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- Actor
- Director
- Soundtrack
Character fame on film came quite late for long-time stage actor Harry Davenport at age 70, but he made up for lost time in very quick fashion with well over a hundred film roles registered from the advent of sound to the time of his death in 1949. Beloved for his twinkle-eyed avuncular and/or grandfatherly types in both comedy and drama, Davenport also represented a commanding yet comforting wisdom in his more authoritative roles as judge, doctor, minister, senator, etc.
The scion of an acting dynasty, he was born Harold George Bryant Davenport on January 19, 1866, in New York City to actors Edward Loomis Davenport (1815-1877) and Fanny (Elizabeth) Vining (1829-1891). One of nine children, two of his siblings died young while the seven surviving children went on to share their parents' love of the arts, including actress Fanny (1850-1898) and opera singer Lillie Davenport (1851-1927). Harry took his first stage bow in an 1871 production of "Damon and Pythias" in Philadelphia, and by his teen years was playing Shakespeare in stock companies.
Re-settling in New York, Harry began assertively building up his theater credits. In 1893, at age 27, he married actress Alice Shepard (aka Alice Davenport). Their brief marriage of three years produced daughter Dorothy Davenport, who would continue the acting dynasty into a new generation. She earned further recognition as the wife of tragic silent screen star Wallace Reid. Shortly after his divorce from Alice was final in early 1896, Harry married musical comedy star Phyllis Rankin (1875-1934). Their children Kate Davenport, Edward Davenport and Fanny Davenport became actors as well.
Making his Broadway debut with the musical comedy "The Voyage of Suzette" in 1894, Harry continued in the musical vein with Broadway productions of "The Belle of New York" (1897) (with wife Phyllis) (1895), "In Gay Paree" (1899) and "The Rounders" (1899) (again with Phyllis). The new century ushered in more musicals with "The Girl from Up There" (1901), "The Defender" (1901), "The Girl from Kay's" (1903), "It Happened in Nordland" (1904), "My Best Girl" (1912), "Sari" (1914) and "The Dancing Duchess" (1914). On the legit side he played expertly in "A Country Mouse" (opposite Ethel Barrymore), and in "The Next of Kin" (1909) and "Children of Destiny" (1910).
Co-founding the Actor's Equity Association along with vaudeville legend Eddie Foy as a means to confront the deplorable exploitation of actors, Harry was held in high regard as the acting community subsequently came together and executed strikes to protect and guarantee their rights. This dire situation also prompted Harry to seek work elsewhere -- in films. He joined up with Vitragraph in 1914 and made his silent screen debut with the film Too Many Husbands (1914). In the next year he starred in and directed a series of "Jarr Family" shorts, and made his last silent feature with an unbilled part in Among Those Present (1921) before refocusing completely on his first love -- the stage.
He and his actress/wife Phyllis joined forces once again with the Broadway hit comedies "Lightnin'" and "Three Wise Fools", both in 1918. Throughout the 1920s decade he continued to find employment on the stage with "Thank You," Cock O' the Roost, "Hay Fever" and "Julius Caesar". The untimely death of wife Phyllis in 1934 prompted Harry to abandon his stage pursuits and travel to California, at age 69, to again check out the film industry. It proved to be a very smart move.
Harry graced a number of Oscar-caliber films during his character reign: The Life of Emile Zola (1937), You Can't Take It with You (1938), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939), Cuốn Theo Chiều Gió (1939), All This, and Heaven Too (1940), Foreign Correspondent (1940), One Foot in Heaven (1941), Kings Row (1942) and The Ox-Bow Incident (1942). Several of his films also featured family or extended family members. His brother-in-law Lionel Barrymore appeared in a number of Harry's films and Cuốn Theo Chiều Gió (1939) also had a son and grandson in the cast.
