Jump to content

Robert Harron

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robert Harron
Harron in 1918
Born(1893-04-12)April 12, 1893
New York City, U.S.
DiedSeptember 5, 1920 (aged 27)
New York City, U.S.
Resting placeCalvary Cemetery, Queens
Other namesBobby Harron
OccupationActor
Years active1907–1920
RelativesJohn Harron (brother)

Robert Emmett Harron (April 12, 1893 – September 5, 1920)[1] was an American motion picture actor of the early silent film era. Although he acted in over 200 films, he is possibly best recalled for his roles in the D.W. Griffith directed films The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916).

Discussing script on location for Sunshine Alley (1917); from left: director John W. Noble, Harron, actress Mae Marsh, and cameraman George W. Hill

Early life and family

[edit]

Born in New York City, Harron was second oldest child of nine siblings in a poor, working-class Irish Catholic family.[2] Harron's younger siblings John (nicknamed "Johnnie"), Mary, and Charles also became actors while one of his younger sisters, Tessie, was an extra in silent films.[2] Charles was killed in a car accident in December 1915.[3] Tessie died of Spanish influenza in 1918 while Harron's brother John died of spinal meningitis in 1939.[4][5][6]

Harron attended the Saint John Parochial School in Greenwich Village.[2] At the age of fourteen, he found work as an errand boy at American Biograph Studios near Union Square in Manhattan to help support his family.[7] In addition to cleaning duties, Harron also appeared as an extra in a few shorts for Biograph.[8]

Career

[edit]

Within a year of working for Biograph, Harron was noticed by newly hired director D.W. Griffith.[7] Harron quickly became a favorite of Griffith, and Griffith began to give the 14-year-old increasingly larger film roles. His first film for Griffith was the 1908 comedy A Calamitous Elopement. (He fit the delivery boy costume and was repeatedly used in such roles until he outgrew the outfit.) The teenaged Harron was often cast by Griffith in the role of the "sensitive" and "naïve" boy, who was overwhelmingly sympathetic and appealing to American film-goers in the very early years of American motion pictures and not far removed from Harron's real-life persona; Harron was often described as a quiet and soft-spoken youth. It was these traits that helped garner much public interest in the young actor, especially amongst young female fans. In 1912 alone, Harron appeared in nearly forty films at Biograph.[9]

Harron is probably best recalled for his roles in the three epic Griffith films: 1914's Judith of Bethulia, opposite Blanche Sweet, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, and Dorothy and Lillian Gish; 1915's controversial all-star cast The Birth of a Nation; and 1916's colossal multi-scenario Intolerance opposite such popular stars of the era as Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Miriam Cooper, Wallace Reid, Harold Lockwood and Mildred Harris. One of Harron's most popular roles of the era came in 1919 when he starred opposite Lillian Gish in the Griffith directed romantic film True Heart Susie.

Harron's film career continued to flourish throughout the 1910s, and he was occasionally paired with leading actresses Mae Marsh and Lillian Gish with romantic plots, often in roles that cemented his "sensitive boy" image. Harron had, in fact, a burgeoning off-screen romantic relationship with Dorothy Gish.[10] By 1920, Harron had grown too old to continue playing the juvenile roles that had launched his career. He began losing leading man roles to Richard Barthelmess.[11] Later that year, D.W. Griffith agreed to loan Harron to Metro Pictures for a four-picture deal. His first film for Metro, also the last film of his career, was the comedy Coincidence.[12] The film was released in 1921, after Harron's death.

Death

[edit]

In late August 1920, Harron traveled by train from Los Angeles to New York City to attend the premiere of the film Way Down East and a preview of what would become his final film, Coincidence. Harron checked into the Hotel Seymour on September 1 with his friend, screenwriter and director Victor Heerman, with whom he was sharing a room. Harron and Heerman attended the preview for Coincidence later that day. Heerman later said that the preview went poorly, as the film was not well received by the audience.[10]

After the premiere, Harron returned to his hotel room alone. At some point during the evening, Harron sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. According to published reports and Harron's own account, he had the gun in his trunk along with his clothes and other possessions. As he was removing clothes from the trunk, the gun fell to the floor and discharged. Harron was hit in the chest, the bullet having punctured his lung.[13] [14] Harron called the hotel desk for assistance and was still conscious when the hotel manager came to his room. Not realizing he was seriously wounded, Harron joked with the manager that he was in a "devil of a fix" having shot himself. He initially refused to let the manager call an ambulance, only wanting to be examined by a local physician in his room. After a physician could not be found, Harron relented and agreed to allow the manager to call an ambulance. When medics arrived and attempted to transport Harron using a stretcher, he insisted on being taken down in a chair. As he had lost a considerable amount of blood, medics had to convince Harron that he needed to be transported on a stretcher.[13]

