Charles Avery (born Charles Avery Bradford; May 28, 1873 – July 23, 1926) was an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

in the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era. Avery was one of the original seven

Keystone Cops The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. History Hank Mann creat ...

.Lahue, Kalton (1971); ''Mack Sennett's Keystone: The man, the myth and the comedies''; New York: Barnes; . p. 194.

Early life and education

Charles Avery was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, and educated in Boston. His sister Charlotte was also an actress, as was his mother Marie Stanley. His father was a playwright.

Career

He started acting in the

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

, playing the title role in ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...

'', and the part of Pegleg Hopkins in the adaptation of '' David Harum'' which had William H. Crane in the lead role. Avery appeared in a touring production of ''

The Clansman ''The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'' is a novel published in 1905, the second work in the Ku Klux Klan trilogy by Thomas Dixon Jr. (the others are '' The Leopard's Spots'' and '' The Traitor''). Chronicling the American Ci ...

'' as Governor Shrimp, before entering films with the

Biograph Company The Biograph Company, also known as the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company, was a motion picture company founded in 1895 and active until 1916. It was the first company in the United States devoted entirely to Filmmaking, film production an ...

in 1908. From 1908 to 1909, Avery featured in 33

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

s under the direction of

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

, usually only in supporting roles and often alongside

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career. Born in Danville, Quebec, he started acting i ...

. In 1913, he tried his hand at directing, starting with ''Across the Alley'' at

Keystone Studios Keystone Studios was an early film studio founded in Edendale, California (which is now a part of Echo Park) on July 4, 1912 as the Keystone Pictures Studio by Mack Sennett with backing from actor-writer Adam Kessel (1866–1946) and Char ...

. Avery went on to direct

Syd Chaplin Sydney John Chaplin (; 16 March 1885 – 16 April 1965) was an English actor. Chaplin was the elder half-brother of actor and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin and in later life, served as his business manager. Through their mother Hannah, they were ...

in the ''Gussle'' series and Charles Murray in the ''Hogan'' series. He also continued to act, notably in the first three

films. Leaving directorial duties in the 1920s, Avery later played supporting roles in low-budget Westerns such as ''The Rambling Ranger'' and ''Western Rover''.

Death

On July 23, 1926, Avery was found dead in his

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

home. His cause of death was acute dilation of the heart caused by chronic myocarditis.

Filmography

* '' Father Gets in the Game'' (1908) * ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'' (1908) * '' The Valet's Wife'' (1908) * '' The Helping Hand'' (1908) * '' Love Finds a Way'' (1909) * '' A Wreath in Time'' (1909) * '' Tragic Love'' (1909) * '' The Salvation Army Lass'' (1909) * '' Jones and His New Neighbors'' (1909) * '' A Drunkard's Reformation'' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ''The Jilt'' (1909) * ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

'' (1909) * '' Two Memories'' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * '' The Violin Maker of Cremona'' (1909) * '' The Lonely Villa'' (1909) * ' (1909) * '' Her First Biscuits'' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * ' (1909) * '' The Little Darling'' (1909) * ''Dooley's Thanksgiving Turkey'' (1909) * ' (1910) * ' (1910) * ' (1910) * ' (1910) * ' (1910) * ' (1910) * ' (1912) * '' Home Folks'' (1912) * ' (1912) * ' (1912) * ''

Hoffmeyer's Legacy ''Hoffmeyer's Legacy'' is a 1912 comedy short directed by Mack Sennett and notable for being the first Keystone Cops comedy. However, many consider the first real Keystone Cop comedy to be ''The Bangville Police (1913).'' Plot Hoffmeyer inherits ...

'' (1912) * ' (1912) * ' (1913) * ' (1913) * '' Safe in Jail'' (1913) * ' (1913) * ''Their First Execution'' (1913) * ''

Peeping Pete ''Peeping Pete'' is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle. Cast * Phyllis Allen * Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle as Pete's wife * Charles Avery * Peggy Pearce * Nick Cogley as Sheriff * Dot Farley * Mack Sennett as Pete * ...

'' (1913) * '' The Telltale Light'' (1913) * ''Cohen's Outing'' (1913) * '' The Work Habit'' (1913) * '' Mabel's New Hero'' (1913) * '' Mabel's Dramatic Career'' (1913) * ''

A Quiet Little Wedding ''A Quiet Little Wedding'' is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle. It features the earliest known film appearance of Arbuckle's wife, Minta Durfee. Plot Fatty's wedding is interrupted by a rival, who instigates a lemon ...

'' (1913) * ' (1913) * '' A Ride for a Bride'' (1913) * ''The Mystery of the Milk ''(1914) * '' In the Clutches of the Gang'' (1914) * '' Twixt Love and Fire'' (1914) * '' The Sea Nymphs'' (1914) * '' The Fighting Ranger'' (1925) * ''

The Blackbird ''The Blackbird'' is a 1926 American silent crime film directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney. The screenplay was written by Waldemar Young, based on a story "The Mockingbird" by Tod Browning (which was originally supposed to be t ...

'' (1926) * '' The Rambling Ranger'' (1927) * '' The Western Rover'' (1927)

Director

* ''Across the Alley'' (1913) * ''Across the Hall'' (1914) * ''

The Knockout ''The Knockout'' is a 1914 American silent comedy film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. It also features Charlie Chaplin in a small role, his seventeenth film for Keystone Studios. It is one of only a few films in which Chaplin's Little Tr ...

'' (1914) * ''Love and Salt Water'' (1914) * ''The Great Toe Mystery'' (1914) * ''Her Last Chance'' (1914) * ''Hogan's Annual Spree'' (1914) * ''His Second Childhood'' (1914) * ''Gussle's Wayward Path'' (1915) * ''Hogan's Wild Oats'' (1915) * '' Rum and Wall Paper'' (1915) * ''Hogan's Mussy Job'' (1915) * ''Hogan, the Porter'' (1915) * '' Hogan's Romance Upset'' (1915) * ''Hogan's Aristocratic Dream'' (1915) * ''Hogan Out West'' (1915) * ' (1915) * ''The Beauty Bunglers'' (1915) * ''Gussle's Wayward Way'' (1915) * '' Their Social Splash'' (1915) * ''Gussle Tied to Trouble'' (1915) * ''Gussle's Backward Way'' (1915) * '' A Submarine Pirate'' (1915) * ' (1916) * ' (1916) * ' (1917) * ' (1917) * ' (1917) * ' (1917) * ' (1917) * ' (1917) * ' (1917/I) * ''A Kaiser There Was'' (1919) * ''The Riot'' (1921) * ''The Applicant'' (1921)

Stageplays

* ''

'' (1897) * '' David Harum'' (1900) * ''David Harum'' (1902) * ''Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner'' (1903) * ''David Harum'' (1904) * ''

'' (1906)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Avery, Charles 1873 births 1926 deaths 19th-century American male actors 20th-century American male actors American male silent film actors American male stage actors American male screenwriters American slapstick comedians Film directors from Illinois Film directors from California Film directors from New York City Male actors from Chicago Male actors from Los Angeles Male actors from New York City Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Illinois Screenwriters from California 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters