He never knew that he would one day be considered one of the finest writers of the 20th century. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Edward E. Clive was a Welsh-born actor/manager, initially, it seemed, slated for a medical career. After four years, he suddenly elected to abandon his studies at the University of Wales. For the next ten years, he trod the boards in diverse theatrical productions across Britain, becoming adept at a variety of regional dialects. Clive arrived in the United States in 1912 and set up the Copley Theatre Stock Company in Boston, with himself as leading performer. By the 1920's, he made a name for himself as a producer and director on Broadway ("The Creaking Chair",1926; "The Whispering Gallery",1929; "The Bellamy Trial",1931). He also continued in his position as director of the Copley.
Clive arrived on Hollywood screens relatively late in life, making his debut with The Invisible Man (1933). Thereafter, he was effectively typecast in a long line of austere, humourless British butlers, town mayors and haughty aristocrats, his demeanour invariably ranging from gloomy to irritable. Though most these parts were often quite small, Clive managed to steal the odd scene or two. At his best, he was the burgomaster in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Sir Humphrey Harcourt in The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936) and (in a recurring role), manservant 'Tenny' Tennison in several instalments of Paramount's 'Bulldog Drummond' series.- Actor
- Soundtrack
The name may have been forgotten, especially today (seven decades later), but the portly, apoplectic, exasperated figure on the 1930s screen wasn't. While his film career, save a couple of silents, lasted a paltry seven years (1932-1939), character actor Walter Connolly certainly ran the distance. While some film historians complain that a number of his performances were annoying or overbaked, he was for the most part applauded for his zesty contributions to a number of comedy classics. Frank Capra's Lady for a Day (1933), Broadway Bill (1934) and It Happened One Night (1934), not to mention the Carole Lombard/Fredric March screwball farce Nothing Sacred (1937) as news reporter March's hot-headed editor boss are sure-fire examples.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native was born on April 8, 1887 and schooled there. The son of the head of the Western Union relay office, he attended St. Xavier College and the University of Dublin in Ireland before making his New York debut in 1910 in an outdoor presentation of "As You Like It". For the next year or so he was a member of E.H. Sothern's touring company and played supporting roles in a number of Shakespearean shows on the road. After a few silent pictures left him unimpressed with film-making, he turned to the Broadway stage in the 1920s and scored quite well. Somewhat short and tubby, it was not difficult for the jowly, mustachioed actor to seize laughs and he found his share in such outings as "The Talking Parrot" (1923), "Applesauce" (1925), "The Springboard" (1927), "The Happy Husband" (1928), "Stepping Out" (1929), "Your Uncle Dudley" (1930), "Anatol" (1931), "Six Characters in Search of an Author" (1931), "The Good Fairy" (1932) and "The Late Christopher Bean" (1932).
With his talents as a stage farceur firmly established, it was time to make a second attempt at a film career and Hollywood (specifically, Columbia) wisely opened their doors to him. Interestingly, his debut in a full-length talking picture came at age 45 in the form of a drama, Washington Merry-Go-Round (1932), where he was third-billed as a rather benign senator. For the next seven years Connolly, often playing older than he really was, could be found everywhere giving good fluster to the greatest and glossiest of stars -- Janet Gaynor, Carole Lombard, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Myrna Loy, Paul Muni, Spencer Tracy, and Ginger Rogers, among hordes of others.
Every now and then he was asked to hold up a film, as with his leading roles in the drama Whom the Gods Destroy (1934), the Hecht/MacArthur comedy/drama Soak the Rich (1936), and the whodunnits Father Brown, Detective (1934) (as the title priest/gumshoe) and The League of Frightened Men (1937) (as supersleuth Nero Wolfe). Connolly's archetypal fuming was on full display in the comedies She Couldn't Take It (1935) with George Raft and Joan Bennett and Fifth Avenue Girl (1939) with Ginger Rogers. His last role was as the great composer himself in the highly fictional The Great Victor Herbert (1939), although it wasn't the leading role.
