Frederic Chapin (December 1, 1873 – December 27, 1947) was an American

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and composer. His name was also written as Frederick Chapin. He wrote the

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s for several

Broadway musicals Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

. In addition he worked writing screenplays during the silent and early

sound era A sound film is a motion picture with synchronization, synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decad ...

Biography

Chapin was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1873. His popular work '' The Storks'' (1902) with Guy F. Steeley led to his work with

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not inclu ...

, as he was recommended by M. Witmark & Sons, the publisher. Chapin is best known for his work with Baum on ''

The Woggle-Bug The Mr. Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug, Thoroughly Educated is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He first appears in the book '' The Marvelous Land of Oz'' in 1904. He goes by the name H. M. Woggle-Bug, T.E. (''Highly Magnified and Th ...

'', a 1905

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

based on Baum's novel, ''

The Marvelous Land of Oz ''The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman'', commonly shortened to ''The Land of Oz'', published in July 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and t ...

''. He also wrote songs with lyricist Arthur Gillespie, two of which appeared, credited to Baum, in ''The Woggle-Bug''. His other stage works include '' Pussy in a Corner'' (1904), '' The Forbidden Land'' (1904), ''

The American Girl ''The American Girl'' ( sv, Den amerikanska flickan) is a 2005 novel by author Monika Fagerholm. It won the August Prize The August Prize ( sv, Augustpriset) is an annual Swedish literary prize awarded each year since 1989 by the Swedish Publish ...

'' (1906), and ''

The Maid and the Millionaire ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...

'' (1907). Chapin took up writing, and wrote the book and lyrics for ''The Maid and the Millionaire'', and then produced a 1908 fantasy novel modeled on the

Oz books The Oz books form a book series that begins with ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) and relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books. All of Baum's bo ...

titled '' Toodles of Treasure Town and her Snow Man'', which he followed with '' Pinkey and the Plumed Knight'' (1909), both illustrated by

Merle De Vore Johnson Merle may refer to: People *Merle (given name), a given name used by both men and women *Merle (surname), a surname of French origin Others *Merle (dog coat), a pattern in dogs’ coats *Merle (grape), another name for the wine grape Merlot *Akaf ...

. On November 11, 1912, he opened a four-act

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical humor; the use of deliberate absurdity or ...

called '' C.O.D.'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the Gaiety Theatre, which was fairly successful, in spite of many negative reviews such that one reviewer felt the need to quote reviews from '' The Sun'' and others, while ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' found the play funny and well acted. The day before the play opened, he told ''The Detroit New Tribune'', "I wrote six plays--every one turned out to have a great theme, but all were faulty in the way it was developed." He claims to have completely rewritten ''C.O.D.'' prior to its production, claiming he threw the original script in the garbage and started from scratch after the fourth producer finally accepted it.

Tefft Johnson William Tefft Johnson, Jr. (September 23, 1883 – October 15, 1956), better known as Tefft Johnson, was an American stage and film actor, and film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 131 films between 1909 and 1926. Biography Johnson was ...

directed a film version of ''C.O.D.'' in 1914 with Harry Davenport,

Hughie Mack Hughie Mack (November 26, 1884 – October 13, 1927) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1910 and 1928. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was working as a mortician when he paid a casual ...

, and Charles Brown in the title roles (men with the initials, C.O.D.).

Scenarist

From 1914 to 1932, Chapin worked as a scenarist in Hollywood. His work included ''

The Woman in 47 ''The Woman in 47'', reissued as ''The Mysterious Woman'', is a 1916 silent film directed by George Irving for Equitable Motion Picture Company and Frohman Amusement Corporation. It was filmed at Peerless Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The ...

''.

Return to composing

Chapin returned to composing with ''Unashamed'', a 1938

nudist Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms ar ...

romance. He also appeared as a film

stand-in A stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup. Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and television production. Stand-ins al ...

, for which he use the name "Fred Fuller."''

The New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established i ...

'', February 8, 1938. According to the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

, "Fuller" played "Younger Dolittle" in '' Made for Each Other'' and was a stand-in and had an undetermined role in '' Bachelor Mother''.

