Earl O. Schenck (13 May 1889 – 1962) was an American film
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 ...
. He appeared in 41 films between
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled.
* ...
and
1946
Events January
* January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
* January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...
.
Career
After playing leading roles on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and 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, ...
during the
Silent era
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, wh ...
opposite such stars as
Mae Murray
Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...
,
Mae Marsh
Mae Marsh (born Mary Wayne Marsh; November 9, 1894U.S. Census records for 1900, El Paso, Texas, Sheet No. 6 – February 13, 1968) was an American film actress with a career spanning over 50 years.
Early life
Mae Marsh was born Mary Wayne M ...
,
Norma Talmadge
Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...
,
Alia Nazimova
Alla Nazimova (Russian: Алла Назимова; born Marem-Ides Leventon, Russian: Марем-Идес Левентон; June 3 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._May_22.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>O ...
and
Marion Davies
Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...
, Schenck developed "
Klieg light
A Klieg light is an intense carbon arc lamp especially used in filmmaking. It is named after inventor John Kliegl and his brother Anton Kliegl. Klieg lights usually have a Fresnel lens with a spherical reflector or an ellipsoidal reflector with ...
eyes". Threatened with total
blindness
Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment ...
, he interrupted a distinguished stage career and went to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
to rest.
In the South Seas he found a new career as an explorer and ethnologist. He secured a
roving commission A roving commission details the duties of a commissioned officer or other official whose responsibilities are neither geographically nor functionally limited.
Where an individual in an official position is given more freedom than would regularly be ...
from the
Bishop Museum
The Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, designated the Hawaii State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, is a museum of history and science in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu. Founded in 1889, it is the lar ...
in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, the leading museum in the world in
Polynesian research, to make miniatures and gather artifacts of various Polynesian Islands and spent fourteen years traveling from island to island. During this time, Schenck also contributed to the
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
and other magazines.
Returning to his homeland after twenty years of wandering, Schenck won success in still another field as a lecturer on the South Seas and, during the war, served the U.S. Navy Department in planning bases in the Southwest Pacific. For nine months, he also worked with the U.S. Maritime Commission as a government speaker in shipyards and factories to speed up production.
He returned to his career as a motion picture actor with
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
in 1943, on an "actor-writer" contract.
After suffering from several
stroke
A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
s, Schenck retired to
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
where he died in 1962 at the age of 72.
Partial filmography
* ''
The Haunted Manor
''The Haunted Manor'' ( pl, Straszny dwór) is an opera in four acts composed by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko in 1861–1864. The libretto was written by . Despite being a romance and a comedy, it has strong Polish patriotic undertones ...
'' (1916)
* ''
The False Friend
''The False Friend'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Harry Davenport and starring Robert Warwick, Gail Kane and Jack Drumier.Parish p.157
Cast
* Robert Warwick as William Ramsdell
* Gail Kane as Virginia Farrell
* Jack Drumie ...
'' (1917)
* ''
The Unbeliever
''The Unbeliever'' is a 1918 American silent propaganda film made towards the end of World War I. It was directed by Alan Crosland for the Edison Company towards its last days as a functioning film-making company. It stars Raymond McKee and Marg ...
'' (1918)
* ''
My Four Years in Germany
''My Four Years in Germany'' is a 1918 American silent war drama film that is notable as being the first film produced by the four Warner Brothers, Harry, Sam, Albert, and Jack, though the title card clearly reads "My Four Years In Germany Inc. ...
'' (1918)
* ''
To Hell with the Kaiser!
''To Hell with the Kaiser!'' is a lost 1918 American silent Great War propaganda comedy film produced by Screen Classics Productions and distributed by Metro Pictures. It was directed by George Irving and starred Lawrence Grant as the Kaiser.
Ma ...
'' (1918)
* ''
Kaiser's Finish'' (1918)
* ''
The Trap'' (1919)
* ''
The Great Victory
''The Great Victory'' or ''The Great Victory, Wilson or the Kaiser? The Fall of the Hohenzollerns'' is a 1919 American silent war drama film directed by Charles Miller and starring Creighton Hale, Florence Billings and Helen Ferguson.Balogh p.18 ...