Connolly married actress Nedda Harrigan in 1920. The two appeared together in the Broadway comedies "Treat 'Em Rough" (1926) and "Merry Andrew" (1929). They had one daughter, actress Ann Connolly (1924-2006), who also appeared on stage and played the grownup Wendy in the 'Mary Martin' /Cyril Ritchard Broadway production of "Peter Pan" in 1954. Ironically, Connolly, whose obesity was probably a contributing factor to his fatal stroke suffered on May 28, 1940, received his final divorce decree on the day he died. He was only 53.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Otis Harlan was born on 29 December 1865 in Zanesville, Ohio, USA. He was an actor, known for Show Boat (1929), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) and Nine and Three-Fifths Seconds (1925). He was married to Nellie Harvey. He died on 21 January 1940 in Martinsville, Indiana, USA.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Berton Churchill was born on 9 December 1876 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was an actor, known for Stagecoach (1939), Sweethearts (1938) and Steamboat Round the Bend (1935). He was married to Harriet Elizabeth Gardner. He died on 10 October 1940 in New York City, New York, USA.- Extremely popular silent star of the 1920s. Her popularity was enhanced when she co-starred with Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik (1921) and The Son of the Sheik (1926). She made her screen debut at Essanay Studios in 1915. While she was popular in the 1920s (thanks to the patronage of her lover, Jesse Lasky), her popularity had slipped by the time she briefly retired from the screen in 1927. Divorces, lawsuits and mental health battles all took their toll on her. Ayres returned to the movies almost immediately after but had difficulty re-establishing herself. She hoped that a bit part in Souls at Sea (1937) would lead to a comeback but it did not. She died three years later of a cerebral hemorrhage.
- Harry Bernard was born on 13 January 1878 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Shadow (1937), Saps at Sea (1940) and Bedtime Worries (1933). He died on 4 November 1940 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Donald Calthrop was born on 11 April 1888 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Phantom Light (1935), Blackmail (1929) and The Man Who Lived Again (1936). He was married to Margaret Helen Ledward. He died on 15 July 1940 in London, England, UK.- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Eddie Collins was born on 30 January 1883 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA. He was an actor, known for The Blue Bird (1940), Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938) and Quick Millions (1939). He was married to Florence Wilmot (actress). He died on 2 September 1940 in Arcadia, California, USA.- Earl Dwire was born on 3 October 1883 in Missouri, USA. He was an actor, known for Randy Rides Alone (1934), Radio Patrol (1937) and The Lawless Frontier (1934). He was married to Elizabeth Alice Maddeaux and Ruth Lechler, nee Castle. He died on 16 January 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- John Buchan was born on 26 August 1875 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, UK. He was a writer, known for The 39 Steps (1935), Thirty Nine Steps and The 39 Steps. He was married to Susan Charlotte Grosvenor. He died on 11 February 1940 in Montréal, Québec, Canada.
- Mikhail A. Bulgakov was a Russian writer and medical doctor known for big screen adaptations of his books, such as Beg (1971) and Master i Margarita (2006).
He was born Mikhail Afanasievich Bulgakov on May 15, 1891, in Kiev, Russia (now Kiev, Ukraine). He was the first of six children in the family of a theology professor. His family belonged to the intellectual elite of Kiev. Bulgakov with his brothers took part in the demonstration commemorating the death of Lev Tolstoy. Bulgakov graduated with honors from the Medical School of Kiev University in 1915. He married his classmate Tatiana Lippa, who became his assistant at surgeries and in his Doctor's office. He practiced medicine, specializing in venereal and other infectious diseases from 1915 to 1919.
Bulgakov wrote about his experiences as a doctor in his early works "Notes of a Young Doctor." In 1917-1919, he suffered from an infection that caused him an unbearable painful itch requiring him to take morphine; which he became addicted to, but he managed to overcome the dependency and quit. He joined the anti-communist White Army in the Russian Civil War. After the Civil War, he tried to emigrate from Russia, to reunite with his brother in Paris. But he became trapped in Soviet Russia. Several times he was almost killed by opposing forces on both sides of the Russian Civil War, but soldiers needed doctors, so Bulgakov was left alive. He provided medical help to the Chehchens, Caucasians, Cossacs, Russians, the Whites, the Reds... Bulgakov was the Doctor to all the sick people.
In 1921, Bulgakov moved to Moscow. There he became a writer and made friends with Valentin Kataev, Yuriy Olesha, Ilya Ilf, Yevgeni Petrov, and Konstantin Paustovsky. Later, he met Mikhail Zoschenko, Anna Akhmatova, Viktor Ardov, Sergey Mikhalkov, and Korney Ivanovich Chukovskiy. Bulgakov's plays at the Moscow Art Theatre were directed by Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. "Days of the Turbins," about the demise of the White Army, was performed more than 200 times at the Moscow Art Theatre, and also at other Soviet theatres until it was banned.
The play was later restored to the repertoire and at least fifteen performances of this play were attended by Joseph Stalin. Stalin liked the play and later, in his official speeches, he used some of the well-written lines that were spoken from the stage by the Bulgakov's characters. In 1941, after the Nazi invasion in Russia during the Second World War, Joseph Stalin started his first radio address to the people of the Soviet Union with Bulgakov's words from the play, "Brothers and Sisters..."
Bulgakov's political independence was expressed in his article on the death of the first Soviet dictator Vladimir Lenin, "He killed a river of people..." wrote Bulgakov in 1924.
Bugakov's own way of life and his witty criticism of the ugly realities of life in the Soviet Union caused him much trouble. In 1925 he released 'Heart of a Dog', a bitter satire about the loss of civilized values in Russia under the Soviet system. Soon after, Bulgakov was interrogated by the Soviet secret service, OGPU. After interrogations, his personal diary and several unfinished works were confiscated by the secret service.
His plays were banned in all theaters, which terminated his income. Being financially broke, he wrote to his brother in Paris about his terrible life and poverty in Moscow. Bulgakov distanced himself from the Proletariat Writer's Union because he refused to write about the peasants and proletariat. He made adaptation of the "Dead Souls" by Nikolay Gogol for the stage; it became a success but was abruptly banned.
He took a risk and wrote a letter to Joseph Stalin with an ultimatum: "Let me out of the Soviet Union, or restore my work at the theaters." On the 18th of April of 1930, Bulgakov received a telephone call from Joseph Stalin. The dictator told the writer to fill an employment application at the Moscow Art Theater. Gradually, Bulgakov's plays were back in the repertoire of the Moscow Art Theatre. But most other theatres were in fear and did not stage any of the Bulgakov's plays for many years.
Joseph Stalin, who was increasingly paranoid, ordered massive extermination of intellectuals during the repressions known as the "Great Terror" (aka.. Great Purge). Many of Bulgakov's friends and colleagues, like Vladimir Mayakovsky, Osip Mandelstam, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Anna Akhmatova, Mikhail Zoschenko and many others were censored, banned, prosecuted, exiled, imprisoned, executed, found dead, or just disappeared without a trace.
At that time Bulgakov started his masterpiece - "Master and Margarita." It was slowly evolving from the series of chapters, initially titled "The Black Magician" in 1929. That was changed to "The Prince of Darkness" in 1930. Then it was changed again to "The Great Chancellor" in 1934. Finally, the novel was titled as "Master and Margarita" in 1934 and was rewritten and updated constantly until the writer's death in 1940.
While writing the novel, Bulgakov met Elena Sergeevna Shilovskaya, who became his wife. She was, in part, the model for Margarita in the novel. Secret service agents were spying on Bulgakov and learned about his new novel. Bulgakov was interrogated again and was ordered to destroy the manuscript under the threat from the government agents. He had to be very cautious. Bulgakov split the manuscript in two parts and destroyed one half in a fire.
Soon, he restored the missing part from memory and continued writing the novel. He was writing the novel in secrecy, hiding its manuscript for many years until his death in 1940. The main character in the novel, Voland, alludes to Stalin, or Beria, or any dictator who plays a semi-god. Voland was modeled after Satan in "Faust" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The novel has many parallels with the Bible and the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri. The characters and events in "Master and Margarita" are alluding to Bulgakov's experiences in Moscow under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin.
Five days before his death, Bulgakov accepted an unusual promise from his loving wife. She swore to live a humble life and wait as long as it would take for Bulgakov's masterpiece to be published. The original manuscript of "The Master and Margarita" was preserved by Bulgakov's wife, Elena Sergeevna, until its first publication in 1966. It is a Menippean satire, a cross-genre comedy, drama, and fantasy, regarded by many as the best of the 20th century Russian novels.
Mikhail Bulgakov died of a kidney failure, on March 10, 1940, in Moscow. He was laid to rest in the Novodevichy Monastery Cemetery, next to other Russian cultural luminaries. - John Wray was an American character actor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was primarily active during the 1930s.
Wray's real name was "John Griffith Malloy". He had a notable theatrical career, and appeared regularly in Broadway. In the late 1920s, there was a transition from silent films to sound films. Many stage actors headed to Hollywood, in the hope that their acting experience may help them find steady work in the new medium. Wray was one of the actors in this wave of prospective film stars.
Wray made his film debut in "New York Nights" (1929), where he played racketeer Joe Prividi. Prividi was the film's main villain, and the role helped Wray find steady work as a heavy. Among his most notable roles was sadistic drill instructor Himmelstoss in "All Quiet On The Western Front" (1930), gangster Morton Bradstreet in "The Czar of Broadway", con-artist Frog in "The Miracle Man" (1932), the starving farmer in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town" (1936), and prison warden Wheeler in "You Only Live Once" (1937).
Wray's career was seemingly in decline by the late 1930s, when he was at times reduced to the role of an uncredited extra. But he continued acting until 1940, with his last known role being a bit part in the screwball comedy "The Doctor Takes a Wife" (1940). Wray died in April 1940, at the age of 53. - Actor
- Director
- Writer
Edward LeSaint was born on 13 December 1870 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Modern Times (1936), Merely Mary Ann (1920) and Only a Shop Girl (1922). He was married to Stella Razeto. He died on 10 September 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actress
- Soundtrack
La Jana was the stage name of the brunette Viennese-born actress and exotic dancer Henriette 'Henny' Hiebel. She was trained as a ballerina for ten years and first performed at the Frankfurt Kinderoper at the age of eight. Of boyishly slim build, she appeared on stage in cabaret in 1921. Soon after, she was reputedly discovered for the screen by the director Géza von Cziffra at the Chat Noir cabaret in Paris. She received good publicity from a successful tour of Britain, during which the press alternately touted her as being Spanish or Hungarian. The build-up continued with glamour photographs for Vogue magazine. Movies followed and La Jana hit the big time with Truxa (1937) (dancing on a giant tambourine) and The Stars Shine (1938). Propelled to instant stardom, she came to represent oriental or Latin mystery and allure as the scantily-clad heroines of The Tiger of Eschnapur (1938), Das indische Grabmal (1938) (as the high priestess of a cult) and Stern von Rio (1940).
Her life ended tragically young at the very peak of her popularity. She died of pneumonia at the age of 35, a fact which rather cemented her cult status. Since she left few personal notes, little of La Jana's life is known. This has given life to unverified rumours and scuttlebutt. One fanciful story has it that she aided in the escape from Nazi Germany of Jewish acting colleagues and was consequently murdered by the SS.
