George Kirke Spoor (December 18, 1871 – 24 November 1953) was an early film pioneer who, with Gilbert M. "Broncho Billy" Anderson, founded

Essanay Studios 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, ...

in Chicago in 1907. He was a founding partner of V-L-S-E, Incorporated, a film distribution firm, in 1915.

Biography

Spoor and Anderson were responsible for discovering stars such as Wallace Beery,

Francis X. Bushman Francis Xavier Bushman (January 10, 1883 – August 23, 1966) was an American film actor and director. His career as a matinee idol started in 1911 in the silent film ''His Friend's Wife.'' He gained a large female following and was one of the ...

, Ben Turpin, Gloria Swanson and

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, was ...

, who was hired as a

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, went on to become a famous Hollywood director. Louella Parsons, also hired by Spoor as a screenwriter, later became a famous Hollywood

gossip columnist A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are material written in a light, informal style, which relates the gossip columnist's opinions about the personal li ...

. In 1894, while box office manager of the

Phoenix Opera House Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

in Waukegan, Illinois, George K. Spoor teamed up with the inventor

Edward Hill Amet Edward Hill Amet (November 10, 1860 – August 16, 1948) was an American inventor and electrical engineer, best known for his contributions to the early motion picture industry. His magniscope was one of the first devices that projected moving pic ...

(1860–1948) to build and exhibit "The Magniscope", the first practical 35 mm movie projector ever designed and used in a large audience display. Spoor and Amet made films and distributed them with this device before the 1895 device by the Lumière brothers of France. Thomas Edison's more famous Kinetoscope was exhibited in 1891, but was only able to be viewed by one person at a time through a peephole. Spoor and Amet are credited for having filmed: the world's first newsreel, a film of the first

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...

of President William McKinley in 1897; the first use of film miniatures (''

The Battle of Santiago Bay ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'') in which tin replicas and cigar smoke created the illusion of live war footage; the first to experience local censorship (due to the graphic images of ''China's

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

''); the first "fake newsreel" in which Spoor used neighbors to act out battles such as the Battle of San Juan Hill in a local park. Spoor is also remembered for having produced, in 1918, the movie '' Men Who Have Made Love to Me'' by controversial feminist Mary MacLane, the first serious cinematic work to break the fourth wall. and the first to unite writer, narrator, subject, and star. In 1926, Spoor and P. John Berggren invented "Natural Vision", an early 65 mm widescreen process which was only used for a few films, including '' Niagara Falls'' (1926), '' Rollercoaster Ride'' (1926), '' The American'' (1927) and '' Danger Lights'' ( RKO Radio Pictures, 1930). The trademark Natural Vision was later used for an unrelated system of making

3-D film 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pict ...

s in 1953. In 1948, Spoor received an Oscar, specifically an

Academy Honorary Award The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929) – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Moti ...

, for his contribution to developing motion pictures as entertainment. He died on November 24, 1953.

Selected filmography

George Kirke Spoor & P John Berggren - Jan 1921 EH

Spoor is credited with having been the producer of:"George K. Spoor", IMDb.com.
Accessed: December 16, 2012. * ' (1909), starring Ben Turpin * '' A Burlesque on Carmen'' (1915), starring Edna Purviance, directed by

* '' Men Who Have Made Love to Me'' (1918), starring Mary MacLane,

Ralph Graves Ralph Graves (born Ralph Horsburgh; January 23, 1900 – February 18, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director and actor who appeared in more than 90 films between 1918 and 1949. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Graves had already ...

and Paul Harvey * ''

A Pair of Sixes ''A Pair of Sixes'', originally titled ''The Party of the Second Part'', is a farce in three acts by Edward Peple that made its Broadway debut at the Longacre Theatre on March 17, 1914. The piece was produced by Harry Frazee and achieved a run ...

'' (1918), starring Taylor Holmes * '' The American'' (1927), starring Bessie Love and Charles Ray

References

External links

* *
"Sounds of Silents"
a play about Essanay Studios

at SilentEra.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Spoor, George K. Cinema pioneers American film producers American film studio executives American film production company founders American inventors Silent film producers 1872 births 1953 deaths Academy Honorary Award recipients People from Highland Park, Illinois