Richard Rosson (April 4, 1893 – May 31, 1953) 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 ...

and

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. ...

. As an actor, he was known for the nearly 100 films he was in during the silent era. As a director, he directed the logging sequences in the 1936 film '' Come and Get It''.

Career

Rosson's first directorial effort was the 1926 American

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

silent

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

'' Fine Manners'', initially directed by

Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was an American film director. Milestone directed '' Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1 ...

for Famous Players–Lasky/

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

. After an argument with actress

Gloria Swanson Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...

, Milestone walked off the set, leaving the film to be completed by Rosson, who had picked up directorial tricks while working as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan was ...

. The success of the film, being Rosson's first directorial effort since he co-directed '' Her Father's Keeper'' in 1917 with his brother

Arthur Rosson Arthur Henry Rosson (24 August 1886 – 17 June 1960) was an English film director. From 1917 to 1948, Rosson directed 61 feature films (including co-direction of '' Red River''). He also worked on many major films as a second unit director unti ...

, won him a long-term contract with Famous Players–Lasky.

Personal life

Rosson was the younger brother of director

; his younger sister Helene became a movie actress, and his younger brother Harold became a well-known director of photography who won the first

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for color cinematography. Richard Rosson died from suicide from

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

at his home in Pacific Palisades, California at the age of 60. A year later, Rosson's wife, Vera Sisson, committed suicide by

barbiturate overdose Barbiturate overdose is poisoning due to excessive doses of barbiturates. Symptoms typically include difficulty thinking, poor coordination, decreased level of consciousness, and a decreased effort to breathe ( respiratory depression). Complic ...

. On May 1, 1939, Rosson was arrested on a charge of espionage in

Vienna, Austria Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, with his wife and two other British nationals, by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

, allegedly for filming military hardware. They were held in solitary confinement for 34 days and released.

Selected director filmography

* '' Her Father's Keeper'' (1917) * '' Fine Manners'' (1926) * '' Shootin' Irons'' (1927) * '' The Wizard'' (1927) * '' Road House'' (1928) * '' Dead Man's Curve'' (1928) * '' Scarface'' ("co-director" of retakes) (1932) * '' West Point of the Air'' (1935) * '' Hideaway'' (1937) * '' Apache Trail'' (uncredited) (1942) * '' The Getaway'' (uncredited) (1942) * '' Corvette K-225'' (1943)

Selected actor filmography

* '' Richelieu'' (1914) * '' The Pretty Sister of Jose'' (1915) * '' The Old Cobbler'' (1916) *'' Cassidy'' (1917) *'' A Case at Law'' (1917) * '' The Haunted House'' (1917) * '' Madame Sphinx'' (1918) * '' The Ghost Flower'' (1918) * '' Alias Mary Brown'' (1918) * '' Peggy Does Her Darndest'' (1919) * '' The Poor Boob'' (1919) * '' Playthings of Passion'' (1919) * '' For Those We Love'' (1921) * '' Beating the Game'' (1921) * '' Her Face Value'' (1921) * '' Always the Woman'' (1922)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosson, Richard American male film actors 1893 births 1953 suicides 1953 deaths American male silent film actors Film directors from Los Angeles Film directors from New York City Male actors from New York City Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning Suicides in California 20th-century American male actors Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery American people imprisoned in Germany