La Jana was married to the opera star Michael Bohnen and was said to have previously been romantically involved with Wilhelm, the last Crown Prince of the former German Empire.- Actor
- Make-Up Department
The son of a minister from Ohio, Charles Stanton Ogle became a prolific character actor from stage and screen. Mostly cast in commanding roles in silents. Per haps most memorable as the screen's very first Frankenstein monster in Thomas Alva Edison's silent version Frankenstein (1910).- Writer
- Director
- Actor
John Monk Saunders was born on 22 November 1895 in Hinckley, Minnesota, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Dawn Patrol (1930), Wings (1927) and Devil Dogs of the Air (1935). He was married to Fay Wray and Avis Bissell (Hughes). He died on 11 March 1940 in Ft. Myers, Florida, USA.- Robert Pershing Wadlow was born on February 22, 1918 in Alton, Illinois. His height of 8' 11.1" qualifies him as the tallest person in history, as recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. Robert was the first born of Addie and Harold Wadlow. He had two sisters, Helen and Betty, and two brothers, Eugene and Harold Jr., all of whom were of average height and weight. His excessive height was due to an overactive pituitary gland, for which there was no treatment at the time. According to records kept in his hometown of Alton, Robert enjoyed collecting stamps, photography, and the Boy Scouts, becoming the world's tallest Boy Scout when he was 13 years old. He was also regarded as being very quiet, earning him the nickname "Gentle Giant." When he turned 20 Robert traveled for the International Shoe Company, who provided him with free shoes (which usually cost $100 a pair). His father had to remove the front passenger seat of the family car so Robert could sit in the back seat. Due to poor circulation, Robert had little sensation in his feet and did not notice when problems like blisters developed. In July of 1940 a blister on his ankle led to an infection that, despite treatment, ended his life on the morning of July 15th. Robert was buried in his hometown of Alton. All city businesses closed for the funeral, which was attended by tens of thousands of people. The 1,000-pound casket required 12 pallbearers. In 1985 a life-sized bronze statue of Robert was erected on the campus of the Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine.
- Helene Chadwick came from a very wealthy family in upstate New York (the town, Chadwick, was named after them), where her father owned a silk mill and her mother was an opera singer. On a visit to New York she was persuaded by an artist friend to pose for one of his paintings. A film producer saw the work, and after contacting Helene discovered that she was an experienced horsewoman, which is what he needed for a film he was shooting. He asked her if she'd be interested, she was, and soon she found herself making her film debut in The Challenge (1916) for Pathe. After a few more films she signed a contract with Goldwyn Pictures. She had a career of more than 20 years in the film industry, her last picture being A Star Is Born (1937), directed by her former husband, William A. Wellman, in which she had an uncredited bit part as a woman at a film preview. Tragically, she died in Los Angeles in 1940 from injuries she received in a fall. She was only 42 years old.
- Actor
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- Writer
The youngest of three sons, he was born in Norfolk, Ontario, Canada and was educated at McGill University then In 1904 he moved to New York where he appeared in a number of plays on Broadway including The Blue Grass Handicap, The Superstition of Sue and successful The Chorus Lady after which he was invited by D.W. Griffith to join Biograph Studios where he made his film debut in The Greaser's Gauntlet (1908) followed by some 50 other films. Then, in 1910, he wrote his first film script, Sunshine Sue (1910), which was followed by many more. In 1912, he turned to directing with An Outcast Among Outcasts (1912) with a further 40 or so in the next 20 years. Acting wasn't neglected, with his appearing in Griffith's classic Intolerance (1916). Mack Sennett hired him to direct and star in a number of films at his Keystone Studios. He made the successful transition from silents to sound and frequently returned to his roots on Broadway. He married twice, first to actress Alice Louise Perine in October 1898 and had two children After their divorce and while working at Biograph Studios, he met and married actress/screenwriter Bess Meredyth (1890-1969) with whom he had a son.- Writer
- Actress
Dorothy Mackaye was born on 8 May 1899 in Denver, Colorado, USA. She was a writer and actress, known for Ladies They Talk About (1933) and Lady Gangster (1942). She was married to Paul Kelly and Ray Raymond. She died on 5 January 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA.