Edward Genung (30 August 1881 – 13 July 1944) was an American actor of the

silent era 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, wh ...

notable for being the first actor to play

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...

on film - in ''

'' (1911) and one of the earliest to play

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

on film - in ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' (1911). David Copperfield film 1911

Genung was born in

New Albany, Indiana New Albany is a city in New Albany Township, Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It ...

, to Jones Alfred Genung, a glassworker. He worked in various films for the

Thanhouser Company The Thanhouser Company (later the Thanhouser Film Corporation) was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser, his wife Gertrude Thanhouser, Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan. It operated in New Yo ...

in 1911. In the summer of 1912, he was appearing in films for the Bison Company, while by 1914, he was acting with the

Lubin Manufacturing Company The Lubin Manufacturing Company was an American motion picture production company that produced silent films from 1896 to 1916. Lubin films were distributed with a Liberty Bell trademark. * * History The Lubin Manufacturing Company was forme ...

.Ed Genung
on the

website Genung's other film roles include: Phil Nelson - the Messenger's Brother in ''Messenger No. 845'' (1914); Dick in ''Dick's Turning'' (1913); Don in ''Her First Choice'' (1912);

in ''The Loves of David Copperfield'' (1911); The Prizefighter / Aviator in ''The Higher the Fewer'' (1911), and The Country Boy in ''Little Old New York'' (1911).
Gertrude Thanhouser, Gertrude Homan Thanhouser - Women Film Pioneers - Columbia University Libraries

References

External links

* 1881 births 1944 deaths 20th-century American male actors American stage actors American male silent film actors American male film actors Male actors from Indiana American people of German descent {{US-film-actor-stub