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Charles Eyton

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Charles Eyton
Eyton in 1921
Born(1871-06-24)24 June 1871
Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand
Died2 July 1941(1941-07-02) (aged 70)
Hollywood, California, US
OccupationProducer
Spouse(s)Anna S. Cole (m.1900–div.1901)
Bessie Eyton (m.1908–div.1915)
Kathlyn Williams (m.1916–div.1931)
RelativesAlice Eyton (sister)
Vera Doria (sister)

Charles Eyton (24 June 1871 – 2 July 1941) was an actor-producer who became general manager of Famous Players–Lasky Corporation (a Paramount Pictures subsidiary) during the silent film era.

Personal life

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The second of five children, Charles F. Eyton was the son of journalist Robert Henry Eyton (–1885) and Eleanor Maud Eyton (née Fosbery), and born in Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand.[1][2][3] His sisters were singer/actress Vera Doria,[4] and writer Alice Eyton,[5] who died of burns in 1929 after her masquerade costume was accidentally set alight.[6]

In 1900 Charles Eyton married Anna S. Cole.[7] They were divorced in May 1901.[8]

On 3 September 1908, Charles Eyton married actress Bessie Harrison, who would henceforth use the professional name Bessie Eyton.[9] They were divorced on 16 March 1915.[10]

He became a United States citizen in December 1915.[11]

On 2 June 1916, Charles Eyton married actress Kathlyn Williams. It was her third marriage.[12] They were divorced in 1931 on the grounds of incompatibility, with Williams not seeking any payments from Eyton.[13]

He died of pneumonia in Hollywood on 2 July 1941.[14]

Career

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Wrestling

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After establishing his reputation as a lightweight wrestler,[15] standing 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) and weighing 9 stone 3 pounds (59 kg; 129 lb), in 1889 Eyton sailed from Australia to the United States,[16] where he participated in a series of wrestling matches.[17]

In 1900, he came to Los Angeles and became assistant manager of the Burbank Theater and an officer of the Los Angeles Athletic Club.[18] He also worked as a boxing referee for over a decade, and was featured on a cigarette sports trading card in 1910.[19] The championship bouts refereed by Charles Eyton included:

Year Class Boxers
1906 heavyweight Tommy Burns vs. Marvin Hart[20]
1911 lightweight Ad Wolgast vs. George Memsic[21]
1912 featherweight Johnny Kilbane vs. Abe Attell[22]
1913 heavyweight Jess Willard vs. John "Bull" Young (fatal fight)[23]

Motion pictures

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Eyton formed the Real Art Picture Corporation in 1908.[24]

In 1914, Frank Garbutt created the Oliver Morosco Photoplay Company, named after Oliver Morosco. Charles Eyton was appointed to supervise the company's productions[25] and also the productions of Bosworth, Inc., which were produced in the same studio at 201 N. Occidental, in Los Angeles. Bosworth, Inc. soon folded and was replaced by Pallas Pictures. In 1916, Morosco and Pallas became part of Famous Players–Lasky, and Charles Eyton remained manager of the Morosco studio. In 1919, Eyton became manager of the larger Famous Players–Lasky studio at Sunset and Vine in Hollywood.[26]

In 1925, he was appointed to be in charge of Paramount productions abroad.[27] Adolph Zukor announced the special production unit would include a production of D. W. Griffith's adaption of Marie Corelli's novel, The Sorrows of Satan; with Eyton described as having been in charge of the Paramount studio and was 'voted unqualifiedly the most popular man in the entire motion picture colony'.[28]

He resigned from Paramount in 1926.[29]

William Taylor's murder

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On 1 February 1922, Charles Eyton was one of the first people to arrive on the scene of the murder of film director William Desmond Taylor (1872–1922), and was said to have been the person to have discovered that Taylor was shot when he attempted to raise the body.[30][31] Eyton was interviewed by police, ostensibly in relation to means of locating the deceased's missing butler, and Eyton denied knowing about letters apparently missing from Taylor's house.[32] There were a number of possible suspects and remains a cold case today.[33]

References

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  1. ^ "Births". Auckland Star. No. 455. 26 June 1871. p. 2. Retrieved 24 January 2024 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  2. ^ "Mrs. Nightingale Dead", Los Angeles Times, 29 March 1913
  3. ^ "Death of a Journalist". Tasmanian News. Vol. II, no. 591. Tasmania, Australia. 15 October 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 20 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Vera Doria Latest Film Recruit". Moving Picture World. 25 (3): 489. 17 July 1915. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Australians abroad". Sunday Times. 18 July 1909. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  6. ^ "ALICE EYTON BURNED TO DEATH AT PARTY". Rochester Evening Journal. 4 November 1929. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  7. ^ "Marriage Licenses", Los Angeles Herald, 4 January 1900, retrieved 16 December 2013
  8. ^ "Court Briefs", Los Angeles Herald, 22 May 1901, retrieved 16 December 2013
  9. ^ "Incompatibility", Los Angeles Times, 7 January 1915
  10. ^ "Say Bessie Eyton's To Marry Local Auto Man", Los Angeles Times, 25 July 1916
  11. ^ "Charlie Eyton One of Big Citizenship Class", Los Angeles Times, 23 December 1915
  12. ^ Golden, Eve (2001). Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars. McFarland. p. 229. ISBN 9780786483549.
  13. ^ "Kathlyn Williams is Granted Divorce". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 28 January 1931. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  14. ^ "Eyton, Screen Pioneer, Dies", Los Angeles Times, 3 July 1942
  15. ^ "The Slavin Combination". The Tasmanian. Vol. XVII, no. 37. Tasmania, Australia. 15 September 1888. p. 7. Retrieved 24 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Off to America". The Evening News (Sydney). No. 6952. New South Wales, Australia. 2 September 1889. p. 8 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Eyton's Record", Helena Independent, Helena, Montana, 18 April 1892, retrieved 15 December 2013
  18. ^ "Charles Eyton", Los Angeles Herald, 12 July 1908
  19. ^ "Chas. Eyton (Referee)". Mecca Cigarettes. 1910. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  20. ^ "Champion Hart Loses His Title", Los Angeles Herald, 24 February 1906, retrieved 17 December 2013
  21. ^ "Wolgast Tightens his hold on the Lightweight Honors", Los Angeles Times, 18 March 1911
  22. ^ "Abe Attell loses to John Kilbane", The New York Times, 23 February 1912
  23. ^ "Jess Willard and Others are Called to Trial", San Francisco Call, 30 August 1913, retrieved 17 December 2013
  24. ^ "High praise for Charlie Chaplin". The Advertiser. Vol. 95, no. 29, 314. Adelaide. 24 September 1952. p. 4. Retrieved 24 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. ^ Birchard, Robert (2004). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. USA: University Press of Kentucky. p. 430. ISBN 9780813123240.
  26. ^ "Lasky Promotions", Variety, p. 65, 5 September 1919, retrieved 5 December 2013
  27. ^ "Paramount Production". Sunday Times. Perth. 6 December 1925. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  28. ^ "The motion picture section". The Examiner (Tasmania). Vol. LXXXIII, no. 293. Tasmania, Australia. 12 December 1925. p. 18 (Daily). Retrieved 24 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. ^ "Eyton Quits", The Film Daily, p. 1, 10 August 1926, retrieved 5 December 2013
  30. ^ "Movie magnate murder mystery". Truth. No. 1679. New South Wales, Australia. 12 March 1922. p. 11. Retrieved 24 January 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  31. ^ "Murdered a few minutes after Mabel Normand left him". The Mirror. 12 June 1937. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  32. ^ "PRESS FILM STAR FOR TAYLOR CLUE" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 February 1922. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  33. ^ Taylorology (newsheet) Issue 4, April 1993; retrieved 12 May 2013.
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