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Personal Info

Known For

Directing

Known Credits

213

Gender

Male

Birthday

1889-07-14

Day of Death

1928-10-08 (39 years old)

Place of Birth

West Point, Mississippi, USA

Also Known As

Lawrence Semon

Ларри Симон

Lawrence "Larry" Semon

Larry Semon

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.

Known For

Acting

Underworld

1927

Underworld

as

Slippy Lewis

The Wizard of Oz

1925

The Wizard of Oz

as

Scarecrow

The Sawmill

1922

The Sawmill

as

The Dumb-Bell

Golf

1922

Golf

as

The son

Kid Speed

1924

Kid Speed

as

The Speed Kid

Go Straight!

1925

Go Straight!

as

Self

The Simple Life

1919

The Simple Life

as

A Farmer's Boy

Pluck and Plotters

1918

Pluck and Plotters

as

The Janitor

Passing the Buck

1919

Passing the Buck

as

The House Detective

Between the Acts

1919

Between the Acts

as

Larry, the Handy Man and a Drunkard

School Days

1920

School Days

as

Joe

The Suitor

1920

The Suitor

as

The Suitor

The Fly-Cop

1920

The Fly-Cop

as

The Fly Cop

The Hick

1921

The Hick

as

Larry, the Hick

Dummies

1928

Dummies

as

The Entertainer

A Simple Sap

1928

A Simple Sap

as

It

The Star Boarder

1919

The Star Boarder

as

Star Boarder / Little Joe, Escaped Convict

The Grocery Clerk

1919

The Grocery Clerk

as

The Grocery Clerk

The Cloudhopper

1925

The Cloudhopper

as

Borden Rhoom / Getz A. Bunn

The Perfect Clown

1925

The Perfect Clown

as

Bert Larry

Bears and Bad Men

1918

Bears and Bad Men

as

Larry Cutshaw

Romans and Rascals

1918

Romans and Rascals

as

Caesar / A Minstrel

Frauds and Frenzies

1918

Frauds and Frenzies

as

Larry, First Prisoner

Huns and Hyphens

1918

Huns and Hyphens

as

Larry

His Home Sweet Home

1919

His Home Sweet Home

as

The Husband

Dew Drop Inn

1919

Dew Drop Inn

as

Larry, the Detective

Dull Care

1919

Dull Care

as

Larry, a Detective

Traps and Tangles

1919

Traps and Tangles

as

Detective Sparks

The Bakery

1921

The Bakery

as

Larry, a Bakery Clerk

The Rent Collector

1921

The Rent Collector

as

Larry, the Rent Collector

The Bell Hop

1921

The Bell Hop

as

The Bellhop

The Sportsman

1921

The Sportsman

as

The Sportsman

The Fall Guy

1921

The Fall Guy

as

Larry, the Fall Guy

The Counter Jumper

1922

The Counter Jumper

as

Larry, the Counter Jumper

A Pair of Kings

1922

A Pair of Kings

as

King August / Stranger

The Stunt Man

1927

The Stunt Man

as

Larry

Lightning Love

1923

Lightning Love

as

Larry, a Suitor

The Midnight Cabaret

1923

The Midnight Cabaret

as

Larry, a Waiter

No Wedding Bells

1923

No Wedding Bells

as

Larry

Horseshoes

1923

Horseshoes

as

Larry

The Gown Shop

1923

The Gown Shop

as

Larry, a salesman

Her Boy Friend

1924

Her Boy Friend

as

Larry, the Chief's son

Gall and Golf

1917

Gall and Golf

as

O.U. Dubb

Oh, What a Man!

1927

Oh, What a Man!

as

The Detective

The Barnyard

1923

The Barnyard

as

Lay Zee, Farm Hand

The Head Waiter

1919

The Head Waiter

as

The Head Waiter

The Dome Doctor

1925

The Dome Doctor

as

Peter Pep

Risks and Roughnecks

1917

Risks and Roughnecks

as

Our Hero

The Show

1922

The Show

as

The Prop Man / Gentle Onlooker

Well, I'll Be

1919

Well, I'll Be

as

The Sheriff

Trouble Brewing

1924

Trouble Brewing

as

Government agent

The Stage Hand

1920

The Stage Hand

as

The Stage Hand

Spuds

1927

Spuds

as

Spuds

Production

Crew

Directing

Golf

1922

Golf

as

Kid Speed

1924

Kid Speed

as

The Hick

1921

The Hick

as

Dull Care

1919

Dull Care

as

Dummies

1928

Dummies

as

The Show

1922

The Show

as