'' (1919)
* ''
The Harvest Moon
''The Harvest Moon'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by J. Searle Dawley and starring Doris Kenyon, Wilfred Lytell, and George Lessey.Koszarski p. 91 It was shot at the Fort Lee studios in New Jersey.
Cast
* Doris Kenyon as Dor ...
'' (1920)
* ''
The Blue Pearl'' (1920)
* ''
Buried Treasure
Buried treasure is a literary trope commonly associated with depictions of pirates, criminals, and Old West outlaws. According to popular conception, these people often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places, intending to return to them ...
'' (1921)
* ''
Beyond
Beyond may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Beyond'' (1921 film), an American silent film
* ''Beyond'' (2000 film), a Danish film directed by Åke Sandgren, OT: ''Dykkerne''
* ''Beyond'' (2010 film), a Swedish film directed b ...
'' (1921)
* ''
No Woman Knows
''No Woman Knows'' is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Tod Browning. It was adopted from the Edna Ferber story ''Fanny Herself'' (1917). A complete print of the film survives at the Filmoteca Española in Madrid.
Plot
As described ...
'' (1921)
* ''
Lucky Carson'' (1921)
* ''
Good Women
''Good Women'' is a 1921 American silent drama film directed by Louis J. Gasnier and starring Rosemary Theby, Hamilton Revelle and Earl Schenck.Munden p.307
Cast
* Rosemary Theby as Katherine Brinkley
* Hamilton Revelle as Nicolai Brouevitch
* ...
'' (1921)
* ''
At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern
''At the Sign of the Jack O'Lantern '' is a 1922 American silent comedy drama film directed by Lloyd Ingraham, who co-wrote the film adaption with David Kirkland. It stars Betty Ross Clarke, Earl Schenck, and Wade Boteler. The film is today con ...
'' (1922)
* ''
Salomé'' (
1923)
* ''
Ashes of Vengeance
''Ashes of Vengeance'' is a 1923 American drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Norma Talmadge and Wallace Beery.
Plot
At the ball celebrating the wedding of Henry of Navarre on August 23, 1572, the evil Queen Mother Catherine de' Me ...
'' (1923)
* ''
The Song of Love
''The Song of Love'' (also known as ''Le chant d'amour'' or ''Love Song'') is a 1914 painting by Italian metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico. It is one of the most famous works by Chirico and an early example of the surrealist style, thoug ...
'' (1923)
* ''
Yankee Madness
''Yankee Madness'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Charles R. Seeling and starring George Larkin, Billie Dove
Lillian Bohny (born Bertha Eugenie Bohny; May 14, 1903 – December 31, 1997), known professionally as Billie Dov ...
'' (1924)
* ''
Dollar Down
''Dollar Down'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Tod Browning. A print in the UCLA Film and Television Archive has one of its six reels missing. Filmed in April 1924 at the F.B.O Studios in Santa Monica, California
Santa M ...
'' (1925)
* ''
Tides of Passion
''Tides of Passion'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent drama film directed by J. Stuart Blackton and starring Mae Marsh, Ben Hendricks Jr. and Laska Winter.Munden p.812
Cast
* Mae Marsh as Charity
* Ben Hendricks Jr. as William Pennland
* ...
'' (1925)
* ''
The Hunted Woman
''The Hunted Woman'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Jack Conway and starring Seena Owen, Earl Schenck, and Victor McLaglen.
Plot
As described in a film magazine review, a young woman goes North to find out whether her husban ...
'' (1925)
* ''
The Heavenly Body
''The Heavenly Body'' is a 1944 American romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Hall and starring William Powell and Hedy Lamarr. Based on a story by Jacques Théry, with a screenplay by Michael Arlen and Walter Reisch, the film is about the ...
'' (1945)
Bibliography
* ''Come Unto These Yellow Sands'' - Boobs-Merril, 1940.
* ''Lean With the Wind'' - Whittlesey House, 1945.
* ''Weeds of Violence'' - Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1949
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schenck, Earl
1889 births
1962 deaths
20th-century American male actors
American male film actors
American male silent film actors