Ford Sterling
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Ford Sterling | |
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File:FordSterling.jpg | |
Born | George Ford Stich Jr. November 3, 1883 La Crosse, Wisconsin, U.S. |
Died | October 13, 1939 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 55)
Occupation(s) | Actor and comedian |
Spouse | Teddy Sampson (1914-1939; his death) |
Ford Sterling (born George Ford Stich Jr., November 3, 1883 – October 13, 1939) was an American comedian and actor best known for his work with Keystone Studios. One of the 'Big 4', he was the original chief of the Keystone Cops.
Biography
Born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, he began his career in silent films in 1911 with Biograph Studios. When director Mack Sennett left to set up Keystone Studios in 1912, Sterling followed him. There, he performed various roles, such as 'Chief Teeheezel' in the Keystone Cops series of slapstick comedies in a successful career that spanned twenty-five years.
From 1913 and throughout the 1910s, Sterling was among the most popular screen comedians in the world. Charlie Chaplin recalled that, when joining Keystone in early 1914, he was at first dismayed to discover that he was expected to imitate Sterling.[1] Chaplin and Sterling played together at least twice on film, in the one-reelers A Thief Catcher and Between Showers (both 1914).
In the 1920s, Sterling abandoned the short comedy format, instead playing supporting roles in both comedic and dramatic feature-length films, such as He Who Gets Slapped (1924) opposite Lon Chaney. After talking pictures came along, Sterling returned to appearing in short comedies.
Sterling was also a renowned amateur photographer, who won many prizes and at one point (in 1924) even had some of his work exhibited at the Louvre.[2]
Death
Making a smooth transition to talking films, Ford Sterling made the last of his more than two hundred and seventy film appearances in 1936. He died in 1939 of a heart attack (following long standing diabetes) in Los Angeles, California and is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ford Sterling has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6612 Hollywood Blvd.
Partial filmography
- At Coney Island (1912)
- Safe in Jail (1913)
- Murphy's I.O.U. (1913)
- His Chum the Baron (1913)
- That Ragtime Band (1913)
- The Foreman of the Jury (1913)
- The Gangsters (1913)
- Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life (1913)
- The Waiters' Picnic (1913)
- Peeping Pete (1913)
- A Bandit (1913)
- For the Love of Mabel (1913)
- Love and Courage (1913)
- Professor Bean's Removal (1913)
- The Riot (1913)
- Mabel's Dramatic Career (1913)
- The Faithful Taxicab (1913)
- When Dreams Come True (1913)
- Two Old Tars (1913)
- The Speed Kings (1913)
- Fatty at San Diego (1913)
- Wine (1913)
- A Ride for a Bride (1913)
- Fatty's Flirtation (1913)
- Some Nerve (1913)
- Cohen Saves the Flag (1913)
- A Game of Pool (1913)
- A Misplaced Foot (1914)
- In the Clutches of the Gang (1914)
- A Thief Catcher (1914)
- A Robust Romeo (1914)
- Between Showers (1914)
- Tango Tangles (1914)
- That Minstrel Man (1914)
- The Sea Nymphs (1914)
- Hogan's Romance Upset (1915)
- That Little Band of Gold (1915)
- Court House Crooks (1915)
- Dirty Work in a Laundry (1915)
- Fatty and the Broadway Stars (1915)
- Yankee Doodle in Berlin (1919)
- Salome vs. Shenandoah (1919)
- Love, Honor and Behave (1920)
- The Brass Bottle (1923)
- The Day of Faith (1923)
- Hollywood (1923) cameo
- Wild Oranges (1924)
- He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
- Stage Struck (1925)
- Steppin' Out (1925)
- Mike (1926)
- The American Venus (1926)
- Miss Brewster's Millions (1926)
- Good and Naughty (1926)
- Mantrap (1926)
- The Show-Off (1926)
- Stranded in Paris (1926)
- Casey at the Bat (1927)
- For the Love of Mike (1927)
- Figures Don't Lie (1927)
- Chicken a La King (1928)
- Dreary House (1928)
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928)
- Sally (1929)
- The Fall of Eve (1929)
- Show Girl in Hollywood (1930)
- Spring Is Here (1930)
- Bride of the Regiment (1930)
- Her Majesty, Love (1931)
- Alice in Wonderland (1933)
- Keystone Hotel (short subject) (1935)
- Black Sheep (1935)
- The Headline Woman (1935)
- Behind the Green Lights (1935)
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Wendy Warwick White, Ford Sterling - His Life and Films (McFarland & Company, 2007) ISBN 0-7864-2587-3
- Simon Louvish, Keystone: The Life and Clowns of Mack Sennett (Faber & Faber, 2005) ISBN 0-571-21100-3
External links
- 1882 births
- 1939 deaths
- American male film actors
- American male silent film actors
- Deaths from diabetes
- Disease-related deaths in California
- People from La Crosse, Wisconsin
- Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
- Silent film comedians
- Male actors from Wisconsin
- 20th-century American male actors
- 20th-century American comedians
- American male comedy actors