SilentPhotoplay Blog
Howard Missimer was born on November 17, 1867 and died November 19, 1917, just five years after this interview was published. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual describes Howard Missimer as being 5′ 10″ and weighing 140 pounds, having gray hair and blue eyes. Howard … Continue reading Howard Missimer
This was printed in the December 1912 Motion Picture Story Magazine. Can you name all the photoplayers featured? I thought this was pretty awesome. Some of them have names under the pictures, but others don’t. I’d have to consult the Gallery of Players section and compare faces to be able to name them all! As … Continue reading Silent Photoplayer Christmas Tree
John E. Halliday was chatted in the December 1911 issue of Motion Picture Story Magazine. Multiple sources have different birth years, but all say September 14. Wikipedia says 1869, but that has to be way off, since he fought with the British Army in the Boer War, and it seems this would make him too … Continue reading John E. Halliday
Edwin August was born (let me take a deep breath before saying this) Edwin August Philip Von der Butz on November 10, 1883 in St. Louis Missouri, and died on March 4th, 1964. His mother was Sarah Mykins, and his father’s name was August Butz. Edwin August was one of the players of the legitimate stage … Continue reading Edwin August
Way back in the distant past of August 2016, we talked about the Popular Players Contest that was conducted by The Motion Picture Story Magazine in 1912. You can find my post about it here. At the end, I stated that it was a mystery what was finally given as a prize. It must not have been … Continue reading Echoes From the Popular Players Contest
Behold! A lovely picture of Vedah Bertram from the June 1912 issue of Motion Picture Story Magazine. Note the misspelling of her name from Vedah to Veda. 🙂 Please follow and like us: Continue reading ‘Veda’ Bertram Photo
Born December 4th, 1891 in Boston Massachusetts, Adele Buck, who became known to the motion picture public as Vedah Bertram, was one of the most promising rising stars of 1912. According to all reports, this lady was extremely likeable, and always got rave reviews in the films she acted in. She was loved especially by the reporters … Continue reading Vedah Bertram
Maurice Costello, where to start? There are a lots of interesting facts about this guy, the one they called Dimples! Maurice George Costello was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1877. His parents are commonly regarded as Irish immigrants, but in the interview featured today, he specifies that his father is Spanish-Irish. Tangent: I … Continue reading Maurice Costello
Wayyy back in January of 1912, a contest was announced in Motion Picture Story Magazine. It was a contest to find which actor was the favorite of its readers! The contest initially was supposed to last a few months, but such a response was received that the contest lasted a full FIVE months! It was so … Continue reading Popular Players Contest – 1912
For the first interview in this series, it is very fitting that we will be looking toward the very first “movie star”, Florence Lawrence! I say “very first”, because she really was, the very first named movie star! “What?” you ask. “Does this mean that people didn’t have names back then?” The answer is, no, … Continue reading Florence Lawrence
