William L. Sherill was a producer in the early film industry of the United States. He served as president of the Frohman Amusement Company. A 1918 issue of Theatre Magazine reported he was the single most important figure among independent producers of motion pictures. [1]
Sherrill was president of the Frohman Amusement Corporation and several of its productions were advertised as being "presented" by him. He also became president of the Producers and Exhibitors Affiliated company. [2] [3] [4]
Sherrill traveled to Frohman's studios in Tampa, Florida to check in on production of Birth of a Race . [5]
The New York Times reported on a dispute involving allegations Mayor Mitchell used his position to influence coverage of an automobile accident in which Sherrill was one of those involved. [6]
In 1918 he presented a photoplay starring H. B. Warner in God's Man (1918 film). [7] Texas Guinan was one of the stars featured in Sherrill's Frohman productions. [8]
Sherrill was involved in film industry discussions about hiring extras directly rather than via agents. [9] He was also at meetings of the National Association of the Motion Pictures Industry seeking to have presidential candidates address censorship issues. [10] Sherrill volunteered to pay for an artificial limb for an individual at a Rotary Club meeting in Tampa. [11]
His oldest son William L. Sherrill Jr. joined the U.S. Army in 1918. [12] Film director (formerly a child actor with Frohman) Jack Sherrill and W. L. Sherrill Jr. were among those arrested in 1924 at Jr.'s Laurel Canyon home where a party with alcohol took place during the prohibition era. [13]
Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American actress, producer and entrepreneur. Born in Texas to Irish immigrant parents, she decided at an early age to become an entertainer. After becoming a star on the New York stage, the repercussions of her involvement in a weight loss scam motivated her to switch careers to the film business. Spending several years in California appearing in numerous productions, she eventually formed her own company.
The Frohman brothers were American theatre owners, including on Broadway, and theatrical producers who also owned and operated motion picture production companies.
Mitchel H. Mark a.k.a. Mitchell Mark a.k.a. Mitchell H. Mark was a pioneer of motion picture exhibition in the United States.
The Lyceum Theatre was a theatre in New York City located on Fourth Avenue between 23rd and 24th Streets in Manhattan. It was built in 1885 and operated until 1902, when it was torn down to make way for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Tower. It was replaced by a new Lyceum Theatre on 45th Street. For most of its existence, the theatre was home to Daniel Frohman's Lyceum Theatre Stock Company, which presented many important plays and actors of the day.
Twenty-One is a 1918 silent film presumed lost. It was directed by William Worthington and starred Bryant Washburn and Gertrude Selby.
Myrtle Lind was a film actress in the United States. She was one of Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties and appeared in several comedy films including with Oliver Hardy and John Gilbert.The Library of Congress has a photo of her holding a large camera on the beach.
The Woman in 47, reissued as The Mysterious Woman, is a 1916 silent film directed by George Irving for Equitable Motion Picture Company and Frohman Amusement Corporation. It was filmed at Peerless Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
Larry Edward Evans was an American novelist and playwright. Several of his stories were performed on stage and adapted for film. Some of his work was serialized in Metropolitan Magazine , where Teddy Roosevelt was an editor during World War I. Evans was listed along with other "Famous Contributors" in an ad for Metropolitan in Theatre Magazine in 1921.
Albert Sidney Angeles, was a theatre actor and director of silent films. Born in London, he worked in the USA as a writer and director for Vitagraph, later directing for Universal.
Tula Belle (1906–1992) was a child film actress in the United States. She was Norwegian.
Sterling Pictures was a film company headed by Henry Ginsberg during the silent film era. Phil Rosen directed many of Sterling's films. H. R. Ebenstein was the manager of sales. In July 1927, when the studio got rid of their foreign broker system and implemented their own foreign sales, Briskin was put in charge, becoming head of their foreign department. In August 1928, Briskin was named vice president of Sterling and given control over all of the company's operations. Arthur F. Beck was the company's president. He married actress and screenwriter Leah Baird.
Henry Christeen Warnack was a film and theater critic as well as a writer in the United States. He worked for the Los Angeles Times as a drama critic and wrote stories for Fox Film Corporation movies. He was an early film critic. He also wrote for Out West and West Coast Magazine. He lauded the work of John Steven McGroarty.
Gilbert P. Hamilton was an American film company executive and director. He worked at Essanay as a cinematographer, headed the St. Louis Motion Picture Company, and then launched the Albuquerque Motion Picture Company.
The Sex Lure is a silent film that was banned in 1916. It was directed by Ivan Abramson who was known for his titillating films. Although the film's content was not especially scandalous, the film's title and advertising were enough to incur bans of the film at a time when partial nudity was tolerated. A legal case was filed against New York's commissioner Bell over the censorship.
Armand Cortes, sometimes credited as Armand Cortez, was an actor in theater and film in the United States. He had various theatrical roles in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Astra Film Corp was an American film production company that produced silent films. Louis J. Gasnier was the company's president. George B. Seitz co-founded it. It was making films by 1916. It became Louis J. Gasnier Productions after Seitz left.
William Robert Daly was an actor and director of silent films in the U.S.
William H. Clifford was a writer, director, and film company head during the silent film era. He was a production manager for Monogram Film Company. He worked for Marcus Loew and Thomas Ince.
King-Bee Films Corporation was a film production company in the U.S. that released two-real short film comedies during the silent film era. The company's stars included Billy West, a Charlie Chaplin imitator. Louis Burstein was the company's president and general manager. He established it in 1917 after the breakup of Vim Comedy Company to produce comedies starring West. Oliver Hardy and Ethelyn Gibson also acted for the company. It operated a studio in Jacksonville, Florida, then Bayonne, New Jersey and finally at 1329 Gordon Street in Hollywood, California. Its offices were in New York.
Betty Howe was an American actress in silent films.