Born Today September 9: Max Reinhardt

 

1873-1943 

Max Reinhardt was primarily a man of theater; he did it all from acting to directing to producing. He is today regarded as one of the, if not the most accomplished director of German language theater and he was a life-long devotee to all aspects theatrical performance and manegement--he tirelessly advocated for it, working right up his death day. And.. he did make a small number of films.  Born Maximilian Goldmann in Baden in what is now the independent country of Austria to Hungarian Jewish immigrant parents who were in the merchant import/export business, young Max was captivated by the theater from a very young age.  Despite taking acting lessons while still in school, when he finished school he went to work in a bank instead of the theater. His love of the theater was always paramount with him, but he most likely feared for his day job, when in 1890 he made his acting debut in a private setting under the name Max Reinhardt. Three years later, he made his formal public debut when the Salzburg City Theater was re-opened to performances. In 1894, he left Austria for Germany, settling--of course--in Berlin. He was accepted to join the prestigious Deutsches Theater. By 1901, he was a theater owner. He would go on to own and operate several theaters--including, eventually the Deutsches itself (he also professionally managed theaters at the same time--busy and successful!). Today his only film that has any name recognition not only was made in the 1930's, it was also made in Hollywood. But in 1910, Reinhardt (who legally changed his name in 1904) entered the film industry in Germany. His first foray into film was naturally as a director. Sumurûn was a film version of one his successful plays staged in Germany and that same production then toured the U.S. after the film's release. It was one of only four films that he directed (three of which were silents). His other two silent films were  Die Insel der Seligen dating from 1913, and the experimental film A Venetian Night filmed in Venice and released in April of 1914. Additionally, one of his directed plays of the time period was likewise made into two films.  The first of which was The Miracle, which was co-directed by French director Michel Carré and experimental photographer and cinematographer Cherry Kearton (of the Brothers Kearton fame). The second was a film by Romanian born actor/director Mime Misu--that film was Das Mirakel and was released in December of 1912.  Reinhardt had a contract to make two more films that were never even staged, never mind filmed.  Much later on, Reinhardt appeared in two films--both shorts. Only one of them--Camille--did he actually act in. It was a strange little film--a version of what we would call a home movie today--featuring some of the biggest names in Hollywood. It dates from 1926, though it was never released in it's day (it does however survive and has since been publicly screened). The other short is an installment of the little Life in Hollywood series; Reinhardt appeared in No. 5 which came out in 1927.  Reinhardt would eventually come to the United States to stay, owed to his Jewish ancestry and the rise to power of the Nazi's in 1933. When he fled with his actress wife Else Heims (and young son who would also become a director), he had to leave behind his beloved residence Schloss (Castle) Leopoldskron which he had purchased in 1918 and lovingly renovated over the 20 years that he lived there.  In Hollywood, he would make the film that he is famous for today. Like many things that he did in life, it was unconventional to say the least. A Midsummer Night's Dream was a playful take on one of Shakespeare's more whimsical plays, and it sported a VERY disparate cast that included: Olivia de Havilland, Dick Powell, Ian Hunter, Jean Muir and...wait for it...James Cagney. Though Reinhardt thereafter divided his time between the east and west coasts yearly, he went back to theater and, once again very successfully, and stayed there. He died suddenly (most probably from a stroke) on Halloween of 1943 in New York City at the age of 70. He is buried in a very ornate stand alone mausoleum at the posh Westchester Hills Cemetery, located in Hastings-on-Hudson in Westchester county, New York.  

[source: Wikipedia]

[source: Ginny M (Find A Grave)]

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Born Today September 8: Queenie Smith

