I'm not sure why I never thought to scratch beneath the surface of the career of classic Hollywood director Henry King (1886-1982) before, as I love several of his films. But I'm glad I did for, taken in its entirety, his story resonate with many themes of this blog.
A native Virginian, King started out as a traveling trouper in stock, vaudeville, burlesque and circuses. He joined the Lubin Company as an actor in 1912, a long forgotten phase of his career. He appeared in over 100 movies over the next four or five years, by which time he had transitioned to directing. Some of his major silent hits include Tol'able David (1921) with Richard Barthelmess, the original version of Stella Dallas (1925), and The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926). He was especially associated with nostalgic and rustic themes, at least those are the ones I particularly like, things like Lightnin' (1930) with Will Rogers, the original version of State Fair (1933), remakes of D.W. Griffith's Way Down East (1935) and Ramona (1936), In Old Chicago (1937), Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), Little Old New York (1940), and Wait Until the Sun Shines, Nellie (1952). He directed major westerns like Jesse James (1939), The Gunfighter (1950) and The Bravados (1958). And there are many history, romance and devotion: Stanley and Livingstone (1939), The Black Swan (1942), The Song of Bernadette (1943), Wilson (1944), The Prince of Foxes (1949), and David and Bathsheba (1952). Towards the end of his career, he seems to have taken an interest in directing famous literary properties. He was one of the directors on O. Henry's Full House (1952), and also directed adaptations of Hemingway's The Snow of Kilimanjaro (1952) and The Sun Also Rises, as well as Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night (1962), his last film.
King's first wife, Gypsy Abbott (1896-1952) is also very interesting. She was an actress and vaudeville performer from Atlanta, whom King had met on the circuits. In her vaudeville act, she reportedly swung on a swing over the heads of the audience while she sang and threw roses to the people. Having become a professional at age 8, she had been a member of E.H. Sothern's company, and toured with George M. Cohan's Little Johnny Jones. She appeared in over 40 films from 1913 to 1917 including lots of comedies with the likes of Ben Turpin, Paddy McGuire, Rube Miller, John Francis Dillon, and King himself. She retired in order to raise a family with King.
For more on vaudeville history, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, for more on classic comedy and silent film please check out my book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube.
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