Harron was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center where he remained conscious but in critical condition. While he was being treated, Harron was arrested for possessing a firearm without a permit under the Sullivan Act and placed in the hospital's prison ward.[15] Shortly after the shooting, rumors arose that the shooting was not accidental and Harron had attempted suicide. There was speculation that Harron was disappointed over being passed over for the leading role in Way Down East (Richard Barthelmess was ultimately cast).[16] Several of Harron's friends rejected the attempted suicide theory. Victor Heerman, with whom he often went on double dates and was staying with Harron in the Hotel Seymour, later said that he visited Harron in the hospital and he denied that he had attempted suicide. Harron admitted the gun belonged to him, but claimed that he had brought it with him because he did not want the gun at the family home in Los Angeles. Harron told Heerman that his younger brother Johnnie had become "hard to handle" and he feared leaving the gun at the family home where Johnnie could find it. Harron told Heerman that he wrapped the gun up in a pair of his trousers and placed them in his suitcase. On the night of the shooting, Harron said he had gone to retrieve the trousers from his suitcase to have them pressed when the gun fell out onto the floor and discharged.[16] Harron also told a priest who visited him in the hospital that the shooting was an accident.[14]

Despite Harron's denial, rumors of attempted suicide persisted. One such rumor was that Harron attempted suicide over the breakup of his relationship with Dorothy Gish. Victor Heerman rejected this theory because Harron, a teetotaler and virgin, was a devout Catholic who would have deemed suicide a mortal sin. Actresses Miriam Cooper and Lillian Gish, both of whom were friends with Harron, agreed with Heerman's reasoning. Cooper and Gish also believed Harron would not have attempted suicide as he was his family's major source of income and had plans to start shooting a new film with Elmer Clifton.[16]

Friends who visited Harron in the hospital were optimistic about his recovery, as he appeared to be on the mend.[16] However, on September 5, four days after he was shot, Harron died of his wound.[17] He is interred at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, Queens, New York City.[3]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1907 Dr. Skinum Boy at Door Short film
Lost film
1907 Mr. Gay and Mrs. Messenger Short film
Lost film
1908 Bobby's Kodak Son Short film
1908 The Snowman A child Short film
Lost film
1908 Balked at the Altar Short film
1908 Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court Young Man Short film
1908 A Calamitous Elopement George Wilkinson Short film
1909 Those Awful Hats Theatre Audience Short film, Uncredited
1909 A Sound Sleeper Fighter Short film
Lost film
1909 At the Altar Boy On Street Short film
1909 Jones and the Lady Book Agent Messenger Short film
1909 A Drunkard's Reformation Theatre Usher Short film
1909 The Lonely Villa Short film
1909 The Hessian Renegades Farmer Short film
1909 To Save Her Soul Stagehand / Usher Short film
1910 Ramona Short film
1910 The Modern Prodigal At Post Office
1911 The Broken Cross Short film
Lost film
1911 The White Rose of the Wilds White Rose's Brother Short film
Lost film
1911 Enoch Arden Teenage Arden Son Part II
1911 Fighting Blood The Old Soldier's Son Short film
1911 A Country Cupid Among Students Short film
1911 The Last Drop of Water In Wagon Train Short film
1911 The Battle A Union soldier Short film
1911 The Miser's Heart Bakeshop Assistant Short film
1912 For His Son At Soda Fountain Short film, Uncredited
1912 The Transformation of Mike At Dance Short film
1912 Under Burning Skies On Street / At Farewell Party Short film
1912 A String of Pearls In Tenement Short film
Lost film
1912 One Is Business, the Other Crime Delivery Boy Uncredited, Short film
1912 The Lesser Evil In Smuggler Band Short film
1912 A Temporary Truce The Murdered Indian's Son Short film
1912 Man's Lust for Gold The Prospector's Son Short film
Lost film
1912 The Inner Circle In Crowd / Accident Witness Short film
1912 A Change of Spirit Young Man on Street Short film
Lost film
Uncredited
1912 Two Daughters of Eve At Stage Door Short film
1912 Friends Stableboy Short film, Uncredited
1912 So Near, Yet So Far The Rival / In Club Short film
1912 A Feud in the Kentucky Hills A brother Short film
1912 The Painted Lady Beau at Ice Cream Festival Short film, Uncredited
1912 The Musketeers of Pig Alley Rival Gang Member / In Alley / At Dance Short film
1912 Heredity Indian Short film
Lost film
1912 The Informer The Southern Boy Short
1912 A Sailor's Heart On Porch Short film
Uncredited
1912 Brutality Short film
1912 The New York Hat Youth outside church Short film
1912 My Hero The Young Man Short film
Lost film
1912 The Burglar's Dilemma Young Burglar Short film
1912 A Cry for Help Witness to Accident Short film
Lost film
1913 A Misappropriated Turkey Union Member Short film
Lost film
1913 Brothers The Father's Favorite Son Short film
Lost film
1913 Oil and Water Minor Role Short film
Uncredited
1913 Love in an Apartment Hotel The Desk Clerk Short film
Lost film
1913 Broken Ways In Telegraph Office Short film
1913 Near to Earth Gato's Brother Short film
Lost film
1913 Fate The Beloved Son Short film
1913 The Sheriff's Baby The Deputy Short film
Lost film
1913 A Misunderstood Boy The Son Short film
1913 The House of Darkness Asylum Guard Short film
1913 A Timely Interception The Farmer's Adopted Son Short film
1913 Death's Marathon The Messenger Short film
1913 The Sorrowful Shore One of the Son's Friends Short film
1913 The Battle at Elderbush Gulch The father Short film
1913 The Tender Hearted Boy The Tender Hearted Boy Short film
Lost film
1913 The Little Tease Jim
1913 The Yaqui Cur Strongheart
1914 Judith of Bethulia Nathan
1914 The Battle of the Sexes John Andrews, the son Lost film
A fragment survives
1914 Brute Force Harry Faulkner Short, Prologue - Weakhands (The Old Days)
1914 The Great Leap; Until Death Do Us Part Bobby Dawson Lost film
1914 The Life of General Villa American lover Lost film
1914 Home, Sweet Home The Easterner, Robert Winthrop
1914 The Escape Larry Joyce Lost film
1914 The Rebellion of Kitty Belle Joe Belle Short film
Lost film
1914 The Avenging Conscience The Grocer's boy
1914 The Idiot The Idiot Short film
Lost film
1915 The Birth of a Nation Tod Stoneman
1915 The Outcast Bob Lost film
1915 The Outlaw's Revenge American lover Lost film
1915 Her Shattered Idol Robert
1915 The Missing Links Henry Gaylord Lost film
1916 Hoodoo Ann Jimmie Vance
1916 A Child of the Paris Streets Jimmie Parker
1916 A Wild Girl of the Sierras Bob Jordan Lost film
1916 The Marriage of Molly-O Larry O'Dea Lost film
1916 Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages The Boy (Modern Story)
1916 The Little Liar Bobby Lost film
1916 The Wharf Rat Edward Holmes Lost film
1917 The Bad Boy Jimmie Bates Lost film
1918 An Old-Fashioned Young Man Frank Trent
1918 Sunshine Alley Ned Morris Lost film
1918 Hearts of the World The Boy, Douglas Gordon Hamilton Uncredited
1918 The Great Love Jim Young Lost film
1918 The Greatest Thing in Life Edward Livingston Lost film
1918 A Romance of Happy Valley John L. Logan, Jr.
1919 The Girl Who Stayed at Home James Grey
1919 True Heart Susie William Jenkins
1919 The Mother and the Law The Boy
1919 The Greatest Question Jimmie Hilton
1921 Coincidence Billy Jenks Posthumous release
Lost film

