Joseph White Farnham (December 2, 1884 – June 2, 1931) was an American playwright,

film writer 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. T ...

, and

film editor Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology. The film ed ...

of the silent movie era in the 1920s. He was also a founding member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

Biography

Born in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

in 1884, Farnham got his start in film through his business relationship with

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

impresarios Gustave and

Daniel Frohman Daniel Frohman (August 22, 1851 – December 26, 1940) was an American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer. Biography Frohman was born to a Jewish family in Sandusky, Ohio. His parents were Henry (1826–1899) and Ba ...

who owned The Frohman Amusement Corp. ''

The Big Parade ''The Big Parade'' is a 1925 American silent war drama film directed by King Vidor, starring John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Hobart Bosworth, Tom O'Brien, and Karl Dane. Written by World War I veteran, Laurence Stallings, the film is about ...

'' is probably the most famous of his works adapted to film. In the

1st Academy Awards The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and hosted by AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks, honored the best films from 1 August 1927 to 31 July 1928 and took place on May 1 ...

of 1929, nominees could be considered for an Oscar for an award on the basis of multiple films within the year. Joseph won his Best Writing - Title Cards award for the films '' The Fair Co-Ed''; ''

Laugh, Clown, Laugh ''Laugh, Clown, Laugh'' is a 1928 American silent drama film starring Lon Chaney and Loretta Young (her film debut). The movie was directed by Herbert Brenon and produced by Irving G. Thalberg for MGM Pictures. The film was written by Elizabet ...

''; and '' Telling the World''. This was the only year that an Oscar for

title cards In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dial ...

would be awarded. Joseph Farnham was the very first Academy Award winner to die. He died in 1931 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 ma ...

while living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and was interred in the

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries is an American corporation that owns and operates a chain of cemeteries and mortuaries in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties in Southern California. History The company was founded by a group of ...

in Glendale, California.

Selected filmography

* '' Bachelor Apartments'' (1921) *'' The Country Flapper'' (1922) * '' The Snitching Hour'' (1922) * ''

Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...

'' (1924) * ''

Reckless Romance ''Reckless Romance'' is a 1924 American silent comedy film directed by Scott Sidney and starring T. Roy Barnes, Harry Myers, and Wanda Hawley. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, Jerry Warner (Barnes) and Edith Somers (Breamer) a ...

'' (1924) * '' Soul Mates'' (1925) * ''

'' (1925) * ''

Stop Flirting ''Stop Flirting'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Scott Sidney and starring Wanda Hawley, John T. Murray, and Ethel Shannon. It is based on the 1923 play of the same title by Frederick J. Jackson.The Blackbird ''The Blackbird'' is a 1926 American silent crime film directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney. The screenplay was written by Waldemar Young, based on a story "The Mockingbird" by Tod Browning (which was originally supposed to be the ...

'' (1926) * '' Beverly of Graustark'' (1926) * '' The Road to Mandalay'' (1926) * '' The Show'' (1927) * ''

The Red Mill ''The Red Mill'' is an operetta written by Victor Herbert, with a libretto by Henry Blossom. The farcical story concerns two American vaudevillians who wreak havoc at an inn in Holland, interfering with two marriages; but all ends well. The musica ...

'' (1927) * ''

Slide, Kelly, Slide ''Slide, Kelly, Slide'' is a 1927 American comedy film, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Edward Sedgwick, and starring William Haines, Sally O'Neil, and Harry Carey. Cast * William Haines as Jim Kelly (fictionalized version of M ...

'' (1927) * '' Rookies'' (1927) * '' Becky'' (1927) * '' London After Midnight'' (1927) * ''

The Trail of '98 ''The Trail of '98'' is a 1928 American silent action-adventure/drama film featuring Harry Carey and Dolores del Río about the Klondike Gold Rush. The film was originally released by MGM in a short-lived widescreen process called “Fantom S ...

'' (1928) * '' Alias Jimmy Valentine'' (1928) * ''

'' (1928) * ''

The Cameraman ''The Cameraman'' is a 1928 American silent romantic comedy film directed by Edward Sedgwick and an uncredited Buster Keaton. The picture stars Keaton and Marceline Day. ''The Cameraman'' was Keaton's first film with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It ...

'' (1928) * ''

The Duke Steps Out ''The Duke Steps Out'' is a 1929 American silent comedy-drama film directed by James Cruze and starring William Haines and Joan Crawford. The film is lost, but the Vitaphone sound discs track of music and sound effects survive in the UCLA Film ...

'' (1929) * ''

Where East Is East ''Where East Is East'' is a 1929 American silent drama film starring Lon Chaney as an animal trapper in Laos. The motion picture is Chaney's penultimate silent film and the last of his collaborations with director Tod Browning. While this film ...

'' (1929) * '' The Unholy Night'' (1929) * '' The Thirteenth Chair'' (1929) * '' The Big House'' (1930)

References

External links

* * 1884 births 1931 deaths Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences founders American male screenwriters Writers from New Haven, Connecticut Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Screenwriters from Connecticut 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters {{US-screen-writer-stub