Larry Semon, Daredevil Comedian of the Silent Screen: A Biography and Filmography

263 Pages·152.998 MB·English

by  Claudia Sassen

Larry Semon,
Daredevil Comedian
of the Silent Screen

Larry Semon,
Daredevil Comedian
of the Silent Screen
A Biography and Filmography
Claudia Sassen
Foreword by Norbert Aping
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina
Frontispiece: Collage of Larry Semon’s artwork for the New York
Evening Telegram, – (courtesy Fulton History, composed
by Claudia Sassen).
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA[new form]
Names: Sassen, Claudia.
Title: Larry Semon, daredevil comedian of the silent screen :
a biography and filmography / Claudia Sassen.
Description: Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc.,
Publishers, 2015. | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
Includes filmography.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015038046| ISBN 9780786498222
(softcover : acid free paper) |
ISBN 9781476620275 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Semon, Larry, 1889–1928. | Actors—United States—
Biography. | Motion picture producers and directors—United States—
Biography. | Screenwriters—United States—Biography.
Classification: LCC PN2287.S349 S37 2015 |
DDC 791.4302/8092—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038046
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
© 2015 Claudia Sassen. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover: Larry Semon (photograph by Albert Witzel);
back cover illustration by Steve Rydzewski © 2015
Printed in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
To my research assistants Chris, Steve and Patrick
(in order of appearance)
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by Norbert Aping 1
Preface 3
1. Roots and Settings 7
2. On the Road 18
3. Paperland 28
4. Early Directions 53
5. Growing Success 71
6. Womenfolk 94
7. The Flawmill 114
8. Image Change 133
9. The Perfect Frown 152
10. From Broke to Breakdown 172
11. Slow Motion 176
12. Fade out 184
Appendix: “Magic, Past and Present, Exposed” 191
Filmography by Patrick Skacel and Claudia Sassen 193
Chapter Notes 229
Bibliography 239
Index 247
vii
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Acknowledgments
Over the past twenty years, Steve Rydzewski, who gave my manuscript the o nce-
over, has so generously supplied me with finds and further help that I always wanted to
have him c o- author this book. He was the first to make me feel confident with my
writing on Semon and through his friendship always encouraged me to continue. He
was also the one to inspire me to do some deeper digging into Semon’s untimely death,
be it fake or not, but worth considering.
Eagle-eyed film collector, scholar and Semon filmography co-author Patrick Skacel
supplied me with many rare prints from his long-time film collection. These films helped
me evaluate Larry Semon’s work from a different perspective as well as compile our film -
ography. He has also located hundreds of Larry’s cartoons and illustrations which are
deserving of a book on their own.
Chris Seguin has been there since the beginning of my Larry Semon endeavor and
has helped with many finds over the years. We have shared numerous intensive discus-
sions and he has been one of my strongest supporters and biggest motivators.
For their vital help I would also like to thank the following people: Bob Dickson
for critical advice and combing through the microfilm at Special C ollections- URL,
UCLA, when a find was not a m ouse-c lick away; Stewart Ng of Special Collections-
URL, UCLA for Vitagraph release synopses; Lynne Whitcopf, Reuben Matzkin, Joan
Berschler, Jessie Salmon, and Shirley Lagasse for private photos and information; Ned
Comstock at USC for material, Glenn Mitchell for discussion, rare films and research
material; Sam Gill for photos and quotations; Jürgen Krzistetzko for advice when there
seemed no possible way; Camillo Moscati for kindly opening his large film archive;
Andreas Koller for his generosity and keeping the “Larry-Semon-Stiftung” going; Scott
Hayden for photos and memories; Simon Myers for films and systematic information;
David Wyatt for films; Jordan Young and George Katchmer for research material and
discussion; Rob Stone for sharing his notes from his book Laurel or Hardy; Marc Wana-
maker of Bison Archives, Bob Correia and Dr. Robert Kiss for photographs; Tom Tryniski
for his abundant online archive; Karin Hartwich for making available the German Kla -
mottenkisteseries; Davide Turconi for his fundamental Semon filmography; Kevin Brown-
low for letting me quote from his interviews; Adam Čwiklak for restoring Semon films;
Dr. Norbert Aping for granting me access to the files of Heinz Caloué and the German
ix