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Essanay Film Manufacturing Company
The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago, and later developed an additional film lot in Niles Canyon, California. Its various stars included Francis X. Bushman, Gloria Swanson and studio co-owner, actor and director, Broncho Billy Anderson. It is probably best known today for its series of Charlie Chaplin comedies from 1915-1916. In the late 1916 it merged with other studios and stopped issuing films in the fall of 1918. According to film historian Steve Massa, Essanay is one of the important early studios, with comedies as a particular strength. Founding The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago by George K. Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson, originally as the Peerless Film Manufacturing Company. On August 10, 1907, playing on the founders' initials the name was changed to Essanay ("S and A"). Essanay was originally located at 501 Wells Street (modern numbering: 1360 N. Wells). Essanay's first f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Essanay Logo
The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago, and later developed an additional film lot in Niles Canyon, California. Its various stars included Francis X. Bushman, Gloria Swanson and studio co-owner, actor and director, Broncho Billy Anderson. It is probably best known today for its series of Charlie Chaplin comedies from 1915-1916. In the late 1916 it merged with other studios and stopped issuing films in the fall of 1918. According to film historian Steve Massa, Essanay is one of the important early studios, with comedies as a particular strength. Founding The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago by George K. Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson, originally as the Peerless Film Manufacturing Company. On August 10, 1907, playing on the founders' initials the name was changed to Essanay ("S and A"). Essanay was originally located at 501 Wells Street (modern numbering: 1360 N. Wells). Essanay's first f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Periolat
George Periolat (February 5, 1874 – February 20, 1940) was an American actor. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, George Periolat began his career as a Broadway actor. Making his film debut with the Essanay Studios in Chicago, he moved to Hollywood in 1911 and starred in over 170 films throughout his career. He was a very versatile actor, often playing multiple roles in a single production, as when he played two leading characters, the count and the crook, in the 1916 production of '' The Counterfeit Earl''. The story of Norma Desmond, though fictitious, is not far removed from the plight of many silent film stars, and the advent of the sound film brought about a swift end to Periolat's career. He made his last appearance in 1932's ''What Price Hollywood?''. On February 20, 1940, he committed suicide by ingesting arsenic in his Hollywood mansion. Outside his acting career, George Periolat was an amateur photographer, and a grandson of Clemens Periolat. Filmography 1910s * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contemporary Books
McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes reference and trade publications for the medical, business, and engineering professions. McGraw Hill operates in 28 countries, has about 4,000 employees globally, and offers products and services to about 140 countries in about 60 languages. Formerly a division of The McGraw Hill Companies (later renamed McGraw Hill Financial, now S&P Global), McGraw Hill Education was divested and acquired by Apollo Global Management in March 2013 for $2.4 billion in cash. McGraw Hill was sold in 2021 to Platinum Equity for $4.5 billion. Corporate History McGraw Hill was founded in 1888 when James H. McGraw, co-founder of the company, purchased the ''American Journal of Railway Appliances''. He continued to add further publications, eventually establishing The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rod La Rocque
Roderick Ross La Rocque (November 29, 1898 – October 15, 1969) was an American actor. Biography La Rocque was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edmund La Rocque and Ann (née Rice) La Rocque. His father was of French-Canadian descent and his mother was of Irish descent. He began appearing in stock theater at the age of seven and eventually ended up at the Essanay Studios as a teenager in Chicago where he found steady work until the studios closed. He then moved to New York City and worked on the stage until he was noticed by Samuel Goldwyn who took him to Hollywood. Over the next two decades, he appeared in films and made the transition to sound films. In 1927, he married Hungarian actress Vilma Bánky in a lavish, highly publicized wedding. They were married until his death in 1969. The couple had no children. He retired from movies in 1941 and became a real estate broker. For his contribution to the film industry, La Rocque was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmund Cobb
Edmund Fessenden Cobb (June 23, 1892 – August 15, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in more than 620 films between 1912 and 1966. Biography Cobb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of William Henry Cobb and Eddie (Edmundie) Ross. His maternal grandfather, Edmund G. Ross, was a newspaper editor, a governor of the New Mexico territory, a senator from Kansas, and a leader in the abolitionist movement in the United States. Despite his grandfather's efforts to lead Cobb into a career in politics, an initial effort in acting in a locally produced play turned him in that direction for a career. When he was 18, he worked for the St. Louis Motion Picture Company when it made a film in Albuquerque. Other roles with other companies followed. One of his earliest roles was a bit part in the Essanay Studios film ''A Pueblo Legend'' (1912). Much of Cobb's work in films came after he signed with Universal in 1925. He continued to act after sound came into films, but in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Arnold (actor)