Harry maintained his film career right up until his death at age 83 of a heart attack on August 9, 1949, and was buried back in New York (Valhalla).- Writer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Writer, born in Bromley, Kent. He was apprenticed to a draper, tried teaching, studied biology in London, then made his mark in journalism and literature. He played a vital part in disseminating the progressive ideas which characterized the first part of the 20th-c. He achieved fame with scientific fantasies such as The Time Machine (1895) and War of the Worlds (1898), and wrote a range of comic social novels which proved highly popular, notably Kipps (1905) and The History of Mr Polly (1910). Both kinds of novel made successful (sometimes classic) early films. A member of the Fabian Society, he was often engaged in public controversy, and wrote several socio-political works dealing with the role of science and the need for world peace, such as The Outline of History (1920) and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Erik Satie was born on 17 May 1866 in Honfleur, Calvados, France. He was a composer and actor, known for Badlands (1973), Sát Thủ Tháng Mười Một (2014) and Ngài Không Ai Cả (2009). He died on 1 July 1925 in Paris, France.- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
Maurice Schutz was born on 4 August 1866 in Paris, France. He was an actor and assistant director, known for Bài Ca Khổ Hình Của Joan of Arc (1928), Vampyr (1932) and Cirano di Bergerac (1923). He died on 22 March 1955 in Clichy-la-Garenne, Hauts-de-Seine, France.- Writer
- Art Department
Beatrix Potter was an English writer, illustrator, mycologist and conservationist. She is famous for writing children's books with animal characters such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Potter was born in Kensington, London. Her family was quite rich. She was educated by governesses. She did not have many friends, but she had many pets, including Benjamin and Peter, two rabbits. She spent her holidays in Scotland and the Lake District. There, she began to learn to love nature, plants, and animals, which she carefully painted.
When she was around 30, Potter published The Tale of Peter Rabbit. It was very popular. She also became engaged to her publisher Norman Warne. Her parents became angry and separated with her because of this. They did not want her to marry someone who was socially lower than her. However, Warne died before he and Potter could marry.
Potter began writing and illustrating children's books full time. She did not have to ask her parents for money anymore because she had money from her books. In time, she bought Hill Top Farm and more land. In her forties, she married William Heelis, a local solicitor. She also began raising sheep and became a farmer, though she continued writing. She published 23 books.
Potter did not have any children. She died of heart disease and pneumonia in Near Sawrey, Lancashire on 22 December 1943. Almost all of her money was left to the National Trust. Her books continue to sell well around the world, in many different languages. Her widower died in August 1945.- Brandon Hurst was born on 30 November 1866 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and Love (1927). He died on 15 July 1947 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Rosa Gore was born on 15 September 1866 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Vanity Fair (1923), The Bandit Tamer (1925) and Lovey Mary (1926). She was married to Dan Crimmins. She died on 4 February 1941 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
George Reed was born on 27 November 1866 in Macon, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Huckleberry Finn (1920), The River of Romance (1929) and Going Places (1938). He was married to Julia Ridley. He died on 6 November 1952 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Frank McGlynn Sr. was born on 26 October 1866 in San Francisco, California, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Captain Blood (1935), Little Miss Marker (1934) and The Littlest Rebel (1935). He was married to Rose O'Byrne. He died on 18 May 1951 in Newburgh, New York, USA.- A veteran stage and screen actor, Swickard was the brother of actor Charles Swickard. He entered films in 1912 and was playing supporting roles for Mack Sennett by 1914. He remained with Sennett until 1917 when he started numerous aristocratic roles in films. His career in sound films was somewhat limited and he played in low-budget and action serial type films. In 1939, his ex-wife, Broadway actress Margaret Campbell, was brutally murdered by their son. Swickard died a year later from natural causes, not, by jumping from the Hollywood sign as several accounts state.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Vladimir Barskiy was born on 15 March 1866. He was a director and actor, known for Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925), Shuquras saidumloeba (1925) and Tavadis asuli Meri (1926). He died on 24 January 1936.- Lydia Knott was born on 1 October 1866 in Tyner, Indiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Luck in Pawn (1919), As Ye Sow (1914) and Crime and Punishment (1917). She died on 30 March 1955 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Elizabeth von Arnim was born on 31 August 1866 in Kirribilli, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She was a writer, known for Enchanted April (1991), Mr. Skeffington (1944) and Enchanted April (1935). She was married to John Francis Stanley Russell and Count Henning August von Arnim. She died on 9 February 1941 in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
