1883-1966
The man who could easily be named as America's first movie heartthrob, Francis Xavier Bushman was born today in Baltimore (though the Los Angeles Times cites Norfolk, VA). Obviously athletic from an early age, he was the first actor to be "crowned" "The King of Movies." (Clark Gable famously "inherited" the title--problem was that Bushman was still very much alive and working at the time!). Like so many actors of the early studios, he was a stage actor before entering the movie business; only in Bushman's case, he was performing with a stock company associated Gilbert Anderson (better known as "Broncho Billy"), one of the founders of Essanay studio (which is remembered mostly today for the Chaplin films they produced--the studio was later incorporated into Warner Bros.). Bushman had long been into body building (he was a fan of Sandow the famous body builder of the late 19th century and an Edison film subject in the 1890's) and had worked as an artist's model in New York before making his way onto the stage. He was the perfect physique for putting into romantic films (though reportedly his height was occasionally a problem--but I can't imagine that was an issue often). [There are several stories as to how he came to the attention of Essanay in the first place, which ones to believe is a hard guess.] He made his film debut in 1911 in the Essanay marriage drama His Friend's Wife opposite Lottie Briscoe. He was an instant success and the studio put him dozens of domestic shorts between 1911 and 1916, many of these opposite actress Beverly Bayne. Bushman became a bonafide movie idol coast to coast, earning him the above nickname, and also "King of the Photoplay" (it should be noted that the film industry had only just begun to name their film players, thus Bushman very much deserved the monikers!). One aspect of their star's life that was kept as a closely guarded secret after his rise to such popularity with female moviegoers, was that he was married...and with kids to boot! Bushman quietly began to "carry on" with his leading lady Bayne and the two even moved studios together--landing at a company that had a distribution deal with Metro (one of the M's of the later MGM). In 1916 they showed up in Quality Pictures Man And His Soul, in which he played two characters. While at the company, he also directed two films: In The Diplomatic Service (for which he is credited as scenarist as well) and Romeo and Juliet (which he co-directed). Both films starred him and Bayne and both were released in 1916. The pair worked for Metro through 1918 (with one picture filmed in 1917, released after they left in 1919: God's Outlaw). When Bushman and Bayne wanted to marry, it came out that he was already a married man, and that he had 5 children. This, and a contract dispute, led to trouble in Hollywood (which he would recover from); but the national print scandal caused by the divorce and remarriage led to trouble with female fans (for which he would not, nor would he regain the "Handsomest Man in the World"....um er...bachelor status). Not that this stopped his film acting; quite the contrary, he would go onto some of his best known work in the 1920's. Though he would not return to "bankable" work until 1925 when he appeared in Christy Cabanne's The Masked Bride (reportedly Joseph von Sternberg had a hand in secondary direction on the film), he and Bayne would appear in a couple of marriage dramas in the early 20's. He had amassed a large fortune which allowed him to live in style and had a number of odd habits that stood out. He drove around Hollywood in large odd colored and makes of cars and always had great danes with him (he also kept a VERY large number of them on his ranch). What he is best remembered for in terms of his print on Hollywood's physical presence, is the gifting (well, leasing) of land to Sid Grauman for his Chinese theater, which survives to this day (now known as Mann's). The role that he is most famous for in terms of silent film came in the form of a villain in the massive epic project that was Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ in 1925 (ironically, the man that would take his title of "King of the Movie," Clark Gable had a role simply as "Roman Guard"). Bushman performed his own chariot stunts in the film, which became a big part of Hollywood lore--even by the time the film was remade with Charlton Heston, his work was still the stuff of legend (and somehow the helmet that he wore wound up in the collection of Debbie Reynolds...). It seemed that his career had been revitalized by the film, and he did appear several more films in the 1920's--all of them silent (in one short he played George Washington), but his career was on clearly on the wane. The last silent film he appeared in was the 1928 crime drama Midnight Life (made for Gotham productions) . He wouldn't appear in another film until 1930 when talkies had come and would never go. The picture was Call of the Circus and was his first speaking role in a film. In the meantime he had lost most of his fortune in the infamous stock market crash in 1929. For some odd reason, the film studios also regarded his voice as suspect for talkies, which is so strange in retrospect, given that he went into radio and was very successful there for years. He did have small roles in a handful of films in the next two decades. He would also go on to have a fairly lengthy television career in guest spots on a variety of different types of shows. He made his small screen debut in 1954 in a episode of The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse on ABC. Thourhgout the rest of his career, he appeared in episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, 12 To The Moon, and Dr. Kildare. He was also in a couple of funky films in the 1960's (The Phantom Planet (1961) & The Ghost n The Invisible Bikini (1966)). He famously played Mr. Van Jones in a Riddler two part episode of Batman in 1966 (playing with Neil Hamilton, whom he had appeared in a film with almost forty years earlier). This is often cited as his last acting job, but the Batman appearances were broadcast in April 1966, but his appearance in The Terrible Toys episode of Irwin Allen's series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, which aired in October of that year, came almost two months after Bushman's death. He died of a heart attack on 23rd of August. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale with "King Of The Movies" embossed on his tomb.
