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1-50 of 188
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Composer chiefly remembered for his symphonic poems -the first of that genre to be written by a Frenchman- and for his opera 'Samson et Dalila'. Notable for his pioneering efforts on behalf of French music, he was also a gifted pianist and organist, and a writer of criticism, poetry, essays, and plays. Of his concerti and symphonies, in which he adapted the virtuosity of Franz Liszt's style to French traditions of harmony and form, his 'Third Symphony' is most often performed.- An actress best known for her death, her controversial demise occurred the day after being discovered in a hotel bedroom during a party that involved a large amount of alcohol consumption. Actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was the last person seen with Rappe before she was found seriously injured. After her death, Arbuckle went through a murder trial and retrials before being found not guilty. The trials severely damaged the reputations of both Arbuckle and Rappe, and Arbuckle's career never recovered from the scandal.
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Enrico Caruso (b. Errico Caruso) was born on February 25, 1873, in Naples, Italy. He was the third of seven children to a poor alcoholic father. He received little primary education and briefly studied music with conductor Vicenzo Lombardini. His early income was from singing serenades.
Caruso made his operatic debut on March 15, 1895 at a back street theatre in Naples. After a two-year stint on the South Italian circuit he auditioned for Giacomo Puccini in the summer of 1897. Puccini was looking for a leading tenor for a performance of 'La Boheme' in Livorno. Puccini was so impressed with the range and tone of the young Caruso's voice, that he reportedly mumbled in awe, "Who sent you to me? God himself?" After an unfriendly reception of his performance in Naples, Caruso vowed to never sing in Naples again, and he never did.
His first major role creations were in operas 'Il Voto', composed by Umberto Giordano, on November 10, 1897, and 'L'Arlesiana' by Francesco Cilea on November 27, 1897, at the Teatro Lirico di Milano. Next season Caruso started with a role creation in 'Fedora', composed by Umberto Giordano, performed on the same stage on November 17, 1898. His first recording contract was signed in 1902, in London, with the Gramophone and Typewriter Company for ten arias at the rate of 10 pounds per take. In May, 1902, Caruso debuted at the Covent Garden Opera in 'Rigoletto' by Giuseppe Verdi. With the help of the banker Pasquale Simonelli, he went to New York. There Caruso made his Metropolitan Opera debut in November 1903. He performed for the Met the next eighteen seasons, making 607 appearances in 37 different operatic productions.
Caruso was the first recording star in history, who sold more than a million records with his 1902 recording of 'Vesti le gubba' from 'Pagliacci' (Clowns) by 'Leoncavallo'. His voice had a combination of the full baritone-like character with the smooth and brilliant tenor qualities. His range was broadened into baritone at the expense of the higher tenor notes, Caruso never sang the high C, and often transposed in order to avoid it. He was a master of interpretation, having a rare gift of portamento and legato, and a superior command of phrasing. His legendary 1904 Victor recording of 'Una furtiva lagrima', by Gaetano Donizetti is used in many film soundtracks.
He contracted pneumonia and developed a complication in the form of pleural inflammation (plerisy), followed by abscesses in his lungs. After a series of unsuccessful surgeries Enrico Caruso died on August 2, 1921, in Naples, Italy. He was laid to rest in Naples, Italy.- Born in Illinois in 1855, William Barclay Masterson, nicknamed "Bat", drifted westward as a teenager and tried his hand at such professions as buffalo hunter, army scout and gunfighter. While visiting his brother Jim in Dodge City, Kansas, in 1876, he was offered a job as deputy city marshal by the assistant city marshal, Wyatt Earp. Since Jim Masterson was already a deputy marshal, Bat took the job. His instincts as a lawman and gunfighter were so good that the next year he was elected sheriff of Ford County, which included Dodge City, where his brother was still a marshal. However, two years later he ran for re-election as county sheriff and lost. He left Kansas and traveled to Arizona, where he spent much time as a professional gambler in the Tombstone vicinity, returning to Dodge City in 1882 to help his brother Jim in a business dispute. For the next ten years Masterson divided his time between being a professional gambler and short stints as a lawman in various small towns in Colorado. His reputation often preceded him, however; in Denver the local sheriff, after being advised that Masterson was in town and drinking heavily, demanded that he either surrender his guns or leave town. Not wanting to go unarmed in a town where he had a lot of enemies, Masterson was forced to leave. The incident apparently did no lasting damage to his reputation, however, as in 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Masterson as United States Marshal for the Southern District of New York State. Although he was also offered an appointment as marshal of the Oklahoma Territory, Masterson said that because of his reputation anyone wanting to make a reputation for himself would come after him, and since he saw no use in getting caught up in a kill-or-be-killed situation, he turned it down. He remained U.S. Marshal in New York State for two years, resigning in 1907 to take a job he had never done before: a sportswriter with a New York City newspaper, the Morning Telegraph. He kept that job for the rest of his life, and in fact was at his desk working on October 25, 1921, when he dropped dead.
