Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood
Encyclopedia
Motion pictures
have been a part of the culture of Canada
since the beginning.
filmmakers began to take advantage of California
winters and after Nestor Studios
, run by Canadian Al Christie
, built the first permanent movie studio
in Hollywood a number of the movie companies expanded or relocated to the new Hollywood. At the same time, because there was no sound in movies, several French
filmmakers had their motion pictures distributed in America. These French studios, led by Pathé
as well as Gaumont Pictures
and Georges Méliès
, were the dominant force worldwide until 1914 when movie production in France virtually ended with the onset of World War I
.
recounted his experiences meeting some of these Canadians while on leave from the Royal Air Force
during World War II
. Foster visited Hollywood where he was introduced to Canadian and silent movie director Sidney Olcott
. Through Olcott he learned of Hollywood's Canadian community. Although total strangers, young Foster was welcomed with open arms. This social gathering of "Canuck
s" also included Walter Pidgeon, Deanna Durbin
, Fifi D'Orsay, and others who worked in the movie business.
Several of these Canadian pioneers achieved enormous wealth and worldwide fame, such as Louis B. Mayer and Mary Pickford who were, in their day, two of the most powerful personalities in Hollywood. From the late 1920s to the mid-1930s, Canadian female actresses were amongst the greatest box office draws. The Academy Award for Best Actress
was won by Canadian women three years in a row:
Foster recounts the feelings and deep loyalty of Louis B. Mayer. Although he had become a naturalized American citizen, Mayer was known to hire Canadian compatriots on the spot, as Saint John
, New Brunswick
native Walter Pidgeon later recalled:
Several Canadian expatriates met with tragedy. Florence Lawrence
, the "first real movie star
", the Biograph Girl
in Hollywood history, who appeared in more than 270 movies, committed suicide and for nearly 50 years was forgotten in an unmarked grave in the Hollywood Cemetery
. Tragic too, is the story of the decline of silent movie star Marie Prevost who succumbed to severe alcoholism
and malnutrition at the age of 38. Then, the beautiful Florence La Badie
, purported mistress to Woodrow Wilson
and allegedly the mother of his child, who died in a car accident after her brakes had been tampered with. Notorious too, was Jack Pickford's alcohol and drug-filled womanizing existence. One of his wives, actress Olive Thomas
, died of poisoning under very suspicious circumstances and his own life was cut short at age 36 from what was rumoured to be syphilis
.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
have been a part of the culture of Canada
Culture of Canada
Canadian culture is a term that explains the artistic, musical, literary, culinary, political and social elements that are representative of Canada and Canadians, not only to its own population, but people all over the world. Canada's culture has historically been influenced by European culture and...
since the beginning.
History
Around 1910, the East CoastEast Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
filmmakers began to take advantage of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
winters and after Nestor Studios
Nestor Studios
The Nestor Motion Picture Company was a motion picture studio/production company located in Bayonne, New Jersey, and Hollywood, California, which was owned and operated by David Horsley and his brother, William Horsley....
, run by Canadian Al Christie
Al Christie
Al Christie was a Canadian-born motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Career:Born Alfred Ernest Christie, in London, Ontario, Canada, he was one of a number of Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood who made their way to Hollywood, California, attracted by the newly developing motion...
, built the first permanent movie studio
Movie studio
A movie studio is a term used to describe a major entertainment company or production company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to film movies...
in Hollywood a number of the movie companies expanded or relocated to the new Hollywood. At the same time, because there was no sound in movies, several French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
filmmakers had their motion pictures distributed in America. These French studios, led by Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
as well as Gaumont Pictures
Gaumont Film Company
Gaumont Film Company is a French film production company founded in 1895 by the engineer-turned-inventor, Léon Gaumont . Gaumont is the oldest continously operating film company in the world....
and Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès
Georges Méliès , full name Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès, was a French filmmaker famous for leading many technical and narrative developments in the earliest cinema. He was very innovative in the use of special effects...
, were the dominant force worldwide until 1914 when movie production in France virtually ended with the onset of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
List of Canadian film pioneers in Hollywood
Among those Canadians who took part in the early years of Hollywood were:- Allakariallak (1890's-1924?), Inuit actor & subject of "Nanook of the NorthNanook of the NorthNanook of the North is a 1922 silent documentary film by Robert J. Flaherty. In the tradition of what would later be called salvage ethnography, Flaherty captured the struggles of the Inuk Nanook and his family in the Canadian arctic...
