William V. Ranous (March 12, 1857 – April 1, 1915) 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 and director and Shakespearean stage actor.

Biography

William V. Ranous was born in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

on March 12, 1857. He married writer and translator Dora Knowlton on May 28, 1881; he later married actress Inez Marcel. Ranous appeared in 54 films between 1907 and 1915. He also directed 28 films between 1907 and 1913. He was the first director at

Vitagraph Studios Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...

and also directed ''Hiawatha'' (1909), the first film produced by

Carl Laemmle Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films. Regarded as one of the most important o ...

Independent Moving Pictures The Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP) was a motion picture studio and production company founded in 1909 by Carl Laemmle. The company was based in New York City, with production facilities in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1912, IMP merged with ...

Company. On Broadway, Ranous appeared in ''Quo Vadis'' (1900) and ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1903). He died in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

on April 1, 1915.

Selected filmography

* ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' (1908) * ''

Skinner's Finish ''Skinner's Finish'' (also known as Skinny's Finish) is a surviving 1908 silent film comedy short directed by Edwin S. Porter and produced by the Edison Manufacturing Company. The film is preserved in the Library of Congress collection.''Catalog ...

'' (1908) * ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' (1909)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranous, William V. 1857 births 1915 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male film actors American male silent film actors American film directors Male actors from New York (state) Male Shakespearean actors