- Master Breezy Reeves Jr, born Reeves Barnes Eason, also billed as "Breezy" Eason Jr, was born in California in 1914, son of actor/film director B. (William) Reeves Eason and actress Jimsy Mayo. Handsome, cute blonde boy who starred in mostly westerns from the age of two. He was known as 'Universal's Littlest Cowboy' until he was hit by a truck at the age of six while riding his bike to a music lesson near his home at 6200 Fountain Avenue in Los Angeles. He never regained consciousness and died of his injuries after surgery at California Hospital.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Séverin-Mars was born on 21 February 1873 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. He was an actor and director, known for The Wheel (1923), Macbeth (1915) and La dixième symphonie (1918). He died on 17 July 1921 in Courgent, Yvelines, France.- Georges Feydeau was born on 8 December 1862 in Paris, France. He was a writer, known for The Girl from Maxim's (1933), Ooh La La! (1968) and La vida en broma (1950). He was married to Marie-Anne Carolus-Duran. He died on 5 June 1921 in Paris, France.
- Frank Mills was born on 24 January 1868 in Kendall, Michigan, USA. He was an actor, known for The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), The Unchastened Woman (1918) and The House of Mirrors (1916). He was married to Helen McBeth. He died on 11 June 1921 in Galesburg, Michigan, USA.
- 'La Belle' Fatima born Fatima Djemille in Syria in 1870. Began working as a dancer in American vaudeville from the late 1880's, the original 'Little Egypt' became America's first renown belly-dancer she was seen as something of a curiosity after appearing at the St. Louis World's Exhibition Fair in 1893, Thomas Edison asked her to perform her belly-dancing act for the movie camera in 1896 and 1897 at the Black Maria studio in West Orange and in 1903 she is seen performing her Turkic-inspired Couchee Dance, also referred to as a 'Muscle dance' for the American Mutoscope Film Co, this film was to be censored in Chicago in 1907 - part of Fatima's body were covered by blind-out tags. Her last stage appearance as a Harem dancer was at William and Oscar Hammerstein's Victoria Theatre in 1913. She sadly died from a heart attack in 1921 age 51 in Venice, California.
- Billie Ritchie was born in Scotland in 1874 and joined the world-renowned Karno Fun Factory and Comedy Troupe traveling the world with Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, among others. In 1914 he left Karno and began making silent films for director Henry "Pathe" Lehrman's L-Ko Comedy studios and then his Fox/Sunshine Studios. Ritchie always claimed that Charlie Chaplin imitated his on-stage character of a rag-bedecked "little tramp," although he himself was saddled with the description of being one of the many Chaplin imitators. In late 1919 Ritchie was injured while making a Lehrmann comedy when several ostriches used in filming attacked the unfortunate actor. He was severely injured, and over the next two years was confined to his bed with serious back and internal injuries. He eventually succumbed to his injuries on July 6, 1921, dying in bed at his Hollywood home at 1200 North McCadden Place. He was only 42.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
A longtime and respected stage actor, Van Dyke Brooke went into the film business in 1909. A prolific actor, writer and director for Vitagraph, he stayed with the company until 1916, when the studio cleaned house and fired many of its "old-timers". He stayed in the business as an actor until his death in 1921.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
A former railroad clerk, Tucker made a name for himself in 1913 with a film entitled Traffic in Souls (1913), a six-reel expose of white slavery. Tucker and Carl Laemmle financed the sum of $57,000 to make the film in New York, the film ultimately grossed $450,000. The success of the film enabled Laemmle, under pressure from Thomas Edison's Patent Trust, to follow the exodus to Hollywood and create his own studio, Universal City. Tucker was married to actress Elisabeth Risdon.- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Engelbert Humperdinck was born on 1 September 1854 in Siegburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was a composer and writer, known for Hannibal Rising (2007), Lore (2012) and Hänsel und Gretel (2015). He was married to Hedwig Taxer. He died on 27 September 1921 in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.- Katherine Griffith was born on 30 September 1876 in San Francisco, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1913), Huckleberry Finn (1920) and A Little Princess (1917). She was married to Harry Griffith. She died on 17 October 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Director
- Cinematographer
- Producer
