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Marc McDermott | |
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 McDermott, c. 1925 | |
| Born | Marcus McDermott 24 July 1871 Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 5 January 1929 (aged 57) Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Years active | 1900–1929 |
| Spouse | Miriam Nesbitt |
Marcus McDermott (also credited as Marc MacDermott; 24 July 1871 – 5 January 1929) was an Australian actor who starred on Broadway and in over 180 American films from 1909 until his death. [1] [2]
McDermott was born in Goulburn, New South Wales to Irish parents and he attended Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview in Sydney. Later, while working as a hairdresser in central Sydney, McDermott took an active interest in amateur theatricals. In 1899 he was discovered by illustrious stage actor George Rignold, and he traveled on an extended Australian tour with Rignold’s company. In mid-1902 McDermott traveled to New York via Canada, joining Mrs Patrick Campbell’s a company soon after and appearing on Broadway, as Sir George Orreyed in The Second Mrs. Tanqeray. In mid-1903 he traveled to England with Campbell and performed there until 1906 when he returned to the United States, his reputation by now well established. [1]
McDermott got his first taste of the American film industry when he was hired by Thomas Edison in 1909 to appear as a featured player at Edison's Bronx studio, in replacement of Maurice Costello, who had moved to Vitagraph, the first motion picture stock company ever formed. McDermott was then picked for a role in Les Misérables , acting with Maurice Costello and William V. Ranous. Later that year, he acted in 1909 short Lochinvar, based on the story by Sir Walter Scott. That movie was released before Les Misérables, but he filmed the movie after Lochinvar. The next year, McDermott was cast as Ebenezer Scrooge in the short seventeen-minute silent film adaptation of Charles Dickens' work, A Christmas Carol . In 1912, McDermott starred with Mary Fuller and Charles Ogle in What Happened to Mary? , the first motion picture serial made in the U.S. The Edison Studios production consisted of twelve one-reel episodes released monthly starting on 26 July 1912 to coincide with the serial of the same name published in McClure's Ladies' World magazine.
Two years later, McDermott appeared as the lead in The Man Who Disappeared, another popular ten-chapter series that also was featured in magazines just as each chapter appeared on the screen. McDermott had starred in over 140 films for Edison by 1916, and had frequently appeared in popular film magazines like Photoplay and Moving Picture World . That year, on 20 April, McDermott married stage actress Miriam Nesbitt, who later co-starred with him in many films such as The Man Who Disappeared. McDermott then left Edison Studios to join Vitagraph Studios. For the next decade, McDermott spent his time starring in minor and major roles in dozens of movies.
McDermott died at the age of 57 on 5 January 1929 of cirrhosis of the liver, during surgery to treat the condition. He was entombed in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.
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, it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. It was bought by Warner Bros. in 1925.
James Stuart Blackton was a British-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897. He was one of the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation, is considered a father of American animation, and was the first to bring many classic plays and books to the screen. Blackton was also the commodore of the Motorboat Club of America and the Atlantic Yacht Club.
Florence Turner was an American actress who became known as the "Vitagraph Girl" in early silent films.
Norma Marie Talmadge was an American actress and film producer of the silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among the most popular idols of the American screen.
Flora Finch was an English-born vaudevillian, stage and film actress who starred in over 300 silent films, including over 200 for the Vitagraph Studios film company. The vast majority of her films from the silent era are currently classified as lost.
A Christmas Carol is a 1910 silent drama film directed by J. Searle Dawley and produced at Edison Studios in The Bronx in New York City. After the 1901 British release Scrooge, or, Marley's Ghost, this American version of Charles Dickens' 1843 novella is the second oldest surviving screen adaptation of the famous literary work. It features Marc McDermott as Ebenezer Scrooge and Charles S. Ogle as Bob Cratchit.
Charles Brabin was a British-American film director.
Arthur Housman was an American actor in films during both the silent film era and the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Rose Elizabeth Tapley was an American actress of the stage and an early heroine of silent films.
Gladys Hulette was an American silent film actress from Arcade, New York, United States. Her career began in the early years of silent movies and continued until the mid-1930s. She first performed on stage at the age of three and on screen when she was seven years old. Hulette was also a talented artist. Her mother was an opera star.
Mary Murillo was an English actress, screenwriter, and businesswoman active during Hollywood's silent era.
Philo McCullough was an American actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1914 and 1969. He was born in San Bernardino, California, and died in Burbank, California.
Hughie Mack was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 190 films between 1910 and 1928.
Shirley Mason was an American actress of the silent era.
Ralph Waldo Ince was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of the silent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother of John E. Ince and Thomas H. Ince.
Julia Swayne Gordon was an American actress who appeared in at least 228 films between 1908 and 1933.
Miriam Nesbitt was an American stage and film actress.
Cissy Fitzgerald was an English-American vaudeville actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in numerous silent and sound films. Fitzgerald acted in a popular Gaiety Girl show beginning in 1894 and was filmed in the role in 1896 in a self-titled short film shot by Thomas Edison's film company. She did not appear in films again until 1914 where she signed with the Vitagraph company and was quite popular in feature films and her own series of Cissy short films. Very little of Fitzgerald's silent material survives except her comic backup role in the 1928 Lon Chaney vehicle Laugh, Clown, Laugh.
Thomas Herbert F. Lewin, known professionally as Tom Terriss, was a British actor, screenwriter, and film director. After trying various occupations, he became an actor playing a variety of roles, beginning in 1890, in plays, pantomime and Edwardian musical comedy. After the First World War, he left the stage and pursued a decade-long film career. He was the brother of the musical comedy star Ellaline Terriss and son of leading man actor William Terriss.
Wilfrid North, also spelled Wilfred North, was an Anglo-American film director, actor, and writer of the silent film era. He directed 102 films, including short films; acted in 43 films; and wrote the story for three films.
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