" - Jack CarsonJack CarsonJohn Elmer "Jack" Carson was a Canadian-born U.S.-based film actor.Jack Carson was one of the most popular character actors during the 'golden age of Hollywood', with a film career spanning the 1930s, '40s and '50s...
(1910–1963), actor - Al ChristieAl ChristieAl Christie was a Canadian-born motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Career:Born Alfred Ernest Christie, in London, Ontario, Canada, he was one of a number of Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood who made their way to Hollywood, California, attracted by the newly developing motion...
(1881–1951), co-founder of Christie Film CompanyChristie Film CompanyChristie Film Company was an American pioneer motion picture company founded in Hollywood, California by Al Christie and Charles Christie, two brothers from London, Ontario, Canada....
, director/producer/screenwriter - Charles ChristieCharles ChristieCharles H. V. Christie was a motion picture studio owner.Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Charles and his brother Al left home to pursue a career in the fledgling motion picture industry...
(1880–1955), co-founder of Christie Film Company; builder of Hollywood's first luxury hotel - Berton ChurchillBerton ChurchillBerton Churchill was a Canadian actor.Born in Toronto, Ontario. As a young man interested in the theater, he appeared in stock companies as early as 1903 and later headed to New York City where he began an acting career that soon put him on the Broadway stage...
(1876–1940), actor - Sam De Grasses (1875–1953), actor
- Joe De GrasseJoe De GrasseJoseph Louis De Grasse was a Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse....
(1873–1940), director - Fifi D'OrsayFifi D'Orsay-Biography:Born Marie-Rose Angelina Yvonne Lussier in Montreal, Quebec, as a young typist, filled with the desire to become an actress, she went to New York City. There, she found work in The Greenwich Village Follies after an audition in which she sang the song "Yes, We Have No Bananas' in French...
(1904–1983), actress - Marie DresslerMarie DresslerMarie Dressler was a Canadian-American actress and Depression-era film star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1930-31 in Min and Bill.-Early life and stage career:...
(1869–1934), Academy Award for Best ActressAcademy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... - Douglass Duck-billed (1889–1974), moving and television actor
- Allan DwanAllan DwanAllan Dwan was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...
(1885–1981), director, producer, screenwriter - Glenn FordGlenn FordGlenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
(1916–2006), actor - Huntley GordonHuntley GordonHuntley Gordon was an actor born in Montreal, Quebec.-Profile:Gordon was educated in both Canada and England. He had various jobs including working in a bank, in a silver mine, contracting, as a commercial traveller, and being a cigarette factory owner before settling on the stage and at one time...
(1887–1956), actor - Walter HustonWalter HustonWalter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
(1884–1950), Academy AwardAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
winning actor - May IrwinMay IrwinMay Irwin , was a Canadian actress, singer and star of vaudeville.-Early life and career:Born at Whitby, Ontario 1862 as Georgina May Campbell, her father, Robert E. Campbell of Whitby, Ontario, died when she was 13 years old and her stage-minded mother, Jane Draper, in need of money, encouraged...
(1862-1938), actor, first screen kiss in 1896 - Ruby KeelerRuby KeelerRuby Keeler, born Ethel Hilda Keeler, was an actress, singer, and dancer most famous for her on-screen coupling with Dick Powell in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Brothers, particularly 42nd Street . From 1928 to 1940, she was married to singer Al Jolson...
, (1909–1993), dancer, actress - Barbara KentBarbara KentBarbara Kent was a Canadian-born U.S.-based silent film actress. Following the death of Miriam Seegar, she was the last North American actor still alive to have achieved substantial fame during the silent film era as an adult.-Career:Born as Barbara Cloutman in Gadsby, Alberta, to Jullion Curtis...
(1906- ), actress - Florence La BadieFlorence La BadieFlorence La Badie was an American actress in the early days of the silent film era. Though little known today, she was a major star between 1911 and 1917, her career was at its height and climbing when she died unexpectedly due to injuries sustained during an automobile accident.-Early life:While...
(1888–1917), actress - Florence LawrenceFlorence LawrenceFlorence Lawrence was a Canadian inventor and silent film actress. She is often referred to as "The First Movie Star." When she was popular, she was known as "The Biograph Girl," "The Imp Girl," and "The Girl of a Thousand Faces." Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films for various motion...
(1886–1938), "America's first movie star" - Beatrice Billie (1894, 1989), actress
- Gene LockhartGene LockhartEugene "Gene" Lockhart was a Canadian character actor, singer, and playwright. He also wrote the lyrics to a number of popular songs.-Early life:...
