James Neill (actor)
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James F. Neill (September 29, 1860 – March 16, 1931) was an American stage actor and film 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 ...
. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1913 and 1930.


Biography

After he graduated from the University of Georgia in 1882, James Neill embarked on a theatrical career which spanned nearly fifty years with stage appearances in every state in the Union, the territories (including Hawaii), and the provinces of Canada, in addition to film appearances in the studios of many of the major early Hollywood producers. "The occasion of spring vacation during his senior year at the University of Georgia was marked by the first amateur theatrical appearance of young James F. Neill. The April 11, 1882, program for the Savannah Theatre included a listing of the Veteran Guard Cadets, a 'military drill team and chorus,' as part of the evening’s entertainment provided by the Ford Dramatic Amateur Society. Neill listed this as his 'first appearance on any stage, as one of the...Cadets.'" "At the end of the 1884-85 season, Neill returned to Savannah with a play he had written and he persuaded J. C. Shaw, of what was now called the Ford Dramatic Association, to produce the new work as part of the seventh annual summer season of the group. On the evening of June 18, 1885, the Savannah Theatre was the locale for the first performance on any stage of Mr. James Neill’s romantic four-act drama -- Chip Redmond: or the Moonshine Maid." In 1893, Neill organized the first
summer stock theatre In American theater, summer stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock t ...
company for that season at the Elitch Theatre, Denver. The company's roster of actors included: Lilian Dailey, Marion Earle, Alfred Hampton, Jane Kenmark, Hudson Liston, Millie Liston, Charles Lothian, Jeanette Lowrey, James Neill himself, Frank E. Norcross, Bernard Reynold, and Weevie Vivian. The following year, James Neill and R.L. Giffen organized a company for the Manhattan Beach in
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, with a roster of actors including: Anne Blancke, Kate Blancke, Alfred Burnham, Harry Corson Clarke,
Henrietta Crosman Henrietta Foster Crosman (September 2, 1861 – October 31, 1944) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Crosman was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Wheeling, Virginia, to George Crosman Jr. a Civil War Major, and Mary B. Wick, ...
, Josepha Crowell, Zula Hanes, William Ingersoll, John B. Maher, James Neill, and Mary Ryan as players, and with Alfred Fisher as stage director. In September 1894, Neill and Giffen also organized the first winter stock company at the Lyceum Theatre, Denver. Another company was placed in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
in December 1894 under the management of T. Daniel Frawley, who later purchased the Neill-Giffen interests and moved the organization to
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. James Neill was fifty-three years old when he appeared in his first Hollywood film, The Passerby, in 1913. His second wife, and frequent costar on stage and screen, was
Edythe Chapman Edythe Chapman (October 8, 1863 – October 15, 1948) was an American stage and silent film actress. Career Born in Rochester, New York, Chapman began her stage career as early as 1898 when she appeared in New York City in ''The Charity Ball''. ...
.


Partial filmography

* '' Red Margaret, Moonshiner'' (1913) * '' Bloodhounds of the North'' (1913) * '' The Heart of a Cracksman'' (1913) * '' The Lie'' (1914) * '' The Honor of the Mounted'' (1914) * '' Discord and Harmony'' (1914) * ''
The Man on the Box ''The Man on the Box'' is a 1914 American silent comedy-drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this ki ...
'' (1914) * '' Richelieu'' (1914) * '' The Man from Home'' (1914) * '' Rose of the Rancho'' (1914) * '' The Goose Girl'' (1915) * '' After Five'' (1915) * '' The Warrens of Virginia'' (1915) * '' The Woman'' (1915) * '' The Cheat'' (1915) * '' The Ragamuffin'' (1916) * '' Maria Rosa'' (1916) * '' The Dream Girl'' (1916) * '' The House with the Golden Windows'' (1916) * ''
Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens. It was originally published as a serial from 1837 to 1839 and as a three-volume book in 1838. The story follows the titular orphan, who, ...
'' (1916) * '' Joan the Woman'' (1917) * '' The Devil-Stone'' (1917) * '' Jules of the Strong Heart'' (1918) * ''
The Whispering Chorus ''The Whispering Chorus'' is a 1918 American silent film, silent Psychological drama (film genre), psychological drama film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. It is the first and earliest film considered a Psychological drama (subgenre), psychologi ...
'' (1918) * '' Say! Young Fellow'' (1918) * '' We Can't Have Everything'' (1918) * '' Women's Weapons'' (1918) * '' The Way of a Man with a Maid'' (1918) * '' Don't Change Your Husband'' (1919) * '' Men, Women, and Money'' (1919) * '' Her Kingdom of Dreams'' (1919) * '' Everywoman'' (1919) * '' The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come'' (1920) * '' The Paliser Case'' (1920) * '' A Double-Dyed Deceiver'' (1920) * '' Stop Thief!'' (1920) * '' A Voice in the Dark'' (1921) * ''
Bits of Life ''Bits of Life'' is a 1921 American film produced and directed by Marshall Neilan. The cast included Lon Chaney and Noah Beery, Sr. For her performance in this film, Anna May Wong received her first screen credit. It is notable as an ear ...
'' (1921) * ''
Dangerous Curve Ahead ''Dangerous Curve Ahead'' is a 1921 American silent film, silent comedy film, comedy starring Helene Chadwick and Richard Dix. The film is considered to be lost films, lost. Plot As described in a film magazine, Phoebe Mabee (Chadwick) is a muc ...
'' (1921) * '' Her Husband's Trademark'' (1922) * '' Saturday Night'' (1922) * '' The Heart Specialist'' (1922) * '' Our Leading Citizen'' (1922) * ''
Manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
'' (1922) * '' The World's Applause'' (1923) * '' The Lonely Road'' (1923) * '' The Ten Commandments'' (1923) –
Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...
* '' The Thrill Chaser'' (1923) * ''
New Brooms ''New Brooms'' is a 1925 American silent film, silent romantic comedy film, directed by William C. deMille, and starring Bessie Love, Neil Hamilton (actor), Neil Hamilton, and Phyllis Haver. It was produced by Famous Players–Lasky and distribu ...
'' (1925) * '' The Crimson Runner'' (1925) * ''
Thank You "Thank you" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of gr ...
'' (1925) * '' A Desperate Moment'' (1926) * '' The King of Kings'' (1927) * '' Three-Ring Marriage'' (1928) * '' The Border Patrol'' (1928) * '' The Idle Rich'' (1929) * '' Shooting Straight'' (1930)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neill, James 1860 births 1931 deaths American male stage actors American male film actors American male silent film actors Male actors from Savannah, Georgia 20th-century American male actors