1898-1978

Queenie Smith is remembered by generations of people from her numerous television appearances as an "auntie/grandmother" figure in guest roles on shows as different from one another as the original Hawaii Five-O to Little House on the Prairie.  Before embarking on a long career in television in the 1950's, she had a career in films in the 1930's and 1940's.  Before that, she was on the stage: first in the Metropolitan Opera Company productions of the 1910's and later in Broadway musicals of the 1920's. Smith was born on this day most likely in Texas; though many sources cite New York City, which is certainly where she was schooled. Obviously talented from a young age, she attended operatic and ballet instruction very early in her life; by her early teenage years, she was proficient in both. She is reported to have been a frequent dancer/performer in her teens in the teens of the 20th century.  It is therefore possible, though not probable, that she had a secondary unit bit part in little UK film that was John Halifax, Gentleman in 1915, released in England in June of that year.  The production was filmed on location in two places in Tewkesbury and was directed by George Pearson. While footage from New York may have been used in the little film, it's not likely; yet she is still credited with an appearance in the picture (all sources I've consulted list her). While it's possible that she traveled to England around this time, it is much more likely that another actress with the same name Queenie Smith is the credit in question. Of course I could be wrong!  But I am happy to have a chance to write a little about here about her. I remember her from re-runs of shows I watched after school as a kid.  Much later on, finally putting a name to face, I was able to enjoy her in classics that I love like James Whale's Show Boat (1936).  Any excuse right?!  Queenie Smith worked almost to the day she died. She appeared in five roles in 1978, despite battling cancer, the last of which was in the comedy Foul Play with Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase in the lead. The film was released roughly 2 and 1/2 weeks before her death. She passed away on the 5 of August in Burbank, California; she was nearly 80 and never out of work! She is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Hollywood Hills location.

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Born Today September 7: Josephine Ditt Ricketts (Mrs. Tom Ricketts)

 

1868-1939

Born Josephine Ditt, and mostly credited as such, she also has credits as Josephine Ricketts (in some place Ditt is misspelled Dipp). She is listed in most sources from the time period simply as "Mrs. Tom Ricketts," a convention of those times that was old fashioned even at the turn of the 20th century.  Josephine was an actress born on this day in Chicago. She was undoubtedly a stage performer before her entrance into films, but biographical material on her life is hard to come by (strange considering that her husband has a lot of biographical stubs). Her credits as "Josephine Ditt" in film started in 1910 in the AFM western short Romantic Redskins.  The film was directed by British born director/actor Tom Ricketts, who was either then or was soon to become her husband (most likely they were already wed).  Though she is credited as Josephine Ditt in the film itself, in later sourced credits, she is listed as "Mrs. Tom Ricketts." She would not show back up again in a film for some two years, when she once again appeared in one of her husband's films:  The Unknown Model (March 1912), where she was credited as Josephine Ricketts.  The first film in which she acted that was not directed by her husband was the Al Christie melodramatic comedy Lottery Ticket Number 13 in 1912.  She also appeared films by Wallace Reid Harry A. Pollard (that's not "Snub") and B. Reeves Eason, though her husband and Henry Otto account for the largest number of directors of films in which she acted. Fittingly, the last film in which she appeared in 1915--The House of a Thousand Scandals --was directed by her husband.  She seems to have retired after this point.  Her husband continued to direct through 1919 and there after had a long acting career, working up until his death. His wife doesn't really show back up until news of his death in 1939 broke. Josephine had suffered a stroke in December of 1938 and was still hospitalized when Thomas, some 15 years her senior, died suddenly of pneumonia in January. She followed him on the 18th of October in Santa Monica, California, never having fully recovered. She was 71 years old. He was either buried in an unmarked grave or cremated and put in an unmarked niche at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery; her burial is listed as unknown--it is quite possible that she was placed with him there.

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Born Today September 3: Benjamin Webster

1797-1882

British stage actor, manager and playwright Benjamin Nottingham Webster was born on this day in Bath, England. He was born into a performance family and several of his children carried on the acting tradition after him.  He made his stage debut in 1829, and thereafter specialized in comedic roles.  He would later become a theatrical manager in his own right and retired in the year 1874. Throughout his career, he also penned stage plays. To date, only one film as been made from one of these plays.  In 1916, the Vitagraph company adapted his play "One Touch of Nature" into a dramatic short starring Leah Baird entitled The Bond of Blood.  The film was adapted from his play for the screen by A. Van Buren Powell and the film's director Van Dyke Brooke, who also took the male lead.  Webster died in London at the age of 84 on the 3rd of July (some sources cite the 8th). He is buried at London's historic Brompton Cemetery.  His grandson Ben Webster would go on to star in films and even worked and died in Hollywood; he was likewise married to actress May Whitty. Their daughter, Benjamin's great-granddaughter, was the celebrated theatrical actor/director/producer Margaret Webster.  