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Robert Harron". Turner Classic Movies. 2023. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Slide, Anthony (2002). Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses. The University Press of Kentucky. pp. 173, 175. ISBN 0-813-12249-X.
  3. ^ a b Vazzana, Eugene Michael (2001). Silent Film Necrology. McFarland & Company Incorporated Pub. p. 230. ISBN 0-786-41059-0.
  4. ^ Soister, John T. (2012). American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929. McFarland. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-786-48790-5.
  5. ^ Kear, Lynn; King, James (2009). Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Lady Crook. McFarland. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-786-45468-6.
  6. ^ Golden, Eve (2000). Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars. McFarland. p. 49. ISBN 0-786-48354-7.
  7. ^ a b Lowery, Carolyn (1920). The First One Hundred Noted Men and Women of the Screen. Moffat, Yard. p. 66.
  8. ^ Golden 2002 p.50
  9. ^ Golden 2002 pp.50-51
  10. ^ a b Slide, Anthony (2002). Silent Players: A Biographical and Autobiographical Study of 100 Silent Film Actors and Actresses. The University Press of Kentucky. pp. 174, 175. ISBN 0-813-12249-X.
  11. ^ Stokes, Melvyn (2007). D.W. Griffith's the Birth of a Nation: A History of the Most Controversial Motion Picture of All Time. Oxford University Press. p. cvi. ISBN 978-0-199-88751-4.
  12. ^ Schickel, Richard (1996). D.W. Griffith: An American Life. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 439. ISBN 0-879-10080-X.
  13. ^ a b "MOVIE STAR SHOOTS SELF BY ACCIDENT". The Milwaukee Sentinel. September 2, 1920. p. 1. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  14. ^ a b Affron, Charles (2001). Lillian Gish: Her Legend, Her Life. University of California Press. p. 148. ISBN 0-520-23434-0.
  15. ^ Staff report (September 2, 1920). Rob. Harron shot as his pistol falls. Film star in critical condition as result of accidental wound. Faces Sullivan Act charge. He is moved into prison ward at Bellevue after policeman places him under arrest. New York Times
  16. ^ a b c d Slide 2002 p.175
  17. ^ Staff report (September 6, 1920). Robert Harron dies; actor succumbs to wound received in pistol accident. New York Times

Bibliography

[edit]
  • John Holmstrom, The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 10.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Harron.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Harron&oldid=1225033888"