William Friese-Greene was a prolific English inventor and professional photographer born in Bristol, England. He studied at the Queen Elizabeth's Hospital school. In 1871, he was apprenticed to the Bristol photographer Marcus Guttenberg, but later successfully went to court to be freed early from the indentures of his seven-year apprenticeship. He married the Swiss, Helena Friese, on 24 March 1874 and, in a remarkable move for the era, decided to add her maiden name to his surname. In 1876, he set up his own studio in Bath and, by 1881, had expanded his business, having more studios in Bath, Bristol and Plymouth. In Bath he came into contact with John Arthur Roebuck Rudge, a scientific instrument maker, who built what he called the Biophantic Lantern, which could display seven photographic slides in rapid succession, producing the illusion of movement. Friese-Greene was fascinated by the machine and worked with Rudge on a variety of devices over the 1880s, various of which Rudge called the Biophantascope. Moving his base to London in 1885, Friese-Greene realised that glass plates would never be a practical medium for continuously capturing life as it happens. Hence he began experiments with the new Eastman paper roll film before turning his attention to experimenting with celluloid as a medium for motion picture cameras. In 1888, he had some form of moving picture camera constructed, the nature of which is not known. On 21 June 1889, he was issued patent no. 10131 for a motion-picture camera, in collaboration with a civil engineer, Mortimer Evans. It was apparently capable of taking up to ten photographs per second using paper and celluloid film. In 1890 he developed a camera with Frederick Varley to shoot stereoscopic moving images. This ran at a slower frame rate, and although the 3D arrangement worked, there are no records of projection. He worked on a series of moving picture cameras into 1891, but although many individuals recount seeing his projected images privately, he never gave a successful public projection of moving pictures. His experiments with motion pictures were to the detriment of his other business interests and in 1891 he was declared bankrupt. From 1904 he lived in Brighton and, in 1905, he patented a two-colour moving picture system using prisms. Eventually, the arrival of the war and personal poverty meant there was nothing more to be done with colour for some years. On 5 May 1921, Friese-Greene, then a largely forgotten figure, attended a stormy meeting of the cinema trade at the Connaught Rooms in London to discuss the current poor state of British film distribution. Disturbed by the tone of the proceedings, Friese-Greene got to his feet to speak. The chairman asked him to come forward onto the platform to be heard better, which he did, appealing for the two sides to come together. Shortly after returning to his seat, he collapsed. People went to his aid and took him outside, but he died almost immediately of heart failure.- Henry Hallam was born in 1867 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Evil Thereof (1916), Uncle Tom's Cabin (1913) and Gloria's Romance (1916). He was married to Josephine Stanton (opera singer). He died on 9 November 1921.
- Juhani Aho was born on 11 September 1861 in Lapinlahti, Finland. He was a writer, known for Juha (1937), Johan (1921) and Juha (1999). He was married to Venny Soldan. He died on 8 August 1921 in Helsinki, Finland.
- Actress
Lillian Hale was born in 1881 in Pennsylvania, USA. She was an actress. She was married to Benjamin Sager Deane. She died on 2 September 1921 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.- E.W. Hornung was born on 7 June 1866 in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for Raffles (1939), Raffles (1930) and Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (1925). He was married to Constance Conan Doyle. He died on 22 March 1921 in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych was born on 13 December 1877 in Monastyrok, Podolia, Russian Empire [now Monastyrok, Vinnytsia Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine]. Mykola Dmytrovych was a composer, known for Die Hard 2 (1990), The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) and C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005). Mykola Dmytrovych died on 23 January 1921 in Markivka, Podolian Governorate, Ukrainian SSR [now Markivka, Haisin Raion, Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine].- Born in 1858 to Duke Friedrich of Schleswig-Holstein and his wife, Princess Adelheid zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Augusta-Victoria's family was uprooted from their hereditary fief due to war, and as a consequence she lived throughout Europe as a girl. She met then-Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany in 1879 and married him two years later; she was a dutiful wife and mother, and posed no challenge to her husband's dominating personality. When his father died in 1888, Wilhelm became Kaiser of Germany. After World War I, she followed her husband into exile in the Netherlands, where she died in 1921.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Willis Robards was born on 1 January 1873 in Texas, USA. He was an actor and director, known for The Three Musketeers (1921), When Shadows Fall (1916) and Mothers of Men (1917). He was married to Grace Blake. He died on 3 November 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Matthias Erzberger was born on 20 September 1875 in Buttenhausen, Germany. He died on 26 August 1921 in Bad Griesbach, Germany.
- Joseph Hart was born on 8 June 1861 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for Foxy Grandpa Shows Boys He Is a Magician (1902), Foxy Grandpa Shows the Boys a Trick or Two with the Tramp (1902) and Boys Take Grandpa's Cigars with Distressing Results (1902). He was married to Carrie DeMar. He died on 3 October 1921 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Additional Crew
Charles W. Whittlesey was born on 20 January 1884 in Florence, Wisconsin, USA. He is known for The Lost Battalion (1919). He died on 26 November 1921 in at sea.