[Source: Wikipedia]

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Silents on TCM: September 2020

ALL TIMES IN EDT
Star of the Month:  Dorothy Dandridge
Every Tuesday: Women Make Film

9 Sept. 7:45AM [Year: 1926] Trailer

 

14 Sept. 1:15AM [Year: 1921] Film Information

 

21 Sept. 6AM [Year: 1926] Trailer

28 Sept. 12AM [Year: 1929] Clip (partial silent)

Other Goodies:

 

1 Sept. 6AM [Year: 1935] Trailer (Starts off a whole day of Alfred Hitchcock films 6AM thru 8PM]

 

1 Sept. 8PM & 10PM  [Year: 2019] Trailer (Kicks off the first prime time focus of the month "Women Make Film) 

 

1 Sept 9:15PM [Year: 1932] Clip (a film by Dorothy Azner) The other films screening this evening are:  Olivia (1951), Sleepwalking Land (2007), Seven Beauties (1975),  Je Tu Il Elle (1974), and very early in the sunlight Mädchen in Uniform (1931) & La Ciénaga (2001)

 

12 Sept. 10PM [Year: 1944] Trailer (kicks off a prime time tribute to director Jacques Tourneur) 

 

14 Sept. 8PM [Year: 1934] Film Information (Kicks of an evening of Leonard Maltin's Short Film Showcase) 

15 Sept. 9:15PM [Year: 1976] Official Trailer (a film by Barbara Kopple) 

 

16 Sept. 12:30AM [Year: 1999] Trailer (a film by Sofia Coppola) 

        

20 Sept. 8PM [Year: 1958] Clip (Kicks off a primetime lineup of Star of the Month: Dorothy Dandridge)

23 Sept. 8PM [Year: 1938] Trailer (Prime time celebration of the 100th birthday of Mickey Rooney)

28 Sept. 8PM [Year: 1938] Trailer (Kicks off a prime time celebration of the Americans With Disabilities Act)

Born Today August 20: Marguerite Gabrielle Courtot

 

1897-1986

Ingenue actress of silent cinema Marguerite Gabrielle Courtot was born on this day in Summit, New Jersey to French speaking immigrant parents.  She is yet another actress from the silent era that we have many high quality photographs of because she started out as a model when she was nearly 15 years of age.  It was not long before her image also made it's way into film.  She was hired by Kalem in the spring of 1913 and made her film debut in a Robert Vignola short shot in Jacksonville, Florida:  The War Correspondent .  She made 12 film appearances in that year alone. Some three-fourths of her relatively short film career were spent at the Kalem company, with whom she stayed through part of 1916. At the company, she acted in nearly 40 films, the last of which was The Dead Alive in which she took top billing.   A few stand outs from her time with the studio include The Vampire (1913) in which she plays the sweetheart to Alice Hollister's  vamp Sybil, the niece in the Tom Moore directed early science fiction film  The Secret Room (1915) [as well as appearances in a few of Moore's films for the studio each based on one of the ten commandments], and a series of short adventure films that were packaged by Kalem as The Ventures of Marguerite. Before her next studio contract, she made one film for the American wing of Gaumont, starring in (and with a prominent poster to match!) the feature length melodrama Feathertop loosely based on a Nathaniel Hawthorne story.  She next landed at Famous Players right around the time of it's merger with the Lasky company in 1916; her first film with them was  Rolling Stones, directed by Dell Henderson. Her appearances in films by the ever changing name of the company that would become Paramount were interspersed with independent company productions by the likes of Charles H. France, Arrow Films and Guy Empey Productions--even one very late Edison.  In 1920 she joined George B Seitz's company to make serials, the first of which was Pirate Gold.  Without a doubt the most famous film (to us today, that is) she appeared in was Down to the Sea in Ships, though she and her husband to be Raymond McKee  were in the lead roles, one Clara Bow virtually dominates the film as the daughter. The film is so well known to us today because it has come down to us intact and has been fully restored (and is readily for viewing)--at the time that it was made, however the film was bit of a curiosity (produced by the Whaling Film Corp).  Courtot married McKee in spring of 1923 and she appeared in just four more films after Ships.  She was the female lead in all four and the headliner in one--so she was definitely in demand, but she wanted to retire to a home life, which she did in 1924.  Her last film was Men, Women and Money released in August of 1924 and produced by the independent Lester Park Productions.  She then retired from acting altogether.  The couple lived in Long Beach, California at the time of their deaths. MeKee passed away in 1984 and Marguerite followed him two years later on the 28th of May at the age of 88. They are both buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.  

