Born Today June 15: Guy Coombs

1882-1947

Silent film actor Guy Coombs was born on this day in Washington D.C. Coombs got his start on the stage, as did most of the early silent film actors.  Although he would go under contract to Kalem, Coombs actually got his start at the Edison Company.  The first film that he appeared in was Nell's Last Deal in 1911.  By 1912, he was firmly ensconced at Kalem, with The Express Envelope (1911) being the first film that he acted in for them.  His first films for Kalem were largely under the direction of in-house director Kenean Buel.  In 1914 he added director to his credits with A Diamond In The Rough, which he directed for Kalem.  In all he directed 5 films between 1914 and 1915.  He stayed with Kalem until the middle of 1916, when he became a sort of free agent (though he had been acting in a few independent gigs before his departure).  In 1917 he met up with another Edison alumnus, when he acted in Bab's Diary, which was directed by J. Searle Dawley and produced by Famous Players.  The last film that he acted in was in the 1922 That Woman.  After this, he retired.  Coombs remained in his new found home of Los Angeles until his death on the 29th of December 1947 at the age of 65 (note that some sources cite New York City as his place of death--makes sense to me...though the vast majority of them city L.A.--so I am sticking with that until further notice).  He is buried in The Evergreens Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.  For a very brief period in 1916 he was married to silent film actress Anna Q. Nilsson.  

Shared grave at The Evergreens in Brooklyn. Coombs inscription hidden in grass growth.

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