credits of
Larry Semon
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.
Release Date | Title | Character Name | Rating | Your Lists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
February 11th, 1928 | A Simple Sap | It | 7 | |
January 1st, 1928 | Dummies | The Entertainer | 7 | |
December 4th, 1927 | Oh, What a Man! | The Detective | 7 | |
October 22nd, 1927 | The Stunt Man | Larry | 7.5 | |
August 20th, 1927 | Underworld | Slippy Lewis | 7 | |
April 10th, 1927 | Spuds | Spuds | 8 | |
December 14th, 1925 | The Perfect Clown | Bert Larry | 7.5 | |
June 6th, 1925 | The Cloudhopper | Borden Rhoom / Getz A. Bunn | 5.7 | |
April 27th, 1925 | Go Straight! | Self | 7 | |
April 18th, 1925 | The Dome Doctor | Peter Pep | 4.5 | |
February 12th, 1925 | The Wizard of Oz | Scarecrow / Toymaker | 5.5 | |
November 16th, 1924 | Kid Speed | The Speed Kid | 5.5 | |
September 27th, 1924 | Her Boy Friend | Larry, the Chief's son | 5.8 | |
July 20th, 1924 | The Girl in the Limousine | Tony | 6.5 | |
March 12th, 1924 | Trouble Brewing | Government agent | 7.5 | |
December 9th, 1923 | Horseshoes | Larry | 4.9 | |
October 22nd, 1923 | Lightning Love | Larry, a Suitor | 6.4 | |
August 13th, 1923 | The Gown Shop | Larry, a salesman | 5.5 | |
June 11th, 1923 | The Barnyard | Lay Zee, Farm Hand | 6.3 | |
May 9th, 1923 | The Midnight Cabaret | Larry, a Waiter | 6.7 | |
January 9th, 1923 | No Wedding Bells | Larry | 5.4 | |
December 8th, 1922 | The Counter Jumper | Larry, the Counter Jumper | 6.3 | |
September 3rd, 1922 | Golf | The son | 6.4 | |
June 10th, 1922 | A Pair of Kings | King August / Stranger | 5.5 | |
May 4th, 1922 | A Weakend Driver | TBD | 5 | |
March 19th, 1922 | The Show | The Prop Man / Gentle Onlooker | 7 | |
January 1st, 1922 | The Sawmill | The Dumb-Bell | 5.4 | |
September 17th, 1921 | The Bell Hop | The Bellhop | 6.8 | |
July 15th, 1921 | The Fall Guy | Larry, the Fall Guy | 4.9 | |
June 19th, 1921 | The Bakery | Larry, a Bakery Clerk | 4.7 | |
May 22nd, 1921 | The Rent Collector | Larry, the Rent Collector | 6.7 | |
March 9th, 1921 | The Hick | Larry, the Hick | 6 | |
January 8th, 1921 | The Sportsman | The Sportsman | 6.7 | |
November 1st, 1920 | The Suitor | The Suitor | 4.9 | |
September 20th, 1920 | The Stage Hand | The Stage Hand | 8 | |
May 3rd, 1920 | School Days | Joe | 6.8 | |
March 28th, 1920 | The Fly-Cop | The Fly Cop | 5.6 | |
December 1st, 1919 | The Grocery Clerk | The Grocery Clerk | 5.8 | |
December 1st, 1919 | The Head Waiter | The Head Waiter | 7 | |
November 2nd, 1919 | Dew Drop Inn | Larry, the Detective | 7 | |
October 5th, 1919 | Dull Care | Larry, a Detective | 6.5 | |
September 7th, 1919 | Between the Acts | Larry, the Handy Man and a Drunkard | 3.8 | |
August 4th, 1919 | The Simple Life | A Farmer's Boy | 10 | |
July 6th, 1919 | His Home Sweet Home | The Husband | 7 | |
May 26th, 1919 | The Star Boarder | Star Boarder / Little Joe, Escaped Convict | 7.3 | |
May 18th, 1919 | Passing the Buck | The House Detective | 7.2 | |
April 14th, 1919 | Well, I'll Be | The Sheriff | 7 | |
February 16th, 1919 | Scamps and Scandals | Larry | 5.8 | |
January 19th, 1919 | Traps and Tangles | Detective Sparks | 7 | |
December 22nd, 1918 | Pluck and Plotters | The Janitor | 6 | |
November 17th, 1918 | Frauds and Frenzies | Larry, First Prisoner | 5.8 | |
October 7th, 1918 | Bears and Bad Men | Larry Cutshaw | 5.1 | |
September 22nd, 1918 | Huns and Hyphens | Larry | 5.9 | |
August 4th, 1918 | Dunces and Dangers | Larry | 5.1 | |
July 22nd, 1918 | Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs | Lawrence | 6 | |
June 29th, 1918 | Hindoos and Hazards | Larry | 8.5 | |
May 27th, 1918 | Romans and Rascals | Caesar / A Minstrel | 4.5 | |
February 1st, 1918 | Babes and Boobs | A Boob | TBD | |
October 22nd, 1917 | Tough Luck and Tin Lizzies | Larry | 6.5 | |
October 1st, 1917 | Plagues And Puppy Love | Larry | 6.3 | |
September 17th, 1917 | Risks and Roughnecks | Our Hero | 6.8 | |
September 3rd, 1917 | Gall and Golf | O.U. Dubb | 6.5 | |
March 26th, 1917 | Turks and Troubles | TBD | 7 | |
March 12th, 1917 | Footlights and Fakers | TBD | 8 | |
February 12th, 1917 | He Never Touched Me | TBD | 8 | |
January 29th, 1917 | Somewhere in Any Place | TBD | TBD | |
January 22nd, 1917 | Big Bluffs and Bowling Balls | TBD | 10 | |
January 15th, 1917 | Jolts and Jewelry | TBD | 8 | |
January 8th, 1917 | Bullies and Bullets | TBD | 8 | |
November 13th, 1916 | Walls and Wallops | TBD | 7 |