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Biograph’s Biography
Name is linked to a century of American moviemaking
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1895 W.K.L. Dickson, an associate of Thomas Edison, forms the American Mutoscope Company.
1899 American Mutoscope Company changes its name to the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company.
- Biograph signs the White House as one of their clients and is the first studio to record films of a living president, William McKinley.
- W.K.L. Dickson films the first motion picture issues/53/images of the Pope at the Vatican.
1902 Biograph films the first western, one year before Edison Films' The Great Train Robbery.
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1903 Biograph covers the funeral of assassinated President McKinley.
- Biograph again signs the White House as a client, this time to film Theodore Roosevelt's presidential appearances.
1906 Biograph shoots the first films of the great San Francisco earthquake.
- Florence Lawrence signs with Biograph and becomes the world's first “movie star” by receiving billing in a film.
- Biograph films its first movie in Southern California, A Daring Southern California Train Robbery.
1908 Biograph hires director D. W. Griffith.
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1910 On a trip to California to shoot In Old California, Griffith discovers Hollywood, a nice little village with beautiful flower gardens and friendly people. Griffith claims the city has a magical energy, and Biograph returns on several more occasions to shoot other films here. Word spreads about Hollywood and other film companies begin settling here. From this humble beginning, the movie capital of the world is born.
1912 Sisters Lillian and Dorothy Gish are hired by Biograph and make their first film, An Unseen Enemy.
1913 Biograph films its first feature film, Judith of Bethulia, directed by Griffith and starring Blanche Sweet. The film times in at almost three hours.
- Mary Pickford makes The New York Hat, which will be her last movie for Biograph. The film is written by 13-year old Anita Loos, who goes onto become the very well-known writer of such films as Intolerance and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
- Griffith leaves Biograph, taking his stock company with him, to pursue feature moviemaking.
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1914 Biograph partners with Klaw & Erlanger to produce plays on film.
1915 Biograph signs the first African-American producer-director, vaudevillian Bert Williams, who is given unprecedented control over his films—and even acts in them. His projects for Biograph include Fish and Natural Born Gambler.
1916 The Thomas Edison Film monopoly is broken up by the federal government, due to violations of the Antitrust Act. Biograph reissues all of its well-known films to theaters around the world and ceases work on any new productions.
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1929 Biograph is disbanded because of the Depression.
1930 Blanche Sweet and her husband, director Harold Nielan, obtain all corporate and company documents in an effort to re-open Biograph.
1984 Blanche Sweet gives all company items to Thomas Bond II, hoping that Biograph can continue after almost 70 years on “hiatus.”
1986 Sweet passes away.
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1991 With years of research and restructuring behind them, Bond and his family reorganize the company; Biograph is reincorporated in California.
1994 Biograph starts production on its first film in more than 80 years, a feature comedy entitled Bob's Night Out.
1996 The Bond family is severely injured in an auto accident. Production on Bob's Night Out is placed on hold indefinitely.
1999 Biograph starts its home video division with its Little Rascals home video The Silent Years, hosted by Bond's father, Tommy, who played “Butch” in the original Little Rascals.
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2000 Biograph opens its video production studio in San Diego. The studio functions as the commercial arm of the company.
- Biograph discovers the last remaining copy of the first movie filmed in Hollywood—In Old California.
2003 Biograph opens its studio office in Hollywood and headquarters the company there. After 93 years, Biograph comes home to the town that, it can certainly be argued, the company got started.
- The district of Hollywood unveils plans to erect a monument to Biograph for the filming of the first movie in Hollywood, In Old California. There will also be a premiere event for this historic film, which will be seen by the public for the first time in 93 years.
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Biograph goes into negotiations to open a unique commercial studio on Hollywood Boulevard, which will
allow the public to view actual production from the street. Adjacent, the company plans a showbiz-themed restaurant, where patrons can also view the productions. - Biograph announces its development of three feature films, as well as its plans for Hollywood. The company will open a silent movie theater, an old vaudeville theatre and a Mutoscope penny arcade parlor with the flip card Mutoscope machines that Biograph invented. All of the monies from the parlor will go to charity. Biograph also intends to actively participate in the ongoing renovation of Hollywood.
For the latest on Biograph, visit www.biographcompany.com.
MM
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This story was published in the Winter 2004 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Biograph's Biography / Name is linked to a century of American moviemaking
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