(1891–1957), actor - Del LordDel LordDel Lord was a Canadian film director and actor best known as a director of Three Stooges films.-Career:Delmer Lord was born in the small town of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada...
(1894–1970), comedy director - Wilfred LucasWilfred LucasWilfred Lucas was a Canadian stage and film actor, film director, and screenwriter.-Career:A native of Ontario, Canada, Lucas headed to New York City to work in the theater, making his Broadway acting debut in 1904 at the Savoy Theater in the production of The Superstition of Sue...
(1871–1940), director, screenwriter, actor - Henry MacRaeHenry MacRaeHenry Alexander MacRae was a Canadian film director, producer and screenwriter during the silent era, working on many film serials for Universal Studios...
(1876–1944), director, producer, screenwriter, actor - Raymond MasseyRaymond MasseyRaymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
(1896–1983), actor - Louis B. MayerLouis B. MayerLouis Burt Mayer born Lazar Meir was an American film producer. He is generally cited as the creator of the "star system" within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in its golden years. Known always as Louis B...
(1885–1957), co–founder of Metro Goldwyn Mayer Motion Picture Studios - Bob NolanBob NolanBob Nolan was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and composer of numerous Country music and Western music songs, including the standards "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." He is generally regarded as one of the...
(1908-1980), singer/actor in western musicals as leader of "The Sons of the Pioneers" - Sidney OlcottSidney OlcottSidney Olcott was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter.-Biography:Born John Sidney Alcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great directors of the motion picture business...
(1873–1949), director - Jack PickfordJack PickfordJack Pickford was a Canadian-born American actor. He was best known for his tabloid lifestyle, marriage to the top starlets of his day, and being of the famous Pickford acting family.-Early life:...
(1896–1933), actor, Hollywood's first "Bad Boy" - Lottie PickfordLottie PickfordLottie Pickford was a Canadian-born silent film actress, socialite, and sister to Mary Pickford and Jack Pickford. Her career is often overshadowed by that of her siblings and though she was a notable figure in the 1920s her films and role in the Pickford acting family is now largely forgotten...
(1893-1936), actress - Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
(1892–1979), "America's Sweetheart," Academy Award for Best ActressAcademy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
, co–founder of United ArtistsUnited ArtistsUnited Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.... - Walter PidgeonWalter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
(1897–1984), actor - Marie PrevostMarie PrevostMarie Prevost was a Canadian-born actress of the early days of cinema. During her twenty year career, she made 121 silent and talking pictures.-Early life:...
(1898–1937), actress - Mack SennettMack SennettMack Sennett was a Canadian-born American director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy"...
(1880–1960), director, known as the "King of Comedy" - Athole ShearerAthole ShearerAthole Shearer was an actress most noted as the sister of motion picture star Norma Shearer and film sound engineer Douglas Shearer....
(1900–1985), actress, wife of director Howard HawksHoward HawksHoward Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era... - Douglas ShearerDouglas ShearerDouglas G. Shearer was a Canadian-born pioneer sound designer and recording director who played a key role in the advancement of sound technology for motion pictures.-Early life and career:...
, (1899–1971), sound director/designer, winner of seven Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers... - Norma ShearerNorma ShearerEdith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
(1902–1983), Academy Award for Best ActressAcademy Award for Best ActressPerformance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... - Nell ShipmanNell ShipmanNell Shipman was a Canadian actress, author and screenwriter, producer, director, and animal trainer. She was a Canadian pioneer in early Hollywood. She is best known for her work in James Oliver Curwood stories and for portraying strong, adventurous women...
(1892–1970), actress, writer, producer - Jay SilverheelsJay SilverheelsJay Silverheels was a Canadian Mohawk First Nations actor. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the faithful American Indian companion of the Lone Ranger in a long-running American television series. -Early life:...
(1912–1980), actor known for his portrayal of TontoTontoTonto may mean:* Tonto, a band of Apache native Americans.* Tonto, the fictional sidekick to the Lone Ranger.* "Tonto", a song by the American math rock band Battles, from their album Mirrored.** "Tonto+", the EP centered around said song....
, sidekick to the Lone Ranger - Jack WarnerJack WarnerJack Leonard "J. L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, was a Canadian American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California...
(1892–1978), co-founder of Warner Brothers - Marjorie WhiteMarjorie WhiteMarjorie White was a Canadian-born actress of stage and film.-Career:Born Marjorie Ann Guthrie in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, she was the first-born child of a grain merchant born in Simcoe, Ontario...
(1904-1935), actress - Joseph WisemanJoseph WisemanJoseph Wiseman was a Canadian theater and film actor, best known for starring as the titular antagonist of the first James Bond film, Dr. No, his role as Manny Weisbord on Crime Story, and his career on Broadway...
