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George Loane Tucker

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George Loane Tucker
Tucker in 1920
Born
George S. Loane

(1872-06-12)June 12, 1872
DiedJune 20, 1921(1921-06-20) (aged 49)
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Chicago
Occupation(s)Film director, actor, producer, screenwriter, editor
Years active1909–1921
Spouse
(m. 1916)

George Loane Tucker (June 12, 1872[1] – June 20, 1921) was an American actor, silent film director, screenwriter, producer, and editor.

Career

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Tucker was born George S. Loane in Chicago to George Loane and stage actress Ethel Tucker.[2][3] After graduating from the University of Chicago, he got a job as a railroad clerk. He was chief clerk for the Maintenance of Way. Tucker was later the youngest man to be promoted to Contracting Freight Agent. After his first wife died while giving birth to the couple's son, Tucker quit his job. On the advice of friends, he began acting in stage productions.[2]

By the mid-1910s, films were becoming a more popular draw for audiences which led Tucker to film acting and scenario writing. In 1911, he wrote a script for the short drama film Their First Misunderstanding. The film, which starred Mary Pickford, was a surprise hit.[2]

Over the course of his career, Tucker directed 69 films, 19 of which he also wrote. In 1913 he directed Traffic in Souls, which concerned the topic of white slavery. The film was an enormous hit (it made over a million dollars in profit) and remains an early influential example of realism in early cinema. Traffic in Souls served to establish Tucker as a respected director and writer.[4] Shortly after the film was released, he moved to England where he was hired as the Director-general for the London Film Company. It was there that Tucker met and married his second wife, British actress Elisabeth Risdon.[5] While living in England, Tucker directed and produced several films for London Film including The Manxman (1917). An adaptation of the 1894 novel of the same name, it was one of the few British films that was distributed in the United States and would go on to become a financial and critical success.[6]

In late 1916, Tucker returned to the United States in where he was hired as the Director-general for Goldwyn Pictures.[5] That year, he wrote and directed The Cinderella Man which became that year's most profitable film.[citation needed] The following year, Tucker wrote and directed another hit, Virtuous Wives, starring Anita Stewart.[5] In 1919, Tucker wrote, produced and directed what became his most well known and financially successful film, The Miracle Man. The film featured Lon Chaney in a breakout role as a man who pretends to be handicapped. The Miracle Man was a critical and financial success (some critics called it "the greatest picture ever made")[7] and made the film's stars, Chaney and Thomas Meighan, established stars.[8] Shortly before his death, Tucker completed direction on the drama Ladies Must Live.[9] The film was released in October 1921, approximately four months after his death.[10]

Death

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On June 20, 1921, Tucker died after a year long illness at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 49.[11][12] He was survived by his wife, actress Elisabeth Risdon. Tucker is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.[13]

Selected filmography

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Short subject
Year Title Role Notes
1909 The Awakening of Bess The Heavy
1911 The Fair Dentist Dental Patient Alternative title: Mary's Patients
1911 Their First Misunderstanding
Writer, director
1912 Does Your Wife Love You? George Credited as George Tucker
1912 The Closed Bible The Convict's Daughter's Husband Credited as George Tucker
1913 The Whole Truth George Truthtell
1913 The Temptation of Jane Harry Charlton
1914 The Third String
Director
1914 The Revenge of Mr. Thomas Atkins
Director
1915 His Lordship
Director
1915 Her Uncle
1916 The Game of Liberty
Director
Alternative title: Under Suspicion
1917 Homeless
Director
Features
Year Title Role Notes
1913 Traffic in Souls Wireless operator Writer, director
1915 The Prisoner of Zenda
Director
1915 The Sons of Satan
Director
1915 The Christian
Director
1916 Arsène Lupin
Director
1916 The Manxman
Director
Lost film[14]
1917 The Mother of Dartmoor
Director
1917 The Cinderella Man
Writer, director
1918 Dodging a Million
Writer, director
1918 Joan of Plattsburg
Writer, director
1919 The Miracle Man
Writer, producer, director
1921 Ladies Must Live
Writer, director

References

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  • Blake, Michael F. (1997). A Thousand Faces: Lon Chaney's Unique Artistry in Motion Pictures. Vestal Press. ISBN 1-461-73076-7.
  • Bodeen, DeWitt (1976). From Hollywood: The Careers of 15 Great American Stars. A. S. Barnes. ISBN 0-498-01346-4.
  • Jacobs, Lea (2008). The Decline of Sentiment: American Film in the 1920s. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-23701-8.
  • McCaffrey, Donald W.; Jacobs, Christopher P. (1999). Guide to the Silent Years of American Cinema. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 0-313-30345-2.
  • Palmer, R. Barton (2011). Palmer, R. Barton; Boyd, David (eds.). Hitchcock at the Source: The Auteur as Adapter. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-1-438-43750-7.
  • Soister, John T. (2012). American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-48790-5.
  • Thompson, Frank T. (1996). Lost Films: Important Movies that Disappeared. Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 0-806-51604-6.
  • Vazzana, Eugene Michael (2001). Silent Film Necrology (2 ed.). McFarland. ISBN 0-786-41059-0.

References

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  1. ^ "The Evening News - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c (Thompson 1996, p. 99)
  3. ^ (Bodeen 1976, p. 239)
  4. ^ (Soister 2012, p. 395)
  5. ^ a b c (Thompson 1996, p. 100)
  6. ^ National Board of Review (1951). "Book Reviews". Films in Review. 2. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures: 55. ISSN 0015-1688.
  7. ^ (Blake 1997, p. 44)
  8. ^ (McCaffrey & Jacobs 1999, p. 189)
  9. ^ "Screen: A Loss - An Obstacle" (PDF). The New York Times. June 26, 1921. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  10. ^ (Jacobs 2008, p. 333)
  11. ^ (Vazzana 2001, p. 529)
  12. ^ "Famed Movie Director Dead". The Evening News. San Jose, California. June 20, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  13. ^ Ellenberger, Allan R. (2001). Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub. p. 154. ISBN 0-786-40983-5.
  14. ^ (Palmer 2011, p. 62)
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