Mack sennett autobiography of a face
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Mack Sennett
Canadian-American film producer (1880–1960)
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American producer, director, actor, and studio head who was known as the "King of Comedy" during his career.[1]
Born in Danville, Quebec,[2][3][4][a] in 1908, he started acting in films in the Biograph Company of New York City, and later opened Keystone Studios in Edendale, California in 1912. Keystone possessed the first fully enclosed film stage, and Sennett became famous as the originator of slapstick routines such as pie-throwing and car-chases, as seen in the Keystone Cops films.[5] He also produced short features that displayed his Bathing Beauties, many of whom went on to develop successful acting careers.[6][7]
After struggling with bankruptcy and the dominance of sound films in the early 1930s, Sennett was presented with an honorary Academy Aw
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Oh Mabel, oh Mabel, my love.
One of the most abiding stories of the last one hundred or so years, is that of Mack and Mabel. Ask anyone that knows little about the silent movie industry, who Mack Sennett was, and they might tell you that he was a bio producer, perhaps of the 1940s or 50s. Ask if they know who Mabel Normand was, and you will inevitably be greeted with a blank stare. Then you might ask who Mack and Mabel were, and a sizeable proportion, might vaguely recall the tragic story of lovers so cruelly torn apart. They may not have read the Mack Sennett autobiography, and they might not have seen the Mack and Mabel scen shows, but, somehow, they know of the eternal Romeo and Juliet myth that grew up around Mack and Mabel (whoever they were). Tragic love stories have been the most popular tales since time immemorial – Alexander and Roxanne, Troilus and Cressida, Bonnie and Clyde, Charles II and Nell Gwynn, Hiawatha and Minnehaha, and old King Edward and Lilly Langtree.
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Silent film pioneer Mack Sennett, born 136 years ago today, specialized in slapstick comedies, building a studio that launched the careers of such stars as Charlie Chaplin
And now a page from our "Sunday Morning" Almanac: January 17th, 1880, 136 years ago today ... the birthday of silent film pioneer Mack Sennett.
A bit player and director in Hollywood's early days, Sennett launched his own studio in 1912, the Keystone Film Company.
Nobody's idea of an art film studio, Keystone specialized in slapstick comedies.
Sennett's 1913 film "Bangville Police" blazed the trail for the famed Keystone Cops -- bungling officers who starred in a series of short films.
In the 1914 film "A Thief Catcher," one officer sporting a mustache is Charlie Chaplin.
Many other stars of the silent era were on the Keystone roster, including Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Mabel Normand, who appeared as newlyweds in the 1916 film, "Fatty and Mabel Adrift."
Unfortunately for Sennett, once his stars