Clarence Forrest Burton (May 10, 1882 – December 2, 1933) was an American

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

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 ...

Biography

Burton was born in Fort Lyon, in

Benton County, Missouri Benton County is a county located in the west central part of the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 19,394 as of the 2020 Census. Its county seat is Warsaw. The county was organized January 3, 1835, and named for U.S. Senator Thomas ...

and started in show business at the age of 5, playing stock and

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

in road productions. He was signed into films in late 1912 and starred in 132 films between 1913 and 1932. Clarence Burton in The Ten Commandments

By late 1920, Burton had become heavy enough to be considered unsuited for his typical villainous roles in films. A trainer supervised a program of exercise and diet until Burton had lost enough weight to be cast in the Paramount film ''The Jacklins''. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1933 at the age of 51 in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. His interment was located at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...

, but was removed on September 6, 1950.

Partial filmography

* '' The Werewolf'' (1913) * '' The Sign of the Spade'' (1916) * ''

The Twinkler ''The Twinkler'' is a 1916 American silent crime drama film directed by Edward Sloman. The film stars William Russell and Charlotte Burton. The author, Henry Leverage, was incarcerated in Sing Sing for auto theft; that fact was used in the fi ...

'' (1916) as Boss Corregan * ''

Beloved Rogues ''Beloved Rogues'' is a 1917 American silent comedy-drama film directed and written by Alfred Santell with the storyline by Aaron Hoffman. It starred C. William Kolb. A surviving fragment, 1 reel, exists at the Library of Congress. Plot The f ...

'' (1917) as Jack Kennedy * ''

My Fighting Gentleman ''My Fighting Gentleman'' (also known as ''A Son of Battle'') is a 1917 American silent historical drama film directed by Edward Sloman with the storyline by Doris Schroeder and Nell Shipman. The film stars William Russell and Francelia Billing ...

'' (1917) as Isiah Gore * '' The Spender'' (1919) * '' The Last of the Duanes'' (1919) as Bland * '' Wings of the Morning'' (1919) as Taung Si Ali * ''

The Return of Mary ''The Return of Mary'' is a 1918 American silent drama film, directed by Wilfred Lucas. It stars May Allison, Clarence Burton, and Claire McDowell, and was released on September 23, 1918. Cast list * May Allison as Mary * Clarence Burton as John ...

'' (1919) as John Denby * ''

Six Feet Four ''Six Feet Four'' is a 1919 American silent Western film directed by Henry King and starring William Russell, Vola Vale, and Charles K. French Charles K. French (born Charles Ekrauss French or Charles E. Krauss; January 17, 1860 – ...

'' (1919) * '' Castles in the Air'' (1919) * ''

The Six Best Cellars ''The Six Best Cellars'' is a lost 1920 American silent comedy film directed by Donald Crisp and starring Bryant Washburn and Wanda Hawley. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was based on the 1 ...

'' (1920) as Henry Carpenter * '' Thou Art the Man'' (1920) as Matt Solomon * ''

Forbidden Fruit Forbidden fruit is a name given to the fruit growing in the Garden of Eden which God commands mankind not to eat. In the biblical story, Adam and Eve eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and are exiled from Eden. As a ...

'' (1921) as Steve Maddock * ''

The Lost Romance ''The Lost Romance'' is a surviving 1921 American silent drama film directed by William C. deMille and starring Jack Holt and Lois Wilson. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. A copy is held by The ...

'' (1921) * ''

Crazy to Marry ''Crazy to Marry'' is a 1921 American silent comedy film directed by James Cruze and starring Fatty Arbuckle. Prints are held by Cinematheque Royale de Belgique, Brussels and Gosfilmofond, Russian State Archive, Moscow. Synopsis Dr. Hobart H ...

'' (1921) as Gregory Slade (a lawyer) * '' Miss Lulu Bett'' (1921) as Ninian Deacon * '' Fool's Paradise'' (1921) as Manuel * ''

Her Husband's Trademark ''Her Husband's Trademark'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gloria Swanson and Richard Wayne. Produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the film was shot on location in El Pa ...

'' (1922) * '' The Impossible Mrs. Bellew'' (1922) * ''

The Beautiful and Damned ''The Beautiful and Damned'' is a 1922 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in New York City, the novel's plot follows a young artist Anthony Patch and his flapper wife Gloria Gilbert who become "wrecked on the shoals of dissipati ...

'' (1922) as Bloeckman * ''

Adam's Rib ''Adam's Rib'' is a 1949 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor from a screenplay written by Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin. It stars Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn as married lawyers who come to oppose each other in ...

'' (1923) as Cave Man * '' Garrison's Finish'' (1923) *''

The Satin Girl ''The Satin Girl'' is a 1923 American silent drama film directed by Arthur Rosson and starring Mabel Forrest, Norman Kerry and Marc McDermott. The main themes of the film are amnesia and brainwashing. Lenore Vance, the main character, loses her ...

