Essanay Studios
Essanay Studios, officially the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago by George Kirke Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson, originally as the Peerless Film Manufacturing Company, then as Essanay (formed by the founders' initials: S and A) on August 10, 1907. Essanay is probably best known today for its series of Charlie Chaplin comedies produced in 1915-1916. In late 1916, it merged distribution with other studios and stopped issuing films in the fall of 1918. According to film historian Steve Massa, Essanay is one of the important early studios, with comedies as a particular strength. Founders Spoor and Anderson were subsequently awarded special Academy Awards for pioneering contributions to film. Founding Essanay was originally located at 501 Wells Street (modern numbering: 1360 N. Wells). Essanay's first film, ''An Awful Skate, or The Hobo on Rollers'' (July 1907), starring Ben Turpin (then the s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Film
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since the 1930s, synchronized with sound and (less commonly) other sensory stimulations. Etymology and alternative terms The name "film" originally referred to the thin layer of photochemical emulsion on the celluloid strip that used to be the actual medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion-picture, including "picture", "picture show", "moving picture", "photoplay", and "flick". The most common term in the United States is "movie", while in Europe, "film" is preferred. Archaic terms include "animated pictures" and "animated photography". "Flick" is, in general a slang term, first recorded in 1926. It originates in the verb flicker, owing to the flickering appearance of early films ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Colleen Moore
Colleen Moore (born Kathleen Morrison; August 19, 1899 – January 25, 1988) was an American film actress who began her career during the silent film era. Moore became one of the most fashionable (and highly-paid) stars of the era and helped popularize the Bob cut, bobbed haircut. Although Moore was a huge star in her day, approximately half of her films are now considered lost, including her first talking picture from 1929. What was perhaps her most celebrated film, ''Flaming Youth (film), Flaming Youth'' (1923), is now mostly lost as well, with only one reel surviving. Moore took a hiatus from acting between 1929 and 1933, just as sound was being added to motion pictures. After she returned, her four sound pictures released in 1933 and 1934 were not financial successes. She then retired permanently from screen acting. After her film career, Moore maintained her wealth through astute investments, becoming a partner of Merrill Lynch. She later wrote a "how-to" book about inves ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bonus Books
Bonus Books is an American book publisher based in Los Angeles, California. The company publishes approximately 30 books per year, primarily "how to" books on subjects such as casino gambling, sports biographies, broadcasting and journalism. Frequent authors include Frank Scoblete and John Grochowski. An additional imprint is Volt Press. History The company was established in the 1970s and was based in Chicago, Illinois until 2002, when it was acquired by a Los Angeles publishing executive, Jeffrey Stern, who had previously published '' Details'' magazine. Bonus Books is currently owned by Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an American independent academic publishing company founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns .... Selected titles * ''The Divorce Lawyers’ Guide to Staying Married'' * ''Best Newspaper Writing'' * ''Broadcast Vo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Contemporary Books
McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, digital learning tools, and adaptive technology to enhance learning experiences and outcomes. It is one of the "big three" educational publishers along with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Pearson Education. McGraw Hill also publishes reference and trade publications for the medical, business, and engineering professions. Formerly a division of The McGraw Hill Companies (later renamed McGraw Hill Financial, now S&P Global), McGraw Hill Education was divested and acquired by Apollo Global Management in March 2013 for $2.4 billion in cash. McGraw Hill was sold in 2021 to Platinum Equity for $4.5 billion. History McGraw Hill was founded in 1888, when James H. McGraw, co-founder of McGraw Hill, purchased the ''American Journal of Railway Ap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rod La Rocque
Roderick Ross La Rocque (November 29, 1898 – October 15, 1969) was an American actor. Biography La Rocque was born in Chicago, Illinois to Edmund La Rocque and Ann (née Rice) La Rocque. His father was of French-Canadian descent and his mother was of Irish descent. He began appearing in stock theater at the age of seven and eventually ended up at the Essanay Studios as a teenager in Chicago where he found steady work until the studios closed. He then moved to New York City and worked on the stage until he was noticed by Samuel Goldwyn who took him to Hollywood. Over the next two decades, he appeared in films and made the transition to sound films. In 1927, he married Hungarian actress Vilma Bánky in a lavish, highly publicized wedding. They were married until his death in 1969. The couple had no children. He retired from movies in 1941 and became a real estate broker. For his contribution to the film industry, La Rocque was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Edmund Cobb
Edmund Fessenden Cobb (June 23, 1892 – August 15, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in more than 620 films between 1912 and 1966. Biography Cobb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of William Henry Cobb and Eddie (Edmundie) Ross. His maternal grandfather, Edmund G. Ross, was a newspaper editor, a governor of the New Mexico territory, a senator from Kansas, and a leader in the abolitionist movement in the United States. Despite his grandfather's efforts to lead Cobb into a career in politics, an initial effort in acting in a locally produced play turned him in that direction for a career. When he was 18, he worked for the St. Louis Motion Picture Company when it made a film in Albuquerque. Other roles with other companies followed. One of his earliest roles was a bit part in the Essanay Studios film ''A Pueblo Legend'' (1912). Much of Cobb's work in films came after he signed with Universal in 1925. He continued to act after sound came into films, bu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Edward Arnold (actor)