Family

His son, James Chapin, became a director, but died in 1924 after making only six films. His daughter, Margery Chapin, was married to William A. Wellman from 1925 to 1926 (the second of his four wives), and had a cameo role in ''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

'' that was also seen in ''

The Celluloid Closet ''The Celluloid Closet'' is a 1995 American documentary film directed and written by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. The film is based on Vito Russo's 1981 book ''The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies'', and on lecture and film clip ...

''. William and Margery adopted a daughter, Gloria, who was the natural daughter of screenwriter

Robert Emmett Tansey Robert Emmett Tansey (June 28, 1897 – June 17, 1951) was an American actor, screenwriter, film producer and director. He was active in cinema in various roles from the 1910s to the 1950s. He was sometimes credited as Robert E. Tansey or Rober ...

. Chapin died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, in 1947.

Selected filmography

* '' C.O.D.'' (1914) * ''

'' (1916) * '' The Ragged Princess'' (1916) * '' The House of Mirrors'' (1916) * '' The Argyle Case'' (1917) * '' The Empress'' (1917) * '' The Easiest Way'' (1917) * '' The Peddler'' (1917) * ''

The Antics of Ann ''The Antics of Ann'' is a lost 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Edward Dillon and starring Ann Pennington. Plot As described in a film magazine, after breaking every rule in the Bredwell Seminary, Ann Wharton (Pennington) is dism ...

'' (1917) * '' The Turn of a Card'' (1918) * '' Heart of the Sunset'' (1918) * ''

The Marionettes ''The Marionettes'' (1963) (variously translated as "The Puppets" as well) is a puppetry play by Bahram Beyzai, and one of the most important plays of the Persian language. It has been staged numerous times in various languages around the world. ...

'' (1918) * ''

Ravished Armenia ''Ravished Armenia'' (full title: ''Ravished Armenia: The Story of Aurora Mardiganian, the Christian Girl, Who Survived the Great Massacres'') is a book written in 1918 by Arshaluys (Aurora) Mardiganian about her experiences in the Armenian gen ...

'' (1919) * ''

Daredevil Jack ''Daredevil Jack'' is a 1920 American silent 15-chapter action film serial directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey and featuring Lon Chaney as a villain. The chapters were shown weekly between February and May ...

'' (1920) * '' The Lost City'' (1920) * '' Against All Odds'' (1924) * '' Virtue's Revolt'' (1924) * '' Gold Heels'' (1924) * '' Turned Up'' (1924) * '' The Prince of Broadway'' (1926) * '' The Little Firebrand'' (1926) * ''

Hour of Reckoning ''Hour of Reckoning'' is a 1927 American silent drama film directed by John Ince and starring Herbert Rawlinson, Grace Darmond and Harry von Meter.Munden p.365 Synopsis A clerk at a safe manufacturing company is wrongly accused of steal money, ...

'' (1926) * '' The Trunk Mystery'' (1926) * '' The Night Bride'' (1927) * ''

Soft Cushions ''Soft Cushions'' is a 1927 American comedy film directed by Edward F. Cline and featuring Boris Karloff. It is a comic take by actor and producer Douglas MacLean on the 1911 play '' Kismet'' and the 1920 silent film adaptation. It is liste ...

'' (1927) * '' Mark of the Spur'' (1932) * ''

Out of Singapore ''Out of Singapore'' is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Charles Hutchison and starring Noah Beery, Dorothy Burgess and Miriam Seegar. The film was re-released by Astor Pictures in 1941 as ''Gangsters of the Sea''.Pitts p.235 ...

'' (1932)

References

Bibliography

* Bordman, Gerald. ''American Musical Theater: A Chronicle''. Oxford University Press, 2001. *Erish, Andrew A. ''Col. William N. Selig, the Man Who Invented Hollywood''. University of Texas Press, 2012.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapin, Frederic 1873 births 1947 deaths American male composers American composers 20th-century American writers Musicians from Cleveland Writers from Cleveland