Willis Brown (July 31, 1881 – October 20, 1931) was a permanently removed Utah juvenile court judge, falsely-claimed lawyer, self-described humanitarian, and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

. Born James Willhenry Brown in Columbus, Indiana to James W. Brown and Lucetta Pierson.

Judge

In the decade of the 1900s Brown lectured on the

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...

circuit as a judge of the Utah Juvenile Court and a progressive expert on boys' reformation. He was appointed to the Juvenile Court in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

in the spring of 1905, served two years, but had been permanently removed by the

Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice, ...

.The Pacific reporter, Volume 88, Utah Supreme Court decision Mill v. Brown, January 17, 1907 In 1910, the Juvenile Court debunked Judge Brown's credentials.The Juvenile court record, Volumes 9-12 By Timothy David Hurley, February 1910 issue, page 5, "As to Judge Willis Brown") Brown was, in fact, not even a lawyer, and had been misrepresenting himself.

Boy City Film Company

Building a national reputation, in the 1910s he started "Boy Cities" in

Charlevoix, Michigan Charlevoix ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County. The population was 2,348 at the 2020 census. Charlevoix is mostly surrounded by Charlevoix Township, but the two are administered autonomously ...

, and

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the sou ...

, then relocated to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. (The better-known

Boys Town, Nebraska Boys Town is a village in Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 410 at the 2020 census. Boys Town is an enclave and a suburb of Omaha. The village of Boys Town was established in 1917 as the headquarters of Father Flanagan ...

was founded in December 1917.) By 1917 Brown founded the Boy City Film Company in Culver City, part film studio, part homeless shelter. He served as a film producer. In film history, Brown is remarkable for giving director

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

his first directing job. Brown funded a series of twenty-two reelers, both moral lessons and promotional films. Brown appeared as himself in all but the first one; Vidor directed at least ten of them. These films have evidence of "fascinating social content" - the plot of the second entry, ''

The Chocolate of the Gang ''The Chocolate of the Gang'' is a 1918 American short comedy film directed by King Vidor. Cast * Ruth Hampton as The Heiress * Thomas Bellamy as Black Boy * Ernest Butterworth Jr. as White Boy * Judge Willis Brown as himself / Commentator R ...

'', deals with a black child being denied membership in an all-white club, and employed black actors for the lead roles as opposed to the usual practice of white performers in blackface.

Death

According to Variety, Brown was shot to death in Columbus, Ohio in 1931 by "a jealous widow".

Film series

* The Boy City (1910) ( it) ( fr) * '' Bud's Recruit'' (1918) * ''

'' (1918) * '' The Lost Lie'' (1918) * '' Tad's Swimming Hole'' (1918) * ''Marrying Off Dad'' (1918) * '' The Accusing Toe'' (1918) * ''Thief or Angel'' (1918) * ''The Rebellion'' (1918) * ''The Preacher's Son'' (1918) * '' A Boy Built City'' (1918) * '' I'm a Man'' (1918) * ''Love of Bob'' (1918) * ''Dog vs. Dog'' (1918) * ''The Three Fives'' (1918) * ''The Case of Bennie'' (1918) * ''Kid Politics'' (1918) * ''The Demand of Dugan'' (1919) * ''Shift the Gear, Freck'' (1919) * ''Gum Drops and Overalls'' (1919) * ''Danny Asks Why'' (1919)

References

External links

*
picture and storie
on Judge Willis Brown (Motion Picture Magazine, 1911) {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Willis 1881 births 1931 deaths 1931 murders in the United States 19th-century American people 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American judges American film production company founders American humanitarians American murder victims Deaths by firearm in Ohio Film producers from Indiana People from Columbus, Indiana People murdered in Ohio Utah state court judges