- Born Robert Leroy Parker in Beaver, Utah, in 1866, the outlaw later to become famous as Butch Cassidy (he took the name Butch because he was once a butcher and the name Cassidy in honor of a local rancher who had befriended him as a youth) started his criminal career at an early age, stealing livestock when he was just a teenager. He soon left the Beaver area and hooked up with other rustlers and thieves, eventually forming a gang known as The Wild Bunch, which included such well known desperadoes as The Sundance Kid and Harvey Logan. The gang began robbing banks, payrolls and trains all over Colorado and Utah, and became so proficient at it that the Pinkerton Detective Agency was hired to run them down, and in addition a $4000 bounty (a huge sum at the time) was placed on their heads. The gang soon broke up and Cassidy and his partner The Sundance Kid headed to Mexico. Even that wasn't far enough, however, as both the Pinkerton detectives and professional bounty hunters were soon in Mexico looking for them, so they fled to Argentina, where they set up shop--under assumed names--as cattle ranchers. The ruse worked for a while until one night The Sundance Kid, under the influence of too much alcohol, began to brag about the many robberies they had gotten away with. A few days later a bank in a nearby town was robbed by two English-speaking bandits, and suspicion immediately fell upon the two, who were forced to pull up stakes and flee again. They wound up in Chile, and though they made several attempts to settle down and give up their lives of crime, circumstances dictated otherwise. They eventually crossed into Bolivia with plans to rob a bank in the small town of San Vicente. A hotel worker, having heard that the police were on the lookout for two English-speaking bank robbers, became suspicious of the pair and informed the local police chief. The chief and two of his men approached them in a restaurant, whereupon the Sundance Kid opened fire, killing one of the officers. The two gunmen fled and the police requested help from an army cavalry regiment that happened to be in town, and the soldiers and police soon trapped Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in a small house, where, after an all-night siege and gun battle, the two were found dead the next morning of gunshot wounds. Although rumors have surfaced over the years claiming that the pair actually escaped the battle and returned to the US, so far no real evidence has surfaced to conclusively prove that story.
- George Barr McCutcheon was born on 26 July 1866 in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, USA. He was a writer, known for Brewster's Millions (1985), The Man from Brodney's (1923) and Beverly of Graustark (1926). He was married to Mrs. Marie Van Antwerp Fay. He died on 23 October 1928 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Anne Sullivan was born on 14 April 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts, USA. She was married to John Albert Macy. She died on 20 October 1936 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Director
Reginald Barlow was born on 17 June 1866 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Big Cage (1933) and Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936). He was married to Carol Brown and Selma Rose. He died on 6 July 1943 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Henry Carvill was born on 11 May 1866 in St. Mary's, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was an actor, known for To Hell with the Kaiser! (1918), The Great Victory, Wilson or the Kaiser? The Fall of the Hohenzollerns (1919) and The Turn of the Wheel (1918). He died on 11 March 1941 in London, England, UK.
- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Oskar Messter was born on 22 November 1866 in Berlin, Germany. He was a producer and director, known for Rapunzel (1897), Das wandernde Licht (1916) and Tanz der Salome (1906). He was married to Antonie König and Margarete Wittmann. He died on 7 December 1943 in Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Fred Karno was born on 26 March 1866 in Exeter, England, UK. He was a writer and actor, known for Mother, Don't Rush Me (1936), The Bad Companions (1932) and My Old Duchess (1934). He was married to Marie T. L. Moore and Edith Cuthbert. He died on 18 September 1941 in Dorset, England, UK.- Art Department
- Writer
Wassily Kandinsky, a lawyer turned artist, belongs in the Pantheon of the 20th century artists alongside Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
He was born Wassily (Vasili Vasilevich) Kandinsky on December 16, 1866, in Moscow, Russia. His father, Vasili Silvesterovich Kandinsky, was a successful Russian businessman, his mother was a homemaker. Young Kandinsky enjoyed a happy childhood traveling across Europe with his parents and living in Odessa and Moscow. He studied arts and music from his early age and played piano and cello. Kandinsky had the physiological gift of synaesthesia cognate with that of composer Aleksandr Skryabin, and writer Vladimir Nabokov, which enabled him to hear colors and to see sounds. Kandinsky wrote: "Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul."
