Marshall Neilan

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Marshall Neilan
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeAngelus-Rosedale Cemetery
Other namesMickey Neilan
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • producer
  • screenwriter
Years active1912–1957
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1913; div. 1921)​
​
​
(m. 1922; div. 1929)​
Children1 son (w/ Bambrick)

Marshall Ambrose "Mickey" Neilan (April 11, 1891 – October 27, 1958; also credited Marshall Neilon) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, whose work in films began in the early silent era.

Early life

Born in San Bernardino, California, Neilan was known by most as "Mickey." Following the death of his father, the eleven-year-old Mickey Neilan had to give up on school to work at whatever he could find in order to help support his mother. As a teenager, he began acting in bit parts in live theatre, and in 1910 he got a job as chauffeur, driving Biograph Studios executives around Los Angeles to determine the suitability of the West Coast as a place for a permanent studio.

Career

Neilan made his film debut as part of the acting cast on the

Famous Players–Lasky Corporation. In 1915, Neilan was one of the founding members of the Motion Picture Directors Association along with directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, Allan Dwan, and William Desmond Taylor
.

At the end of 1916, Neilan was hired by

The Little Princess in 1917, plus Stella Maris in 1918, Amarilly of Clothes-Line Alley, M'Liss in 1918, and Daddy-Long-Legs
in 1919.

Having all but given up acting, Neilan's directing successes led to him creating his own production company and between 1920 and 1926, Marshall Neilan Productions made eleven feature-length films almost all of which were distributed through

Rudy Vallee and Marie Dressler in the "all-talking" The Vagabond Lover. Contrary to the legend that the film was a commercial and critical failure (except for Dressler's highly praised performance), the film was a hit, making a profit of $335,000,[1] and was one of four top hits for RKO in 1929.[2]

Early in his career Neilan had done as most others in the pioneering days of film and helped out in many areas of filmmaking through performing, directing, and writing. A talented screenwriter, in 1927 he wrote the original story for the

United States Senator in the Elia Kazan film, A Face in the Crowd
.

In 1955, Neilan was awarded The George Eastman Award, given by

George Eastman House
for distinguished contribution to the art of film.

In recognition of his contribution to the motion picture industry, in 1940 the Directors Guild of America conferred on him an "Honorary Life Member Award." He later received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6233 Hollywood Blvd.

Personal life and death

Marshall Neilan married actress Gertrude Bambrick in 1913 with whom he had a son, Marshall Neilan, Jr, their only child. A year after he and Bambrick divorced in 1921, Neilan married actress Blanche Sweet, whom he directed on several occasions. They too divorced in 1929.

Neilan with Blanche Sweet in 1922, the year they married

Neilan died in Los Angeles in 1958 of throat cancer. He is interred there in Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery.

Selected filmography

  • Ranch Girls on a Rampage (1912, Short) - The Police Officer
  • The Wooers of Mountain Kate (1912, Short)
  • Fatty's Busy Day (1913, Short) - Minor Role
  • The Wall of Money (1913, Short) - Neilan - Idea Man
  • The Sheriff of Stone Gulch (1913, Short) - Black McCarty
  • The House of Discord (1913, Short) - The Daughter's Sweetheart
  • Judith of Bethulia (1914) - Minor Role (uncredited)
  • Ham the Iceman (1914, Short) - Dick - Alice's Sweetheart
  • Put Me Off at Wayville (1915, Short) - Billy - a Friend
  • The Country Boy (1915) - Tom Wilson
  • The Love Route (1915)
  • The Commanding Officer (1915) - Capt. Waring
  • May Blossom (1915) - Richard Ashcroft
  • Little Pal (1915) - Minor Role (uncredited)
  • Rags (1915) - Keith Duncan
  • A Girl of Yesterday (1915) - Stanley Hudson
  • Madame Butterfly (1915) - Lt. Pinkerton
  • Mice and Men
     (1916) - Captain George Lovell
  • The Cycle of Fate (1916) - Doctor Burton
  • The Prince Chap (1916) - William Peyton
  • The Crisis (1916) - Clarence Colfax
  • Calamity Anne, Guardian (1916)
  • Daddy-Long-Legs (1919) - Jimmie Mc Bride
  • Broadway Gold (1923) - The Driver
  • Hollywood Boulevard (1936) - Cinegrill Customer (uncredited)
  • A Star is Born (1937) - Bert (uncredited)
  • A Face in the Crowd (1957) - Sen. Worthington Fuller (final film role)

Director

Producer

Writer

References

  1. ^ Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931-1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14 No 1, 1994 p55
  2. ISBN 0-517-546566
    .
  3. ^ "Photoplay Magazine for December, 1929". Photoplay. December 1929. p. 152. Retrieved June 22, 2023.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marshall Neilan.
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