Larry Semon, Directing - KorPlix:Korean Person Archives

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Larry Semon
Directing

Larry Semon
Known For
Directing
Birthday
1889-07-14,West Point, Mississippi, USA
Gender
Male
Biography
American silent film comedian whose hugely successful career disappeared virtually overnight, Larry Semon was the son of a traveling vaudeville magician, Zera the Great. He grew up in show business and was trained in stage comedy and acrobatics. A talent for drawing and cartooning led to art school and then work as a cartoonist for various New York City newspapers. The humor evident in his published cartoons prompted executives at New York's Vitagraph Studios to hire him as a gag writer in 1916. He quickly proved himself and was promoted to director for the Hughie Mack series of comedies. His background in magic helped him create interesting new gags for the comedian. When Mack left the studio in 1917, Semon took over the starring role himself. His one-reelers were quite successful, and Vitagraph sent him to California to participate in its new West Coast operation. He produced as well as wrote, starred in and directed his own films, at the same time also producing films for other comics. In the summer of 1928 Semon apparently fell ill with tuberculosis and simultaneously, it seems, suffered a nervous breakdown. He entered a sanitarium near San Bernardino, CA, where he reportedly died on October 8. However, an air of mystery surrounds his death, since his wife (and former co-star) Dorothy Dwan was allowed almost no contact with him and never saw his body, which was ordered cremated after a tightly secured funeral, which was carried out per Semon's "previous instructions" and to which almost no attendees were allowed. The whereabouts of Semon's cremated remains are to this day a mystery, and his widow professed until her death to be mystified by the circumstances of his passing. With enormous financial obligations facing him Larry Semon could easily have considered a dramatic escape of this sort from his creditors. Whether he did, or whether his death was the sad final chapter to a high-rising, briefly brilliant, but ultimately short-lived career may never be known for certain.

Filmography

7

Underworld
1927-08-20

The Wizard of Oz

5.5

The Wizard of Oz
1925-02-12

4.864

The Sawmill
1922-01-01

5.8

Golf
1922-09-03

5.25

Kid Speed
1924-11-16

Passing the Buck

6.8

Passing the Buck
1919-05-18

6

School Days
1920-05-03

Between the Acts

3.8

Between the Acts
1919-09-07

3.8

The Suitor
1920-11-01

5.2

The Fly-Cop
1920-03-28

Scamps and Scandals

5.2

Scamps and Scandals
1919-02-16

Pluck and Plotters

5

Pluck and Plotters
1918-12-22

5.5

The Hick
1921-03-09

A Weakend Driver

5

A Weakend Driver
1922-05-04

5

Dummies
1928-01-01

The Star Boarder

7

The Star Boarder
1919-05-26

5

A Simple Sap
1928-02-11

The Grocery Clerk

4.8

The Grocery Clerk
1919-12-01

The Cloudhopper

4.5

The Cloudhopper
1925-06-06

The Perfect Clown

6.2

The Perfect Clown
1925-12-14

Plagues And Puppy Love

5.6

Plagues And Puppy Love
1917-10-01

Frauds and Frenzies

5.8

Frauds and Frenzies
1918-11-17

Huns and Hyphens

5.9

Huns and Hyphens
1918-09-22

Dunces and Dangers

4.5

Dunces and Dangers
1918-08-04

Bears and Bad Men

5.5

Bears and Bad Men
1918-10-07

His Home Sweet Home

4

His Home Sweet Home
1919-07-06

5.7

Dull Care
1919-10-05

Traps and Tangles

0

Traps and Tangles
1919-01-19

0

Dew Drop Inn
1919-11-02

4.1

The Bakery
1921-06-19

A Pair of Kings

4

A Pair of Kings
1922-06-10

6.8

The Bell Hop
1921-09-17

6.5

The Sportsman
1921-01-08

The Rent Collector

6.4

The Rent Collector
1921-05-22

4.2

The Fall Guy
1921-07-15

The Counter Jumper

5.3

The Counter Jumper
1922-12-08

7.8

The Stunt Man
1927-10-22

No Wedding Bells

3.8

No Wedding Bells
1923-01-09

6

Lightning Love
1923-10-22

The Midnight Cabaret

6

The Midnight Cabaret
1923-05-09

4

The Gown Shop
1923-08-13

5.1

Horseshoes
1923-12-09

5.5

Her Boy Friend
1924-09-27

4.8

Gall and Golf
1917-09-03

Romans and Rascals

4.5

Romans and Rascals
1918-05-27

Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs

5.3

Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs
1918-07-22

Oh, What a Man!

0

Oh, What a Man!
1927-12-04

5.5

The Barnyard
1923-06-11

The Dome Doctor

1

The Dome Doctor
1925-04-18

Risks and Roughnecks

4.5

Risks and Roughnecks
1917-09-17

Tough Luck and Tin Lizzies

4.8

Tough Luck and Tin Lizzies
1917-10-22

6.45

The Show
1922-03-19

0

Well, I'll Be
1919-04-14

Trouble Brewing

6

Trouble Brewing
1924-03-12

6

The Stage Hand
1920-09-20

0

Spuds
1927-04-10

0

Go Straight!
1925-04-27

The Simple Life

0

The Simple Life
1919-08-04

Walls and Wallops

5

Walls and Wallops
1916-11-13

The Girl in the Limousine

6

The Girl in the Limousine
1924-07-20

The Head Waiter

0

The Head Waiter
1919-12-01

Hindoos and Hazards

0

Hindoos and Hazards
1918-06-29