He earned his Law degree from the Moscow University and lectured at the Moscow Faculty of Law until 1896, then worked as managing director at a Moscow publishing and printing business. At age 30 he changed his life and career completely and moved from Russia to Europe. From 1896-1914 Kandinsky lived in Munich. There he studied art anatomy, drawing and composition under Anthon Azbe for two years. From 1897-1900, he studied in Munich Academy of Art and graduated from the class of Franz von Schtucke. In 1901 he founded "Falanga" artistic movement and school, where he also taught his ideas in art. At that time his paintings represented his earlier impressions from seeing the Russian folk art coupled with his musical imagination. Synaesthetic ability led him to creation of his original style, focused more on series of colors than on formal details. His paintings from that period, like "The Blue Rider" (1903), are steps to creation of the modern abstract art.
Kandinsky was the founder and active member of some of the most influential art movements. In 1911 he founded Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) together with Franz Marc, and included such artists as August Macke, Paul Klee, Alexej von Javlensky, and other painters fundamental to Expressionism. The group held two important exhibitions in 1911 and 1912 touring Germany, for which Kandinsky also included paintings by Henri Rousseau. Kandinsky was the main driving force behind the start of the new movement: he chose artists, collected their works, and published an almanac. In his writings Kandinsky promoted abstract art. He formulated his ideas of spirituality in art, his color theory, and the concept of autonomous color painted apart from an object or form.
The start of WWI in 1914 forced Kandinsky back to Russia. There he taught art in Moscow and visited St. Petersburg. In 1916, he met Nina Andrievskaya who became his wife in 1917. During and after the Russian Revolution of 1917, he was involved in art teaching and participated in museum reform. He published an autobiographical book 'Stupeni' (Steps 1918). From 1919-1921 he was the Chairman of Russian Art Acqusitions Commission, taught at VKHUTEMAS, and was elected the Vice-President of Russian Academy of Arts. His life in Russia was full of painful and traumatic events. He was devastated by the death of his young son in Moscow. At that time, Kandinsky suffered from another blow from the Soviets when his spiritual and artistic position was bashed and denounced as individualistic and bourgeois. He was under suspicion from the Soviet communists and was eventually stripped from his Soviet citizenship. In 1921 Kandinsky escaped from the Soviet Russia and joined the Bauhaus movement in Weimar, Germany. He was invited by Walther Gropius, the founder of Bauhaus, an innovative school of art and architecture. There Kandinsky taught design and advanced color theory, as well as an abstract painting class.
In 1933 Bauhaus was banned by the Nazis. Kandinsky fled from the Nazi Germany and settled in Paris. He became a French citizen in 1939 and continued living and working in Paris during the Nazi occupation in WWII. His studio in Neuilly-sur-Seine, near Paris, was frequently visited by 'Joan Miro' and younger artists. He became established internationally through several exhibitions, and his works were acquired in the USA by Solomon Guggenheim, who became one of his most enthusiastic supporters. Kandinsky expressed his creative achievements in the series of seven large "Compositions" (1911-39), which are widely acclaimed as the culmination of an abstract style in art.
Wassily Kandinsky died on December 13, 1944, in his studio in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. He is recognized as the developer of Abstractionism in modern art.- Actor
- Director
William H. Brown was born on 16 August 1866 in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Hoodoo Ann (1916), Cheerful Givers (1917) and The Kinship of Courage (1915). He was married to Lucille Browne. He died on 3 February 1924 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Jasper Ewing Brady was born on 12 September 1866 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer and director, known for The Man She Brought Back (1922), The Island of Regeneration (1915) and The Divorce Trap (1919). He was married to Lillian Fowler Miller, Marjorie Estelle Shoals, Virginia Nelles Wright and Emma Augusta Dennis. He died on 8 August 1940 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.- George Edward Stanhope Molyneux Herbert 5th Earl of Carnarvon was born on 26 June 1866 in London, England, UK. He was married to Almina Wombwell. He died on 5 April 1923 in Cairo, Egypt.
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Julius Steger was born on 4 March 1866 in Vienna, Austrian Empire [now Austria]. He was a director and writer, known for Her Mistake (1918), Just a Woman (1918) and Redemption (1917). He died on 26 February 1959 in Vienna, Austria.