[Source Graving Queen of the OC (Find A Grave)]

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Born Today August 19: Lawrence D'Orsay

 

1853-1931 

British stage and film character actor Lawrence D'Orsay was born Dorset William Lawrance on this day in Peterborough, England (located in Cambridgeshire). He started acting on the stage in 1877 and was by the 1880's quite popular; he was reportedly very good in comedic roles. His most famous stage role however came in the early 20th century and in the US; in 1903 he starred off Broadway in the comedic role of "Earl of Pawtucket" at the Manhattan Theater.  D'Orsay also acted on Broadway in New York and was well regarded by American audiences and considered a specialist in playing "upper crust" types. He acted well into old age and his stage career lasted one year longer than his film career, which was short in comparison. His eight appearances in film came between the years 1913 and 1926.  The first film in which he appeared was the independent western The Border Detective in 1912.  His second film role was a reprise of his famous Earl role from the stage; The Earl of Pawtucket  (1915) was filmed entirely at the new Universal Studios in Hollywood.  His last film appearance came in D. W. Griffith's The Sorrows of Satan in 1926. Though his entire film career was in the U.S., when D'Orsay retired, he returned to the U.K. He died there at the age of 78 on the 13th September in 1931  in London.  I can find no information as to his burial.  

 

Still from The Earl of Pawtucket 

             

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Born Today August 18: Emperor Franz Joseph

 

1830-1916 

[apologies...again, this time not for my mistakes (which I make a lot of 😀), but for Google blogger issues with spelling. I did not mean a misspelling of curious to be "translated" as copious and so on]

Emperor Franz Joseph of the Habsburgs (Hapsburg) was born Franz Joseph Karl von Habsbug-Lothringen (of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine) in Vienna, of the Austrian Empire. There is little point of going into any sort of history here (and as always, I have provided links below, and in the body of this post, for curious reading for the curious), but suffice to say that Franz Joseph was the next to the last Emperor of Austria and was the longest serving ruler of Austria/Hungary (he ranks among the longest reigning monarchs--at 68 years--in history). He was the grandson of the last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II.  During his life a number of deaths of his family members were brought about as a result as political unrest and the desire for independence both in eastern Europe and in the New World. These deaths included, his wife Empress Elisabeth who was stabbed to death by a disgruntled Italian assassin, anarchist Luigi Lucheni, looking for a different royal altogether; and the execution of the his brother Maximilian  in Mexico by that country's first indigenous president Benito Juárez.  And, of course, the most famous of them all, the death of his nephew and heir-presumtive Archduke Franz Ferdinand at the hands of a Bosnian Serb assassin Gavrilo Princip in June of 1914, the event that caused the alliance cascade that would bring on World War I (not to mention the suicide of his son and heir in what is known as The Mayerling incident).  Franz Joseph outlived them all.  During his lifetime, and as an old man,  he appeared in 10 short films and/or newsreels from 1896 through 1914.  The first of these was the short film produced in Hungary entitled Emperor Franz Joseph Opening the Millenial Exhibition in 1896; the film was shot by Arnold Sziklay, who is considered to by the very first filmmaker in Hungary.  The first film of the Emperor made in Germany came two years later with the meeting of three monarchs, Franz Joseph, Kaiser Wilhelm II and King Albert of Saxony -- the little film was produced Messters Projektion. Three films were made of him at various activities in 1902, two of them by the American company Edison Manufacturing; the other was a production of the German arm of The Mutoscope & Biograph company.  All of the other films were produced as actual newsreels by Páthe Frères as part of their Páthe Weekly reels--he appeared (in a least two with soon to be murdered nephew) in reels No. 29, 30 and 35 in 1913 and reel No. 48 in 1914, which was the last time that he would be filmed during his lifetime. The Emperor died at the age of 86 on the 21st of November after contracting pneumonia a week prior. He was interred at the Imperial Crypt [Kaisergruft], famously located at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, laid to rest in a elevated tomb between to his murdered wife and tragic son.  He was succeeded to the throne by his grandnephew Charles (Karl) who only reigned until 1918.   

[Source: David Conway (Find A Grave)]

(Source: Frantisek Zboray (Find A Grave)]

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Born Today August 17: Samuel Goldwyn

1879-1974

For fans of film history and those who even casually watch silent films, Samuel Goldwyn needs no introduction! Goldwyn is the G in MGM. Born Shmuel (Schmuel) Gelfisz on this day in Warsaw, Poland when it was still a part of the Russian Empire (the year of his birth has been a matter up for question for decades--but for our purposes, 1879 will do). He grew up in a Hasidic household; he was the eldest child and his father was a struggling furniture dealer (mostly of second hand goods). After his father's untimely death--and the weight of the family fell to his young shoulders, he fled to Hamburg, Germany. The greater family had relatives living in the UK (England) and Shumel had plans to make his way to them. In the meantime, he trained as an apprentice to a local glove maker. Eventually saving up enough funds to make his way to his relatives in Birmingham, England--it was his relations there who changed his name to "Samuel Goldfish"--in part to disguise his origins. He didn't remain with them for long, before getting money (reportedly by any means necessary) to sail to the North American continent. He sailed out of Liverpool either for Canada or the east coast of the U.S. (probably the former) on the 4 of January 1899 (accounts of Goldwyn's time with his relatives in England vary--some having him in the country as early as 1895--though the later date of 1898 appears correct).  Goldwyn (Goldfish) arrived either in Canada or the US a couple of weeks later and was in Philadelphia by the 19th of the month. He then made his way into the upstate New York garment industry located around Glovesville (it was called that for a good reason, as it was the "capital" of glove-making in the U.S. at the time).  It turned out that Samuel had prodigious talents has a salesman and marketer. It did not take him long to rise in the company. He eventually was named vice-president of the Elite Glove Company, and after spending nearly five years in that position in upstate, his money allowed him to relocate to New York City. There is NO mystery as to how Goldfish made it into motion pictures. In 1910, he had wed one Blanche Lasky, who was the sister of...you guessed it....Jesse Lasky. Lasky had long been involved in performance, he had gone from being a popular vaudeville performer to successful Broadway producer, meeting the DeMille's along the way--it was only natural for Lasky and Cecil B. De Mille to want to venture into films....but they needed a capital investment--hence the involvement of his brother-in-law--the newly rich Samuel Goldfish (mind you, there are plenty of stories that have Samuel pressuring the two stage producers into films--either way, the rest is history).  The new company that was set up was The Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company.  Goldfish was involved in the film business years before any official credit came to his name. The ground breaking and history making film The Squaw Man, which lays serious claim to being the first feature length film made in Hollywood was the company's out of the gate picture--it was co-directed by De Mille and Oscar Apfel (another founder at Lasky Feature Play).  

Promotional put together by Samuel, bearing his original Anglicizied name and his titles at Lasky.

Way, way back in the day, the company that we now know as "Paramount" was in it's earliest days a fledgling distribution company--it was initially a exhibition house involved in nickelodeons, that got into film exchanges (or brokering) between companies. Ever the businessman and from rags to riches European immigrant himself, Adolph Zukor, had been in a film distribution deal with the company for some time. In June of 1914 Lasky also penned an agreement with with Paramount. As essentially the only production houses providing films to Paramount, it was only a matter time before the two companies merged. This occurred two years later in June, thus creating one the biggest actual film studios to thus far exist (it was more than likely this merger that put the nail in the coffin of the Edison film production house, which closed it's film making facilities for good in 1918). The company was Famous Players-Lasky, but Zukor, in a basically dirty tricks move had also been secretly purchasing stock in Paramount--he pulled a coup just before the merger of Player and Lasky. Ousting everyone at Paramount and replacing them with his own people, and putting the Lasky people in charge of the newly merged entity, it was also only a matter of time before tensions flared. Cutting a very long story a little short, this lead to Goldfish forming his own company and producing his own films. Again returning to Broadway to find capable producers and directors, he convinced the famous Selwyn brothers to come in with him forming Goldwyn Pictures. It was not long thereafter that Goldfish legally changed his name to Samuel Goldwyn (stuff of legends now, I suppose). Absolutely the most famous thing that Goldwyn Pictures introduced was is logo/marketing mascot "Leo the Lion."  One the production houses first films as Polly of the Circus in 1917; a Mae Marsh film, of which the newly "minted" Goldwyn was the executive producer.     

  

 

Between 1917 and 1924, he racked up the vast majority of his direct production credits, with roughly the other 1/4 or 1/3 coming with his new independent company established in 1924. During the company's existence, a sampling of directors who worked for them include George Fitzmaurice, Tod Browning, George Loane Tucker, Wallace Worsley, Albert Parker, Allan Dwan and western specialist Clarence G. Badger. In 1924, Goldwyn Pictures was acquired Marcus Loew's company Metro in April--his company having already acquired a small production company out in California called "Mayer"--thus creating the famous MGM that we know today, despite his name in the company logo, Goldwyn himself never had any position with the famous company. Goldwyn, though, was never out of pictures however, not even for a day.  He established Samuel Goldwyn Production in 1923, it would become the premiere independent film production house in Hollywood's golden age.  

The company actually came "online" in 1923, before the finalized sale of Goldwyn Pictures to Metro. The first film produced was Potash and Perlmutter, directed by Badger, who had come with Goldwyn to his new company. While the company had most of it's biggest successes out of the silent era, it did have at least a couple of notable titles to it's name in the 1920's. Biggest among them was most certainly Stella Dallas in 1925 (in 1925 Goldwyn himself [not his company] was involved personally with the production of  Ben Hur). The company was also responsible for the reboot of Bulldog Drummond character, bringing the hard boiled literary character to sounded film for the first time in 1929 (Ronald Colman as Bulldog).  By 1926, a full studio facility had been built in Hollywood on Santa Monica Blvd. and films like the comedy Partners Again (1926) were filmed completely on site there.  Among the directors working for this new Goldwyn company were Fred Niblo, Henry King, Victor Fleming and Herbert Brenon. In fact it was a Fred Niblo film that first contained sound produced at the studio: Two Lovers, a historical romantic drama that contained sound effects and a musical score by Western Electric, the film starred Vílma Banky and Ronald Colman (in a funny bit of trivia--Colman's character uses an alias...."Leatherface" 😆).  The Herbert Brenon directed adventure romance (also starring Coleman) The Rescue was the first full talkie for the studio--released in January 1929.  The company's last release in the 1920's was a full on talking melodrama, filmed partially on location on the Santa Catalina Island and starring....yes...Ronald Colman.  Condemned! was released on the 3rd of November. 

         