'' (1923) * ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ� ...

'' (1923) as the Taskmaster (prologue) * '' The Mine with the Iron Door'' (1924) * '' No More Women'' (1924) as Beef Hogan * '' The Navigator'' (1924) as Spy (uncredited) * ''

The Road to Yesterday ''The Road to Yesterday'' is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. The film is significant because it was Cecil B. DeMille's first release from his new production company, DeMille Pictures Corporation. It wa ...

'' (1925) as Hugh Armstrong * ''

The Coming of Amos ''The Coming of Amos'' is a 1925 American silent romantic drama film directed by Paul Sloane, produced by Cecil B. DeMille and distributed by his Producers Distributing Corporation. Copies of this film survive and can be found on home video an ...

'' (1925) * '' The Wedding Song'' (1925) * ''

The Million Dollar Handicap ''The Million Dollar Handicap'' is a 1925 American silent sports drama film directed by Scott Sidney and starring Edmund Burns, Ralph Lewis, and Ward Crane. It is based on the 1902 novel ''Thoroughbreds'' by William Alexander Fraser. The film w ...

'' (1925) * ''

Savages of the Sea ''Savages of the Sea'' is a 1925 American silent action film directed by Bruce Mitchell and starring Frank Merrill, Melbourne MacDowell and Marguerite Snow.Munden p.682 It was produced by independent Bud Barsky as a supporting feature. Synopsi ...

'' (1925) * '' Shipwrecked'' (1926) * ''

The Danger Girl ''The Danger Girl'' is a 1916 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and starring Bobby Vernon and Gloria Swanson. Plot Reggie's sister disguises herself as a boy to prove to her brother and sweetheart that a vamp is only ...

'' (1926) * ''

The Warning Signal ''The Warning Signal'' is a 1926 American silent action drama film directed by Charles J. Hunt and starring Gladys Hulette, Lincoln Stedman and Clarence Burton.Connelly p.430 Synopsis The son of a railroad owner wants to make his own way in the ...

'' (1926) * ''

The Nervous Wreck ''The Nervous Wreck'' is a 1926 American silent film, silent comedy film, comedy adventure film directed by Scott Sidney and starring Harrison Ford (silent film actor), Harrison Ford, Phyllis Haver and Chester Conklin.Connelly p.182 It is based ...

'' (1926) * ''

Rubber Tires A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

'' (1927) as Mexican * '' The King of Kings'' (1927) * ''

A Harp in Hock ''A Harp in Hock'', also known as ''The Samaritan'', is a lost 1927 American silent melodrama film directed by Renaud Hoffman, produced by DeMille Pictures, and distributed by Pathé Exchange. The film starred Rudolph Schildkraut, Junior Coghl ...

'' (1927) * ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'' (1927) * '' Stool Pigeon'' (1928) * ''

Stand and Deliver ''Stand and Deliver'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Ramón Menéndez, written by Menéndez and Tom Musca, based on the true story of a high school mathematics teacher, Jaime Escalante. For portraying Escalante, Edward James Olmos wa ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Younger Generation ''The Younger Generation'' is a 1929 American part-talkie drama film directed by Frank Capra and starring Ricardo Cortez. It was produced by Jack Cohn for Columbia Pictures. It was Capra's first sound film. While mostly silent, the film has t ...

'' (1929) * ''

The Godless Girl ''The Godless Girl'' (1928) is an American dramatic silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille, shown for years as his last completely silent film. The cast features Lina Basquette, Marie Prevost, Tom Keene and Noah Beery. Plot This drama feat ...

'' (1929) * ''

Barnum Was Right ''Barnum Was Right'' is a 1929 American comedy film directed by Del Lord and starring Glenn Tryon, Merna Kennedy and Basil Radford. Along with the sound version, the film was also released in a silent version for theatres not wired for sound. At ...

'' (1929) * ''

The Love Racket ''The Love Racket'' is a 1929 American early sound crime drama film produced and distributed by First National Pictures. It was directed by William A. Seiter and starred Dorothy Mackaill. It is based on a Broadway play, ''The Woman on the Jury ...

'' (1929) * ''

The Unholy Three The Unholy Three can refer to the following: * ''The Unholy Three'', a 1917 novel by Tod Robbins * ''The Unholy Three'' (1925 film), directed by Tod Browning * ''The Unholy Three'' (1930 film), a remake of the 1925 film directed by Jack Conway * ...

'' (1930) * ''

The Love Trader ''The Love Trader'' is an early talkie pre-Code American romantic drama film preserved at the Library of Congress.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', pg. 1 ...

'' (1930) * '' The Sign of the Cross'' (1932) as Servillius

References

External links

* * * 1882 births 1933 deaths 19th-century American male actors American male stage actors 20th-century American male actors American male child actors American male silent film actors Male actors from Missouri People from Benton County, Missouri {{US-theat-actor-1880s-stub