Ellis R. Dungan

Ellis Roderick Dungan (May 11, 1909 - December 1, 2001) was an American film director, who was well known for working in Indian films, predominantly in Tamil cinema, from 1936 to 1950. He was an alumnus of the University of Southern California and moved to India in 1935. During his film career in South India, Dungan directed the debut films of several popular Tamil film actors, such as M. G. Ramachandran in Sathi Leelavathi,T. S. Balaiya and N. S. Krishnan

Biography

Early life

An Irish-American, Dungan was born in Barton, Ohio, USA on May 11, 1909. He attended high school in St. Clairsville, where he played quarterback on the school football team. He bought his first box camera to take pictures for the school yearbook, for which he was editor-in-chief. He later enrolled at the University of Southern California in 1932 in the newly established Cinema Department.

Career