There first release of the brand new decade (the company's most successful 10 years!) was the cat burglar "crime romance" Raffles, released in July of 1930 and starring....yes...Ronald Colman again. The studio also quickly got into the musical business starting with Whoopee! (October 1930) starring funny man Eddie Cantor; and added King Vidor to their list of directors who made pictures with them with Street Scene starring new-comer Sylvia Sidney being his first.  But it was with Arrowsmith  in 1931 that the studio hit pay-dirt, the film was directed by John Ford was nominated for 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture (and...it starred, you guessed it! Ronald Colman).   It was the first of several films to be nominated thusly during the 1930's. The studio's best investment was in the hiring of director William Wyler, though he was replaced by Howard Hawks on Barbury Coast, his Dodsworth was not only nominated for 7 Oscars, it won for Best Art Direction. Other Goldwyn produced Wyler films that garnered Oscar nominations include Dead End (1937) again with Sylvia Sidney, Wuthering Heights (1938) with Merle Oberon (which won for Best Cinematography) & Little Foxes (1941) with Bette Davis. The production company also remade it's Stella Dallas in 1937, directed by Vidor--it too was nominated for Academy Awards. Goldwyn himself would go to be honored by the Academy in 1946 with the Irving B. Thalberg Memorial Award, an irony given that Thalberg was famous as head of production for MGM. Goldwyn was the 8th recipient of the award. His last production credit came in 1959 with Porgy And Bess starring Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Danridge, Pearl Bailey and Sammy Davis Jr.--nominated for 4 Academy Awards, it won for Best Score. Goldwyn's next-to-last producer credit came on his only foray into television on the made-for television science fiction film The Unexplained based on a Ray Bradbury story (teleplay by Raphael Hayes)--it aired on the 10th of July in 1956.  He then retired to his home on Laurel Lane. He died in the home on New Year's Eve in 1974 at the age of 94. He was buried in a sort-of unmarked grave (in Hasidic tradition) in a special private garden with no public access at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.  Goldwyn's second marriage was to actress Frances Howard, who had a very short career. Their son followed his father into the business, as hae several grandchildren have gotten into the business in various capacities. Unfortunately, a number of his family members left behind in Poland died at the hands of the Nazi's during the Holocaust, despite the family's best efforts to get them out of Europe.                                    

[Source: Dennis Svoboda and Anneabe (Find A Grave)]

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Born Today August 16: Jane Gail

1890-1963 

Actress of the early silent era Jane Gail was born Ethel S. Magee on this day in Salem, New York. Her entire career in film was not only encapsulated within the silent era, it is almost completely contained to the 1910's.  She is well known from her appearances during this time, curiously in a series of science fiction roles; though she also appeared in melodrama and crime films and was very talented in a surprising number of short comedies.  Before appearing in pictures, she, was like so many early actual actors in films, an actor of the stage; she even had a brief run on Broadway. While she is very famous as the imperiled fiancee opposite King Baggot's Dr. Jekyll in the 1913 Herbert Brenon directed version Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, she actually made her film debut a year earlier as an extra in yet another version of Dr. Jekyll directed by Lucius Henderson for Thanhouser.  She quickly got a named role in her very next film: Her Heart's Refuge (1912), a romantic short made by Lubin Manufacturing. She actually appeared in 11 films between her two Dr. Jekyll films--a goodly number of them were narrative comedies and/or romances--though most are not remembered even in film history.  A couple of sources cite that she is best known for her role in George Loane Tucker's "white slavery" film Traffic in Souls, but that probably has as much to do with the fact that the film has indeed survived and is widely available to purchase, as it does with anything--though it was the very first feature length picture in which she appeared (and it would not be her only appearance in a Tucker directed feature, probably the most famous among them is his Prisoner of Zenda in 1915, but there is also The Difficult Way from 1914 which had a running time of 1 hour and 15 minutes). For me personally though, her turn as "Child of Nature" in the 1916 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is the performance that stands out. The film is the first adaptation of the famous Jules Verne novel and was ground breaking in that it was the first motion picture filmed under water, done with done with reflective techniques by the Williamson Submarine Company based in The Bahamas where the film was shot.  She would only remain in films another three years, with 1917 being the boom year--appearing in over 10 films. She did not make a film at all in 1919 and had just one appearance each in 1918 and 1920. All of these films were shorts, save for her final film appearance, which was in the independent, shot on location (Florida everglades), film. She took the lead role opposite John Charles (who would die soon after the film's release). She was only 30 years of age when she decided to retire. Apparently the Florida area was to and her husband's liking, and they settled in the St. Petersburg area. She passed away there on her birthday in 1963 at the age of 72. She was, however, interred near her birth place at Ferncliff in Hartsdale, New York under her married name of Hill, along with her husband--a newspaper man and documentarian Edwin C. Hill--and a relative that I am assuming is her sister who is interred under their birth name of Magee. 

[Source: Ginny M (Find A Grave)]

 Below are two still from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1916)

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