Charles Pacific Morrison (1878–1924), an American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, was born April 3, 1878 in

Morrison, Colorado The Town of Morrison is a home rule municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The population was 428 at the 2010 census. Red Rocks Amphitheatre is located nearby. History This small foothills settlement is named after George ...

. The grandson of pioneer town founder George Morrison, he was known as "Chick" to many who knew him, a nickname conjunction of his first and middle names. A keen

horse rider Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

, he often appeared in riding contests and rodeos throughout the American west. At Morrison he trained horses for trick and fancy riding as well as break in wild horses. In 1909 Essanay Studios brought one such horse to Morrison to film some of their famous '' Broncho Billy'' series of 2-reel thrillers. Morrison got the director's attention through his expert horsemanship, daring maneuvers, as well as his control over the animals, and was used as a double for the lead actor in some of the more dangerous scenes. Morrison left Colorado that year for California. From that point onward he appeared in feature films, rapidly growing to prominence in the film making industry. Soon he played leads, and his success and experience as an animal trainer, especially with horses, put him in great demand for some of the largest pictures made in his era. Morrison appeared in about 45 films, including ones with

Charlotte Burton Charlotte E. Burton (May 30, 1881 – March 28, 1942) was an American silent film actress. Career Born in San Francisco, Burton was signed by the American Film Manufacturing Company in 1912 where she worked for several years. She join ...

in films such as ''

Rose of San Juan ''The Rose of San Juan'' is a 1913 American silent-era short drama film starring Sydney Ayres, Charlotte Burton, and Louise Lester. Directed by Ayres for the American Film Manufacturing Company, ''The Rose of San Juan'' was distributed by Mutual ...

'', '' Quicksands'' and '' Calamity Anne, Heroine''. During his career he worked for Hal Roach Studios, the

Broncho Billy Anderson Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson (born Maxwell Henry Aronson; March 21, 1880 – January 20, 1971) was an American actor, writer, film director, and film producer, who was the first star of the Western film genre. He was a founder and star ...

and Selig Polyscope Company, and

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. Chick's career met a tragic end on June 20, 1924. That day while filming at Hal Roach in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, Morrison's favorite horse, ''Young Steamboat'', fell backward upon him, killing him instantly at the age of 46. The horse had accompanied Morrison to Hollywood, a horse Chick had often told friends was especially wild and difficult to tame and train. Chick Morrison was the older brother of another early western film actor,

Pete Morrison George D. "Pete" Morrison (August 8, 1890 – February 5, 1973) was an American silent western film actor born in Westminster, Colorado. During his childhood he lived in Morrison, Colorado (named for his grandfather George Morrison) and Idaho S ...

Selected filmography

* '' White Eagle'' (

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

) * ''

Black Beauty ''Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions, the Autobiography of a Horse'' is an 1877 novel by English author Anna Sewell. It was composed in the last years of her life, during which she was bedridden and seriously ill.Merriam-Webster (1995). ...

'' (1921) * '' The Duke of Chimney Butte'' (1921) * ''

A Gamblin' Fool ''A Gamblin' Fool'' is a 1920 American short silent Western film released by Universal Film Mfg. Co. (later to become Universal Pictures), written by Ford Beebe, directed by Leo D. Maloney and featuring Hoot Gibson. Cast * Hoot Gibson * D ...

'' ( 1920) * ''

The Big Catch ''The Big Catch'' is a 1920 American short silent Western film released by the Universal Film Mfg. Co. (later to become Universal Pictures), written by Ford Beebe, directed by Leo D. Maloney and starring Hoot Gibson. Cast * Hoot Gibson * Dor ...

'' (1920) * '' The Caveman'' (1915) * ''

The Certainty of Man ''The Certainty of Man'' is a 1914 American silent short drama film starring Charlotte Burton, Sydney Ayres, Charles Morrison, Jack Richardson, Vivian Rich and Harry von Meter Harry von Meter (March 20, 1871 – June 2, 1956; sometimes cr ...

'' (

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

) * ''

A Blowout at Santa Banana ''A Blowout at Santa Banana'' is a 1914 American silent comedy-drama short film starring Sydney Ayres, Vivian Rich, and Harry Van Meter. The film was shot in Santa Barbara by the American Film Manufacturing Company, aka Flying "A" Studios, and r ...

'' (1914) * '' American Born'' (

1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...

) * '' Calamity Anne's Dream'' (1913) * '' The Tale of the Ticker'' (1913) * '' In the Mountains of Virginia'' (1913) * '' Calamity Anne, Heroine'' (1913) * ''

'' (1913)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Chick American male film actors People from Morrison, Colorado American male silent film actors Male Western (genre) film actors 1878 births 1924 deaths Deaths by horse-riding accident in the United States Accidental deaths in California 20th-century American male actors