Günther Edward Arnold Schneider (February 18, 1890 – April 26, 1956) was an American actor of the stage and screen. Early life Arnold was born on February 18, 1890, in Lower East Side of New York City, the son of German immigrants Elizabeth (Ohse) and Carl Schneider. His schooling came at the East Side Settlement House. Acting career Stage Arnold was interested in acting ever since he appeared on stage as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice at age 12. He made his professional stage debut in 1907 and had important roles in several plays on Broadway in the 1920s and 1930s. Among them is the 1927 revival of The Jazz Singer (play), ''The Jazz Singer'', with Arnold as the second lead to the star, George Jessel (actor), George Jessel. Film He found work as an extra (actor), extra for Essanay Studios and World Studios, before landing his first significant role in 1916's ''The Misleading Lady (1916 film), The Misleading Lady''. He returned to the stage in 1919, and did not app ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Virginia Valli
Virginia Valli (January 18, 1895 – September 24, 1968) was an American stage and film actress whose motion picture career started in the silent film era and lasted until the beginning of the sound film era of the 1930s. Early life Valli was born as Virginia McSweeney in 1895 (although some sources say 1898) in Chicago, Illinois. She got her acting start in Milwaukee with a stock company. She also did some film work with Essanay Studios in Chicago, starting in 1916. Film career Valli continued to appear in films throughout the 1920s. She was an established star at the Universal studio by the mid-1920s. In 1924 she was the female lead in King Vidor's southern gothic '' Wild Oranges'', a film now recovered from film vault obscurity. She also appeared in the romantic comedy, ''Every Woman's Life'', about "the man she could have married, the man she should have married and the man she DID marry." Most of her films were made between 1924 and 1927, and included Alfred Hitchcock's ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lewis Stone
Lewis Shepard Stone (November 15, 1879 – September 12, 1953) was an American film actor. He spent 29 years as a contract player at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and was best known for his portrayal of Judge James Hardy in the studio's popular '' Andy Hardy'' film series. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1929 for his performance as Russian Count Pahlen in '' The Patriot''. Stone was also cast in seven films with Greta Garbo, including in the role of Doctor Otternschlag in the 1932 drama '' Grand Hotel''. Early life Stone was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1879, was youngest of four children of Philena (née Ball) and Bertrand Stone."United States Census, 1880", digital image of original census page documenting Lewis Stone in household of Bertrand Stone, Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts; enumeration district (ED) 903, sheet 608D; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), Washington, D.C. FamilySearch database with images, Salt Lak ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Florence Oberle
Florence Oberle (c. 1869 – July 10, 1943) was a stage and film actress from Tarrytown, New York. Career Born in about 1869, Oberle appeared in Morosco Theatre and David Belasco productions. She was once billed as "the most beautiful woman on the American stage." In California Oberle played opposite theatrical stars like Edward Everett Horton and Trixie Friganza. Her last appearance on stage came in 1931, performing with Jane Cowl in ''Camille''. In 1915 Oberle signed with Essanay Studios, a pioneer film studio of the silent movie era. She also performed with Charles Ray and various Hollywood actors at Keystone Studios, Triangle Studios, and Famous Players. Among her films are '' The White Sister'' (1915), '' When My Lady Smiles'' (1915), ''Separating From Sarah'' (1916), ''The Invisible Web'' (1917), ''Her Country First'' (1918), and '' Smudge'' (1922). Personal life and death Oberle lived in Chicago, Illinois, for three years. When she retired she came to reside in Los ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lester Cuneo
Lester H. Cuneo (October 25, 1888 – November 1, 1925) was an American stage and silent film actor. He began acting in theatre while still in his teens. His name remains associated with the history of Western film. Early years Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cuneo attended Culver Military Academy, and he was a law student at Northwestern University when he turned to acting. Career Cuneo's stage career included work with stock theater companies in Brooklyn, Chicago, and Winnepeg. Cuneo began a film career in 1912 with the Chicago-based Selig Polyscope Company then joined Essanay Studios in 1914. Working in early Hollywood, his popularity increased after he switched from comedic roles to the increasingly popular western film genre. However, his career was interrupted when he served with the United States Army during World War I. He served in France from 1917 to 1919 with the 33rd Division from Illinois. At war's end, Lester Cuneo returned to film, and in the early 1920s, he star ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Helen Dunbar
Helen Dunbar (born Katheryn Burke Lackey; October 10, 1863 – August 28, 1933) was an American theatrical performer and silent film actress. Career Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dunbar first appeared with the Weber & Fields Stock Company, when it began its career on the New York stage. In 1899 she appeared in ''Whirl-i-gig'' and ''The Other Way'' at the Weber and Fields' Broadway Music Hall. She also worked with the Charles Dillingham Company and the Boston Opera Company. She appeared in motion pictures beginning in 1912 and continued until 1926. Her stage and screen career extended over thirty-five years. Dunbar's film career started with ''Out of the Depths'' (1912). The production starred Francis X. Bushman. She became a leading lady for the old Essanay Studios. For a number of years she was under contract to Famous Players–Lasky. Aside from Bushman, Dunbar made films with stars like Harry Cashman, Richard Carroll, Ruth Stonehouse, Beverly Bayne, Frank Kee ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |