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John Gordon McEdward (June 24, 1867 – December 31, 1925), better known by his stage name J. Gordon Edwards, was a Canadian filmmaker who rose to fame during the era of silent film.
Early life
[edit]John Gordon McEdward was born on June 24, 1867 in Saint-Anicet,[A] Quebec, in what was then the Province of Canada.[2][3] He attended the Royal Military College of Canada,[1] where his studies included an emphasis in military tactics.[4] However, he grew disillusioned with the British Army. Inspired by portraits at St. Lawrence Hall, he decided on a career as a stage actor.[1]
Theater
[edit]Canadian theater at the time consisted primary of repertory theater. Canadians interested in more ambitious careers "acting, writing, or producing for the stage" relocated to the United States or Europe. Several Canadians who emigrated for this reason, including Edwards, would become formative influences on the film industry.[5] Edwards traveled to New York to begin a career as a stage actor, working under theatrical directors such as Harry Corson Clarke and Nat Goodwin.[1] Edwards also performed at the Grand Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee; his son had his theatrical debut there at the age of two, in a 1901 production of May Blossom.[6] Edwards eventually returned to New York, and had a part in a 1908 Broadway revival of The Prisoner of Zenda at the Hackett Theater.[7]
He also served as a stage director, and then the producing manager of the Suburban Garden Theater in St. Louis.[1]
[clean this up, maybe source more] People Edwards directed include: Amelia Bingham, Marguerite Clark, Henrietta Crosman, James K. Hackett, Virginia Harned, Wilton Lackaye, and Cecilia Loftus.[8]
Beginning in 1910, he worked for William Fox, managing scenery and stock productions at the Academy of Music.[1]
Film
[edit]Personal life
[edit]Edwards married his first wife, Christina Calvert, around 1896.[9] They had a son [better stuff goes here].[9] Christina died in 1903 following a sudden illness.[9]
Several years later, he married a second time, to fellow stage actor Angela McCaull. The daughter of theatrical manager John A. McCaull, she was known for her ingénue roles and for a brief prior engagement to Lionel Barrymore.[8][10]
Death
[edit]
After his death, Edwards was cremated. His wife arranged for the construction of an elaborate mausoleum at Kensico Cemetery in New York, intended to evoke the style of his film epics, where his ashes were interred. Following her death in 1965, she was also cremated; her cremains were mixed with those of her husband. Their vault bears an epitaph taken from Dante's Paradiso: L'amor che move il sole e l'altre stele.[B][2]
Legacy
[edit]Notes
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f Ramsaye 2014, p. 700.
- ^ a b Keister 2011, p. 91.
- ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (January 27, 1957). "Producer doesn't catch up with trends—he makes 'em". The Los Angeles Times. 76: V.2.
- ^ "Random notes on ex-cadets" (PDF). Royal Military College of Canada Review. 5 (9): 79. May 1924.
- ^ Morris 1992, p. 28.
- ^ "Amusements". The Nashville American. 25 (8909): 2. May 1, 1901.
- ^ "The Prisoner of Zenda". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^ a b Anderson, Antony (June 9, 1918). "Edwards, the man behind the vampire". The Los Angeles Times. 37: III.16.
- ^ a b c "Mrs. Edwards dead". The Nashville American. 27 (9729): 6. December 17, 1903.
- ^ "Barrymore to wed again, report" (PDF). Washington Times (12474): 1. December 23, 1922.
Bibliography
[edit]- Keister, Douglas (2011). Stories in Stone New York. Gibbs Smith. ISBN 978-1-4236-2102-7.
- Morris, Peter (1992). Embattled Shadows: A History of Canadian Cinema, 1895–1939. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 978-0-7735-0323-6.
- Ramsaye, Terry (2014) [1926]. A Million and One Nights: A History of the Motion Picture. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-76058-4.