Günther Edward Arnold Schneider (February 18, 1890 – April 26, 1956) was an American actor of the stage and screen. Early life Arnold was born on February 18, 1890, in Lower East Side of New York City, the son of German immigrants Elizabeth (Ohse) and Carl Schneider. His schooling came at the East Side Settlement House. Acting career Stage Arnold was interested in acting ever since he appeared on stage as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice at age 12. He made his professional stage debut in 1907 and had important roles in several plays on Broadway in the 1920s and 1930s. Among them is the 1927 revival of ''The Jazz Singer'', with Arnold as the second lead to the star, George Jessel. Film He found work as an extra for Essanay Studios and World Studios, before landing his first significant role in 1916's '' The Misleading Lady''. He returned to the stage in 1919, and did not appear in movies again until his talkie debut in ''Okay America!'' (1932). He recreated one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virginia Valli
Virginia Valli (died September 24, 1968) was an American stage and film actress whose motion picture career started in the silent film era and lasted until the beginning of the sound film era of the 1930s. Early life Born Virginia McSweeney in Chicago, Illinois, she got her acting start in Milwaukee with a stock company. She also did some film work with Essanay Studios in Chicago, starting in 1916. Film career Valli continued to appear in films throughout the 1920s. She was an established star at the Universal studio by the mid-1920s. In 1924 she was the female lead in King Vidor's southern gothic ''Wild Oranges'', a film now recovered from film vault obscurity. She also appeared in the romantic comedy, ''Every Woman's Life'', about "the man she could have married, the man she should have married and the man she DID marry." Most of her films were made between 1924 and 1927, and included Alfred Hitchcock's debut feature, '' The Pleasure Garden'' (1925), '' Paid to Love'' (1927 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular '' Andy Hardy'' film series. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1929 for his performance as Russian Count Pahlen in '' The Patriot''. Stone was also cast in seven films with Greta Garbo, including in the role of Doctor Otternschlag in the 1932 drama ''Grand Hotel''. Early life Born in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1879, Lewis was the youngest of four children of Philena (née Ball) and Bertrand Stone."United States Census, 1880", digital image of original census page documenting Lewis Stone in household of Bertrand Stone, Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts; enumeration district (ED) 903, sheet 608D; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C. FamilySearch database with images, Salt Lake City ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florence Oberle
Florence Oberle (December 6, 1869 – July 10, 1943) was a stage and film actress from Tarrytown, New York. Career Born in 1869, Oberle appeared in Morosco Theatre and David Belasco productions. She was once billed as "the most beautiful woman on the American stage." In California Oberle played opposite theatrical stars like Edward Everett Horton and Trixie Friganza. Her last appearance on stage came in 1931, performing with Jane Cowl in ''Camille''. In 1915 Oberle signed with Essanay Studios, a pioneer film studio of the silent movie era. She also performed with Charles Ray and various Hollywood actors at Keystone Studios, Triangle Studios, and Famous Players. Among her films are ''The White Sister'' (1915), ''When My Lady Smiles'' (1915), ''Separating From Sarah'' (1916), ''The Invisible Web'' (1917), ''Her Country First'' (1918), and '' Smudge'' (1922). Personal life and death Oberle lived in Chicago, Illinois, for three years. When she retired she came to reside in Los ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lester Cuneo
Lester H. Cuneo (October 25, 1888 – November 1, 1925) was an American stage and silent film actor. He began acting in live theatre while still in his teens. Early years Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cuneo attended Culver Military Academy and was a law student at Northwestern University when he turned to acting. Career Cuneo's stage career included work with stock theater companies in Brooklyn, Chicago, and Winnepeg. Cuneo began a film career in 1912 with the Chicago-based Selig Polyscope Company then joined Essanay Studios in 1914. Working in early Hollywood, his popularity increased after he switched from comedic roles to the increasingly popular western film genre. However, his career was temporarily interrupted when he served with the United States Army during World War I. He served in France in 1917-1919 with the 33rd Division from Illinois. At war's end, Lester Cuneo returned to film and in the early 1920s set up his own production company making primarily western films. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helen Dunbar
Helen Dunbar (born Katheryn Burke Lackey; October 10, 1863 – August 28, 1933) was an American theatrical performer and silent film actress. Career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dunbar first appeared with the Weber & Fields Stock Company, when it began its career on the New York stage. In 1899 she appeared in ''Whirl-i-gig'' and ''The Other Way'' at the Weber and Fields Broadway Music Hall. She also worked with the Charles Dillingham Company and the Boston Opera Company. She appeared in motion pictures beginning in 1912 and continued until 1926. Her stage and screen career extended over thirty-five years. Dunbar's film career started with ''Out of the Depths'' (1912). The production starred Francis X. Bushman. She became a leading lady for the old Essanay Studios. For a number of years she was under contract to Famous Players-Lasky. Aside from Bushman, Dunbar made films with stars like Harry Cashman, Richard Carroll, Ruth Stonehouse, Beverly Bayne, Frank Keenan, Jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ann Little
Ann Little (born Mary Hankins Brooks; February 7, 1891 – May 21, 1984), also known as Anna Little, was an American film actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era of the early 1910s through the early 1920s. Today, most of her films are lost, with only 12 known to survive. Life and career Ann Little was born Mary Hankins Brooks on February 7, 1891, on a ranch in Mount Shasta, California. She was the only child of Mary Mariah "Mamie" Hankins Brooks, who was from Montana, and James Luther Brooks, who was from New York. In the 1900 census, she is listed as living in Chicago, Illinois, alongside her mother and father as roomers. She appears in the 1910 census as living in Mount Shasta again as a roomer with the Levy family, and her marital status is "married". Little first appeared in a traveling, stock-theater group after graduating from high school at age 16. After briefly relocating to San Francisco in the early 1910s, she acted in musical comedies o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
