Carl Voss (film extra)
Encyclopedia
Carl Voss (6 May 1896 – 18 September 1947) was an American World War I
veteran
who besides appearing as a film extra (actor)
and military film technical advisor
commanded a private army of up to 2112 former servicemen who acted as extra (actor)
s in 232 films from 1923 to 1940.
in World War I
, Voss both acted as a technical advisor
and played a role as an officer in The Big Parade
, a war film
with a large number of extras playing both American and German soldiers. Voss drilled his extras, called the "Military Picture Players", and made sure their appearance was correct for every film assignment, requiring his military extras to look the part no matter the nationality or time period they portrayed. Voss also had a role in and provided military advice for Charlie Chaplin
's The Great Dictator
(1940).
Voss's private army made their last appearance in Archie Mayo
's Four Sons
(1940). The Screen Actors Guild
decreed that no agent could accept a commission from an extra and that thereafter the studios would have to recruit their own extras. Voss's last appearance as an actor was in Two Years Before the Mast
in 1946.
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...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
who besides appearing as a film extra (actor)
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
and military film technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
commanded a private army of up to 2112 former servicemen who acted as extra (actor)
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
s in 232 films from 1923 to 1940.
Film work
A former US Army staff sergeantStaff Sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
in 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...
, Voss both acted as a technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
and played a role as an officer in The Big Parade
The Big Parade
The Big Parade is a 1925 silent film. It tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.The film was...
, a war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
with a large number of extras playing both American and German soldiers. Voss drilled his extras, called the "Military Picture Players", and made sure their appearance was correct for every film assignment, requiring his military extras to look the part no matter the nationality or time period they portrayed. Voss also had a role in and provided military advice for Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator is a comedy film by Charlie Chaplin released in October 1940. Like most Chaplin films, he wrote, produced, and directed, in addition to starring as the lead. Having been the only Hollywood film maker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was...
(1940).
Voss's private army made their last appearance in Archie Mayo
Archie Mayo
Archie Mayo was a movie director and stage actor who moved to Hollywood in 1915 and began working as a director in 1917....
's Four Sons
Four Sons
Four Sons is a silent drama film directed and produced by John Ford and written for the screen by Philip Klein from a story by I. A. R. Wylie. It is one of only a handful of survivors out of the more than fifty silent films that Ford directed between 1917 and 1928. It starred Margaret Mann, James...
(1940). The Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
decreed that no agent could accept a commission from an extra and that thereafter the studios would have to recruit their own extras. Voss's last appearance as an actor was in Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the same name was released in 1946.- Background :...
in 1946.