(1918–2009), actor - Fay WrayFay WrayFay Wray was a Canadian-American actress most noted for playing the female lead in King Kong...
(1907–2004), actress
Canadian scene in Hollywood
In his book Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood, Charles FosterCharles Foster (writer)
Charles Foster is a Canadian publicist and writer. He was born in Cheshire, England. During World War II he was a pilot with the Royal Air Force. The RAF sent him to a base in Alberta, Canada for flight training and while on leave he visited Hollywood...
recounted his experiences meeting some of these Canadians while on leave from the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Foster visited Hollywood where he was introduced to Canadian and silent movie director Sidney Olcott
Sidney Olcott
Sidney Olcott was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter.-Biography:Born John Sidney Alcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great directors of the motion picture business...
. Through Olcott he learned of Hollywood's Canadian community. Although total strangers, young Foster was welcomed with open arms. This social gathering of "Canuck
Canuck
"Canuck" is a slang term for Canadians. Its origins are uncertain.-History:The term appears to have been coined in the 19th century, although its etymology is unclear, it usually referred to those who worked in a forest, usually cultivating wood....
s" also included Walter Pidgeon, Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin
Deanna Durbin is a Canadian-born, Southern California-raised retired singer and actress, who appeared in a number of musical films in the 1930s and 1940s singing standards as well as operatic arias....
, Fifi D'Orsay, and others who worked in the movie business.
Several of these Canadian pioneers achieved enormous wealth and worldwide fame, such as Louis B. Mayer and Mary Pickford who were, in their day, two of the most powerful personalities in Hollywood. From the late 1920s to the mid-1930s, Canadian female actresses were amongst the greatest box office draws. The Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
was won by Canadian women three years in a row:
- 1929 - Mary Pickford in CoquetteCoquette (film)-Plot:Norma Besant, daughter of a Southern doctor, is an incorrigible flirt and has many suitors. Her father Dr. Besant favors Stanley , who is taken with Norma. However Norma has met a simple man named Michael Jeffrey who she has fallen madly in love with. Dr. Besant disapproves of Michael...
- 1930 - Norma Shearer in The DivorceeThe DivorceeThe Divorcee is a 1930 American drama film written by Nick Grindé, John Meehan and Zelda Sears, based on the novel Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott. It was directed by Robert Z. Leonard, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director...
- 1931 - Marie Dressler in Min and BillMin and BillMin and Bill is a 1930 American comedy-drama film starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery and based on Lorna Moon's novel Dark Star, adapted by Frances Marion and Marion Jackson....
Foster recounts the feelings and deep loyalty of Louis B. Mayer. Although he had become a naturalized American citizen, Mayer was known to hire Canadian compatriots on the spot, as Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
native Walter Pidgeon later recalled:
Several Canadian expatriates met with tragedy. Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence
Florence Lawrence was a Canadian inventor and silent film actress. She is often referred to as "The First Movie Star." When she was popular, she was known as "The Biograph Girl," "The Imp Girl," and "The Girl of a Thousand Faces." Lawrence appeared in more than 270 films for various motion...
, the "first real movie star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
", the Biograph Girl
American Mutoscope and Biograph Company
The American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1928. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to film production and exhibition, and for two decades was one of the most prolific, releasing over three thousand short...
in Hollywood history, who appeared in more than 270 movies, committed suicide and for nearly 50 years was forgotten in an unmarked grave in the Hollywood Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery, originally called Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles, California. It is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood...
. Tragic too, is the story of the decline of silent movie star Marie Prevost who succumbed to severe alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and malnutrition at the age of 38. Then, the beautiful Florence La Badie
Florence La Badie
Florence La Badie was an American actress in the early days of the silent film era. Though little known today, she was a major star between 1911 and 1917, her career was at its height and climbing when she died unexpectedly due to injuries sustained during an automobile accident.-Early life:While...
, purported mistress to Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
and allegedly the mother of his child, who died in a car accident after her brakes had been tampered with. Notorious too, was Jack Pickford's alcohol and drug-filled womanizing existence. One of his wives, actress Olive Thomas
Olive Thomas
Olive Thomas was an American silent film actress and model. She is best remembered for her marriage to Jack Pickford and her death.-Early life:...
, died of poisoning under very suspicious circumstances and his own life was cut short at age 36 from what was rumoured to be syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
.
Further reading
- Charles Foster, Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood, 2000, Dundurn Press ISBN 1-55002-348-9