 |
| [photo: Find A Grave] |
1888-1984
Silent film actress Dolores Cassinelli was born on Independence Day 1888 in Chicago, Illinois--her actual first name was Elvere, with Dolores being her middle name. She was hired under contract to Essanay and appeared in her first film for them in 1911 with Two Men And A Girl. She stayed with Essanay until the end of 1913, when her contract was up. The last film that she made for them was Dollars, Pounds, Sense (1913). After this she became a kind of free agent. The first film that she made out of contract came at the very end of 1913; The Wolf Of The City (1913) was made for Selig Polyscope. She then starred in a series of Tom & Jerry films for the Emerald Motion Picture Company. Two of her later acting jobs came under the production of the Chronicles of America Pictures; back to back she played Queen Isabella in Christopher Columbus (1923) and turned right around to play Pocahontas in Jamestown (1923). Her next the last film that she ever made with Bela Lugosi in The Midnight Girl in 1925. Her last film--also in 1925--was The Unguarded Hour. She then retired from the film business altogether. During her time in the film industry, she earned the nickname "The Cameo Girl of the Movies," but she was a popular enough actress to be featured in the 1920 Screen Snapshots, Series 1, No. 21. Cassinelli died in New Brunswick, New Jersey on the 26 April 1985, she was 95. She is buried in South Plainfield, New Jersey at the Holy Redeemer Cemetery. (Note: some sources cite her birth year as 1893, this may be due to her own fibbing about her age. And, others sources say that she was born in New York City--she wasn't.)
 |
| Cassinelli in 1919 |
 |
| [Source: Find A Grave] |
For More:
1777-1843
German romantic writer Friedrich de La Motte, Baron Fouque' was born on this day in Brandenburg, Prussia--then part of the Holy Roman Empire. His family was of French Huguenot ancestry, and his grandfather had been a general to Frederick The Great. Originally intended for university by his military father, he instead quit and joined the army. He was thrice married, with his second wife Caroline Philippine von Briest being a novelist herself. Though he was an extremely prolific writer, it mostly by one tale that he is exclusively known by today: Undine, which appeared in 1811. Every film that has been produced using his work is based on this tale. The very first film made from his work came in 1912 called Neptune's Daughter was made by the famous Essanay Film Manufacturing here in the U.S. In all, 4 films from this source would be made in the silent era; all of which were made by American production companies, the last of which dates from the year 1918. It would not be until 1955 that the tale would again be used as source for a film; that was a West German production, and the first in the sound era. The most recent film of this work used in a film, came in 1992 with a full theatrical release--that was a German production as well. La Motte died on the 23rd of January in Berlin, just a few weeks shy of his 66th birthday. He is buried in Berlin at the Alter Garnisonfriedhof.
1869-1940
Bernard Turpin was born today in New Orleans, LA the child of a candy store owner. Having been born long before the invention of the moving picture, he obviously got his start on the stage; which in his case came in the form of various traveling shows. He possessed a body type and face that lent itself to comedic work, with one of his eyes permanently crossed (later in his life, he famously--and comically--took out an insurance policy with Lloyd's of London in case his eyes straightened out), and an oversized handle bar mustache. In the early days of his career, he found work in circuses, vaudeville and burlesque. He developed an exaggerated form of physical comedy that laid the ground work for what we now call "slapstick;" and was this talent that eventually got him into the motion picture business. He made his film debut in 1907 in a comedic short that he was specifically cast for: An Awful Skate, or, The Hobo On Roller Skates. From this point onward, he starred in a series of slapstick comedy shorts, making him a huge star of the silent cinema, even playing roles such a "The Tramp" long before one Charlie Chaplin would take up that comedic identity. In fact, the company that introduced Turpin to the moving image was Essanay, who would later employ Chaplin, who became their biggest star until his departure bankrupted the studio. This is when things began to deteriorate between Turpin and Essanay. As soon has they hired Chaplin, they made Turpin his comedic side-kick, setting up his characters as mere foils for which Chaplin could play off of. Turpin was naturally insulted by this. In 1917 he went to work for the king of comedy Mack Sennett. Turpin signed a very lucrative contract the the Mack Sennett Studios. Much to Turpin's delight, he quickly became one of their biggest stars; so much so, that he began to introduce himself as "I'm Ben Turpin, I make $3000 a week!" He worked steadily up through the invention of talkies, at which time--owed to good investments--he chose to retire from the industry, rather than attempt to make the transition to talking cinema. Still, he was sought out for cameo comedy appearances in films regularly. In 1935 he, and other stars from the silent comedy era (including Chester Conklin and Ford Sterling), starred in Keystone Hotel; it was his only starring role in the sound era. The last film that he appeared in, very briefly, was Laurel and Hardy's Saps At Sea (1940). He was set to make a cameo appearance in Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator (1940), but Turpin died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 70 on the first of July before filming started. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA.
1890-1956
Born Gunther Edward Arnold Schneider in New York City to German immigrant parents; he went to school at the East Side Settlement House. His interest in acting came at an early age and he made his stage debut at the age of 12 in The Merchant Of Venice, playing the role of Lorenzo. He made his professional stage debut in 1907. After this, he found work as an extra with Essanay Studios after it's move from Chicago westward. Many of these roles do not show up in his list of credits. He first credited role, and on IMDb it looks like his first film role, came in 1916 with The Misleading Lady. By 1917 he was getting lead roles in silent films. His last credited role in a silent film came in 1920 with The Cost. The last silent film in which appeared was simply as an extra in the huge cast of Victor Sjöström's He Who Gets Slapped (1924), starring Lon Chaney Sr. Arnold then left the motion picture industry for the stage; he would not return until well into the talking era. He made his film return in 1932 in the short Murder in the Pullman and from then on had steady work, becoming one of Hollywood's most recognizable character actors. His specialties became characters that were either authoritarian figures or rogues. In the 1947 he became the star of his own radio show Mr. President, which ran through 1953. He also got into television work in the 1950's. In addition to his acting career, he served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1940 through 1942; and he was co-founder of I Am An American Foundation. He worked right up until the time of death at the age of 66; in all he would appear in more than 150 films. His last time in front a camera came as the host of the television program Strange Stories the year of his death. He passed away suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage on the 23rd of April 1956 in Encino, California. He is buried in the catholic San Fernando Mission Cemetery in the Mission Hills part of Los Angeles. He grave marker somewhat comically states, "He's not dead--He's just away."
