George Berrell
Encyclopedia
George Berrell was an American actor of both the 19th and early 20th Century stage and of the silent era
. He appeared in numerous stage plays as well as 55 films over the course of a career that ran from 1850 to 1927.
He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
and died in Los Angeles, California
.
Little can be found about George Berrell beyond brief descriptions of his film career, however, he was an important though not famous actor, stage manager and director of the 19th Century American theater, and central to the growth of the theater in St. Louis. Born to a theatrical family, he first appeared as an infant on stage at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia in 1850 . As a child he earned his keep and helped support his widowed mother, an actress, by carrying costume baskets for actors in any company of which she might be a member. John Wilkes Booth was one of those, and Berrell speaks affectionately of him in his unpublished autobigraphy, "Theatrical and Other Reminiscsences." In his late teens and early twenties he roamed the country, often afoot, with the goal of "growing up with the country," as he put it in the autobiography.
Shortly after leaving Dr. Barton's Military Academy outside of Philadelphia, he was walking south along the Missouri River when a rider approached him from behind. Dismounting, he introduced himself as Turner Tinnell and as they traveled on by walk and tie, Turner offered Berrell a job teaching school on Keg Island, a Missouri River mud flat island. Berrell accepted and taught there for a year, his students being the children of Confederate fugitives, many former members of Quantrill's Raiders and cohorts of Frank and Jesse James. Illness forced him to leave and he returned to Philadelphia where his mother nursed him back to health. Later he explored the frontier, living for a while in Laramie, Wyoming, where he describes his involvement in the arrest of a corrupt city policeman name Louis Roudepouch.
For a number of years he alternated between traveling the country and working odd jobs, in lumber camps, on the railroad, in drug stores and post offices, doing whatever work he could find. In his late twenties or early thirties he returned to the theater and stayed there until around 1915 when he retired and started working in silent pictures, a job he did not consider on a par with acting in the theater. In 1917 he appeared in John Ford's first full-length film, "Straight Shooting."
The novel, "Shadows and Acts," by Wilson Roberts based in part on Berrell's unpublished autobiography, details his adventurous life and explores the conflicts engendered by his tempestuous relationship with Booth and his life-long friendship with the actress, Catherine Terrell, as well as his pursuit by Miranda Ives, the daughter of a serpent handling preacher he first encountered while teaching on Keg Island. The novel is due to be published in 2011.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
. He appeared in numerous stage plays as well as 55 films over the course of a career that ran from 1850 to 1927.
He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and died in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Little can be found about George Berrell beyond brief descriptions of his film career, however, he was an important though not famous actor, stage manager and director of the 19th Century American theater, and central to the growth of the theater in St. Louis. Born to a theatrical family, he first appeared as an infant on stage at the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia in 1850 . As a child he earned his keep and helped support his widowed mother, an actress, by carrying costume baskets for actors in any company of which she might be a member. John Wilkes Booth was one of those, and Berrell speaks affectionately of him in his unpublished autobigraphy, "Theatrical and Other Reminiscsences." In his late teens and early twenties he roamed the country, often afoot, with the goal of "growing up with the country," as he put it in the autobiography.
Shortly after leaving Dr. Barton's Military Academy outside of Philadelphia, he was walking south along the Missouri River when a rider approached him from behind. Dismounting, he introduced himself as Turner Tinnell and as they traveled on by walk and tie, Turner offered Berrell a job teaching school on Keg Island, a Missouri River mud flat island. Berrell accepted and taught there for a year, his students being the children of Confederate fugitives, many former members of Quantrill's Raiders and cohorts of Frank and Jesse James. Illness forced him to leave and he returned to Philadelphia where his mother nursed him back to health. Later he explored the frontier, living for a while in Laramie, Wyoming, where he describes his involvement in the arrest of a corrupt city policeman name Louis Roudepouch.
For a number of years he alternated between traveling the country and working odd jobs, in lumber camps, on the railroad, in drug stores and post offices, doing whatever work he could find. In his late twenties or early thirties he returned to the theater and stayed there until around 1915 when he retired and started working in silent pictures, a job he did not consider on a par with acting in the theater. In 1917 he appeared in John Ford's first full-length film, "Straight Shooting."
The novel, "Shadows and Acts," by Wilson Roberts based in part on Berrell's unpublished autobiography, details his adventurous life and explores the conflicts engendered by his tempestuous relationship with Booth and his life-long friendship with the actress, Catherine Terrell, as well as his pursuit by Miranda Ives, the daughter of a serpent handling preacher he first encountered while teaching on Keg Island. The novel is due to be published in 2011.
Selected filmography
- Bound on the WheelBound on the WheelBound on the Wheel is a 1915 silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney, Sr. The film is now considered to be lost.-Cast:* Elsie Jane Wilson - Cora Gertz* Lon Chaney, Sr. - Tom Coulahan* Lydia Yeamans Titus - Mrs. Coulahan...
(1915) - Mountain JusticeMountain Justice (1915 film)Mountain Justice is a 1915 silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney, Sr. The film is now considered to be lost.-Cast:* Elsie Jane Wilson - Mary Kirke* Arthur Shirley - Angus McDonald* Lon Chaney, Sr. - Jeffrey Kirke...
(1915) - Lon of Lone MountainLon of Lone MountainLon of Lone Mountain is a 1915 silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and featuring Lon Chaney, Sr. The film is now considered to be lost.-Cast:* Lon Chaney, Sr. - Lon Moore* Arthur Shirley - Schoolteacher* Marcia Moore - Melissa...
(1915) - The Three GodfathersThe Three GodfathersThe Three Godfathers is a 1916 silent film featuring Harry Carey. The film was remade in 1919 as Marked Men, which also starred Carey.-Cast:* Stella LeSaint - Ruby Merrill, 'The Mojave Lily' * Harry Carey - Bob Sangster...
(1916) - The Committee on CredentialsThe Committee on CredentialsThe Committee on Credentials is a 1916 silent film featuring Harry Carey. It is based on the novel, The Pride of Palomar, by Peter Bernard Kyne...
(1916) - The FlashlightThe FlashlightThe Flashlight is a 1917 silent drama film directed by Ida May Park and starring Lon Chaney, Sr.-Cast:* Dorothy Phillips - Delice Brixton* William Stowell - Jack Lane* Lon Chaney, Sr. - Henry Norton and Porter Brixton* Alfred Allen - John Peterson...
(1917) - The Golden BulletThe Golden BulletThe Golden Bullet is a 1917 Western film featuring Harry Carey.-Cast:* Harry Carey* Fritzi Brunette* Vester Pegg* William Steele - * George Berrell* Hoot Gibson...
(1917) - The Wrong ManThe Wrong Man (1917 film)The Wrong Man is a 1917 Western film featuring Harry Carey.-Cast:* Harry Carey* Francelia Billington* Vester Pegg* William Steele - * Hoot Gibson* Helen Gibson* George Berrell...
(1917) - Straight ShootingStraight ShootingStraight Shooting is a 1917 Western film directed by John Ford and featuring Harry Carey. Prints of this film survive in the International Museum of Photography and Film at George Eastman House.-Cast:* Harry Carey - Cheyenne Harry* Duke R...
(1917) - The Fire EaterThe Fire EaterThe Fire Eater is a 1921 Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and featuring Hoot Gibson.-Cast:* Hoot Gibson - Bob Corey* Louise Lorraine - Martha McCarthy* Walter Perry - Jim O'Neil* Thomas G. Lingham - Jacob Lemar...
(1921) - The Sea BeastThe Sea BeastThe Sea Beast is a silent film adaptation of the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville, a story about a monomaniacal hunt for a great white whale...
(1926)