Kenneth Seymour Webb (16 October 1885

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

– 6 March 1966

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

) was an American

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 ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

noted for directing a number of films in the early age of the American film industry. He helped write the ''

Gay Divorce ''Gay Divorce'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Dwight Taylor, adapted by Kenneth Webb and Samuel Hoffenstein. It was Fred Astaire's last Broadway show and featured the hit song " Night and Day" in which Astaire ...

'' along with

Samuel Hoffenstein Samuel "Sam" Hoffenstein (8 October 1890 – 6 October 1947) was a screenwriter and a musical composer. Born in Odessa (now Ukraine), he emigrated to the United States and began a career in New York City as a newspaper writer and in the entertainme ...

Selected songs

* "You and Me and You" (1919) : Kenneth Webb (words) :

Roy Webb Royden Denslow Webb (October 3, 1888 – December 10, 1982) was an American film music composer. One of the charter members of ASCAP, Webb has hundreds of film music credits to his name, mainly with RKO Pictures. He is best known for film noir and ...

(music)

Career

Webb, beginning around 1910, became a sketch writer and director for vaudeville stage. In 1913, he began writing scenarios for the

Vitagraph Company Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States film studio, motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith (producer), Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as t ...

. From 1918 to 1919, he was a writer and director for

Vitagraph Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907 ...

. From 1919 to 1938, Webb was a writer and director, first with the

Famous Players Film Company The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in New York City in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful theatre owners and producers there. History Discussions to form the company were held at Th ...

, then with Whitman Bennett (a production company) and Associated First National Theatres, Inc. (Bennett's distributor), then

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American independent company that produced motion pictures and was formed in 1914 by the theater "chain" pioneer William Fox (producer), William Fox. It was the corporate successor to ...

, then Whitman Bennett (production company) and

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

(Bennett's distributor), then Burr & Company, then Pathe, then

Lee de Forest #REDIRECT Lee de Forest {{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from other capitalisation ...

, ,

Tiffany Pictures Tiffany Pictures, which also became Tiffany-Stahl Productions for a time, was a Hollywood motion picture studio in operation from 1921 until 1932. It is considered a Poverty Row studio, whose films had lower budgets, lesser-known stars, and overa ...

, and then FitzPatrick Pictures. Webb wrote for legitimate stage since 1924. Since 1933, Webb was a radio writer and producer with Batten Barton Durstine & Osborn, Inc., and since 1953, was its Western editor. From 1943 to 1943, Webb was a lecturer at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

of radio writing and production.

Partial filmography

As director

''
Marie, Ltd. ''Marie, Ltd.'' is a 1919 silent film romantic comedy directed by Kenneth S. Webb and starring Alice Brady. It was produced and distributed by the Select Pictures Corporation. This film survives in the Archives Du Film Fu CNC, Bois d'Arcy, Par ...
'' (1919)
''Will You Be Staying for Supper?'' (1919)
''
Sinners In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...
'' (1920)
'' The Stolen Kiss'' (1920)
'' The Master Mind'' (1920)
'' The Devil's Garden'' (1920)
'' The Truth About Husbands'' (it) (1920)
''
The Fear Market ''The Fear Market'' is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Kenneth Webb and written by Clara Beranger. The film stars Alice Brady, Frank Losee, Harry Mortimer, Richard Hatteras, Edith Stockton, and Bradley Barker. The film was releas ...
'' (1920)
Realart Pictures Corporation (producer and distributor)
'' The Great Adventure'' (1921)
Whitman Bennett (producer)
Associated First National Pictures, Inc. (distributor)
'' Jim the Penman'' (1921)
'' Salvation Nell'' (1921)
'' Fair Lady'' (1922)
''
How Women Love ''How Women Love'' is a 1922 American silent drama film directed by Kenneth S. Webb and starring Betty Blythe, Gladys Hulette and Julia Swayne Gordon.Munden p.367 Plot A promising singer his signed up by a backer for the new opera he is pro ...
'' (1922)
'' The Daring Years'' (1923)
''
The Beautiful City ''Beautiful City'' ( /Shahr-e Ziba/) is a 2004 Iranian drama film directed by Asghar Farhadi. Title The film is named after a neighborhood in western Tehran called Shahr-e ziba in Farsi, which can be translated as “Beautiful City”. Tehran� ...
'' (1925)
'' Just Suppose'' (1926)

Education

Webb attended The Collegiate School on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. He went on to study at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, earning a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1906.

Professional and fraternal associations

Society of Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers who ...

The Lambs The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a New York City social club that nurtures those active in the arts, as well as those who are supporters of the arts, by providing activities and a clubhouse for its members. It is America's old ...

, joined 1913 *

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

, 1914 charter member * Songwriters Protective Association *

Actors' Equity Association The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in Theatre, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions w ...

Motion Picture Directors Association The Motion Picture Directors Association (MPDA) was an American non-profit fraternal organization formed by 26 film directors on June 18, 1915, in Los Angeles, California. The organization selected a headquarters to be built there in 1921. Its art ...

(Eastern President 1923–1925; member of council 1935–1950) * Radio Directors Guild *

Alpha Chi Rho Alpha Chi Rho (), commonly known as Crows, Crow, or AXP, is an American men's collegiate fraternity founded on June 4, 1895, at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, by the Reverend Paul Ziegler, his son Carl Ziegler, and Carl's friends Wi ...

Family

Kenneth Webb was one of children born to the marriage of William Edward Webb (1844–1915) and Juliette Seymour Bell (1863–1930). Kenneth Webb married, on September 20, 1920, silent film actress

Lorraine Frost Lorraine Frost (13 September 1892 – 10 February 1983) was an American silent film and theater actress. She was best known for her roles in '' The Light of Happiness'' (1916)'', Sinners'' (1920) and '' The Truth About Husbands'' (1920). ...

(maiden; 1897–1993) in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. His brother,

, also composer and film director, was one of his chief collaborators.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Kenneth 1885 births 1966 deaths American male screenwriters American male composers 20th-century American composers ASCAP composers and authors Collegiate School (New York) alumni Columbia College (New York) alumni Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters