Charles Bryant (actor)
Encyclopedia
Charles Bryant was a British
actor
and film director
.
, Cheshire
on 8 January 1879. He was educated at Ardingly College
. He left school at the age of 14 to become a stage actor, and three years later traveled to America
to begin working on Broadway
, starring in The First Born in 1887.
He claimed to have married Alla Nazimova
on December 5, 1912, but the marriage was never performed or consummated.
Bryant starred in A Train of Incidents (1914), and War Brides (1916), which was also the first film his beard wife, Alla Nazimova
featured in. Bryant and Nazimova
signed with Metro Pictures
in 1918 and starred alongside each other in a number of films including Revelation, Out of the Fog, and Billions. In 1918, Nazimova
founded Nazimova Productions and it was there that Bryant began directing, with the pair creating a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s
Salomé
in 1923. Byrant and Nazimova's
pairing was short lived however. Salomé
was ostensibly too far ahead of its time and failed at the box office bankrupting Nazimova Productions. Bryant never worked in film again, instead returning to Broadway
. He divorced Nazimova
shortly after leaving Hollywood, their marriage apparently having been only one of convenience and no longer necessary.
He died on 7 August 1948 in Mount Kisco, New York
at age 69.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Biography
Bryant was born in HartfordHartford, Cheshire
Hartford is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies at the intersection of the A559 road and the West Coast Mainline and is less than south west of the town of Northwich...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
on 8 January 1879. He was educated at Ardingly College
Ardingly College
Ardingly College is a selective independent co-educational boarding and day school, founded in 1858 by Canon Nathaniel Woodard, included in the Tatler list of top public schools. The college is located in the village of Ardingly near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, England, having moved to its present...
. He left school at the age of 14 to become a stage actor, and three years later traveled to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to begin working on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, starring in The First Born in 1887.
He claimed to have married Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
on December 5, 1912, but the marriage was never performed or consummated.
Bryant starred in A Train of Incidents (1914), and War Brides (1916), which was also the first film his beard wife, Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
featured in. Bryant and Nazimova
Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
signed with Metro Pictures
Metro Pictures
Metro Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company founded in late 1915 by Richard A. Rowland . Louis B. Mayer who worked for Metro Pictures Corporation early on. It is not to be confused with MGM which is a much later franchise concerning itself, Goldwyn and Louis B....
in 1918 and starred alongside each other in a number of films including Revelation, Out of the Fog, and Billions. In 1918, Nazimova
Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
founded Nazimova Productions and it was there that Bryant began directing, with the pair creating a film adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
Salomé
Salomé (1923 film)
Salomé , a silent film directed by Charles Bryant and starring Alla Nazimova, is a film adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play of the same name...
in 1923. Byrant and Nazimova's
Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
pairing was short lived however. Salomé
Salomé (1923 film)
Salomé , a silent film directed by Charles Bryant and starring Alla Nazimova, is a film adaptation of the Oscar Wilde play of the same name...
was ostensibly too far ahead of its time and failed at the box office bankrupting Nazimova Productions. Bryant never worked in film again, instead returning to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. He divorced Nazimova
Alla Nazimova
Alla Nazimova , was a Russian American film and theatre actress, a screenwriter and film producer. She is perhaps best known as simply Nazimova, but also went under the name Alia Nasimoff.-Early life:...
shortly after leaving Hollywood, their marriage apparently having been only one of convenience and no longer necessary.
He died on 7 August 1948 in Mount Kisco, New York
Mount Kisco, New York
Mount Kisco is a community that is both a village and a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Mount Kisco is coterminous with the village. The population was 10,877 at the 2010 census.- History :...
at age 69.