Harry Solter

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Harry Solter
Born
Henry Lewis Solter

(1873-11-19)November 19, 1873
DiedMarch 2, 1920(1920-03-02) (aged 46)
Other namesHarry Salter
H. L. Solter
Harry L. Solter
Occupation(s)Actor, director, screenwriter
Years active1908–1917
Spouse
(m. 1908)

Henry Lewis Solter (November 19, 1873 – March 2, 1920) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter and director.

Career[edit]

Cast of When Knights Were Bold (1908), from left: Linda Arvidson, D. W. Griffith, unknown player, and Solter

Solter began his career as an actor in 1908 with Biograph Studios. That same year he met actress Florence Lawrence while making the film Romeo and Juliet for Vitagraph Studios and married on August 30 of that year. In 1909, Solter began working for Carl Laemmle's Independent Moving Pictures Co. of America (IMP) as an actor but also as a director. Over the next nine years, he directed 148 silent films.

In 1912, Harry Solter and his wife established the Victor Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1913, they sold out to Carl Laemmle whose amalgamation of several studios created the colossal Universal Film Manufacturing Co. Solter continued to direct for the new company until 1918 when health problems emerged. With this new prosperity, Florence was able to realize a 'lifelong dream,' buying a 50-acre (20 ha) estate in River Vale, New Jersey.[1][2]

Death[edit]

Solter died of a stroke on March 2, 1920, at the age of 46. He is interred in the Baltimore Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

Selected filmography[edit]

Year Film Role Notes
1908 Romeo and Juliet
When Knights Were Bold Nobleman
Balked at the Altar
Romance of a Jewess Customer/Rubinstein
The Taming of the Shrew Katharina's Father Writer
After Many Years Tom Foster
Money Mad First Villain
A Calamitous Elopement Frank
The Kentuckian
1909 At the Altar On Street
Jones and the Lady Book Agent Office employee
A Drunkard's Reformation In the Play
The Renunciation Sam Walters
1910 The Rocky Road
All the World's a Stage
Director
Two Men
Director
1911 The Two Paths
Duke De Ribbon Counter
Director
During Cherry Time
Director
1912 Not Like Other Girls
Director
Betty's Nightmare
Director
The Redemption of Riverton
Director
1913 Unto the Third Generation
Director
The Spender
Director
His Wife's Child
Director
1914 The Romance of a Photograph
Director
The Pawns of Destiny
Director, writer
A Mysterious Mystery
Director
1916 Blind Man's Bluff
Director, scenario
1917 Face on the Screen
Director
The Spotted Lily
Director
Credited as Harry L. Solter
1918 The Wife He Bought
Director
1921 The Sage Hen
Writer

References[edit]

  1. ^ Florence Lawrence, Women Film Pioneers Project. Accessed September 23, 2015. "Florence Lawrence intended her last Victor photoplay to be her second two-reel film, The Lady Leone (1912), and after its completion, she and Solter retired to their home in River Vale, New Jersey."
  2. ^ PHS Answer Girl & Curator Archived 2015-02-04 at the Wayback Machine, Pascack Historical Society. Accessed September 23, 2015. "Florence Lawrence was America’s first movie star according to movie historians. She lived at 565 Rivervale Road in River Vale from 1913 through 1916."

External links[edit]