Fred Balshofer, by Larry Semon

Interact with your favorite SCM authors, producers, directors, historians, archivists and silent comedy savants. Or just read along. Whatever.
Joan Myers
Associate
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 4:34 pm

Fred Balshofer, by Larry Semon

Postby Joan Myers » Wed Sep 23, 2009 12:00 pm

I found this clipping last night in Fred Balshofer's scrapbooks at the Margaret Herrick Library. I can't read the date on my copy, but as I recall it's from mid-1916. It is very cool.

Image

Joan

Gary Johnson
Cugine
Posts: 656
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:15 am
Location: Sonoma, CA
Contact:

Re: Fred Balshofer, by Larry Semon

Postby Gary Johnson » Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:19 pm

I'd place this article being written a year later, around 1917.

Old Fred sure lived a long life - into his 90's. His book "One Reel & a Crank" was one
of the first recollections I ever read of the early years of the film industry but why
did he wait to pen it until he almost passed away? He could of wrote it 20 years
early when his mind would of been even sharper or was his manuscript sitting on
some publisher's shelf that long?

Gary J.

Richard M Roberts
Godfather
Posts: 2895
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 6:30 pm

Re: Fred Balshofer, by Larry Semon

Postby Richard M Roberts » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:38 pm

Gary Johnson wrote:I'd place this article being written a year later, around 1917.

Old Fred sure lived a long life - into his 90's. His book "One Reel & a Crank" was one
of the first recollections I ever read of the early years of the film industry but why
did he wait to pen it until he almost passed away? He could of wrote it 20 years
early when his mind would of been even sharper or was his manuscript sitting on
some publisher's shelf that long?

Gary J.


Methinks Mr Balshofer had to wait for all interested parties to be dead and the baliff's warrants to have expired before daring to publish anything about his life. Lets just say that ONE REEL A WEEK is definitely HIS version of events, and that he was a reasonably shady character.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

Gary Johnson
Cugine
Posts: 656
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 4:15 am
Location: Sonoma, CA
Contact:

Re: Fred Balshofer, by Larry Semon

Postby Gary Johnson » Thu Sep 24, 2009 1:53 pm

Weren't most of the early film pioneers founding members
of the Crook-Of-The-Month club?.......in a free market
sort of way, of course.

Gary J.

Richard M Roberts
Godfather
Posts: 2895
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 6:30 pm

Re: Fred Balshofer, by Larry Semon

Postby Richard M Roberts » Thu Sep 24, 2009 3:48 pm

Gary Johnson wrote:Weren't most of the early film pioneers founding members
of the Crook-Of-The-Month club?.......in a free market
sort of way, of course.

Gary J.



Sure, but even that group considered Balshofer more bent than the general line, part of the reason he was pretty much out of the biz by the early 20's.

RICHARD M ROBERTS


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 50 guests