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Larry Semon

Larry Semon

American silent film comedian whose hugely successful career disappeared virtually overnight, Larry Semon was the son of a traveling vaudeville magician, Zera the Great. He grew up in show business and was trained in stage comedy and acrobatics. A talent for drawing and cartooning led to art school and then work as a cartoonist for various New York City newspapers. The humor evident in his published cartoons prompted executives at New York's Vitagraph Studios to hire him as a gag writer in 1916. He quickly proved himself and was promoted to director for the Hughie Mack series of comedies. His background in magic helped him create interesting new gags for the comedian. When Mack left the studio in 1917, Semon took over the starring role himself. His one-reelers were quite successful, and Vitagraph sent him to California to participate in its new West Coast operation. He produced as well as wrote, starred in and directed his own films, at the same time also producing films for other comics.

In the summer of 1928 Semon apparently fell ill with tuberculosis and simultaneously, it seems, suffered a nervous breakdown. He entered a sanitarium near San Bernardino, CA, where he reportedly died on October 8. However, an air of mystery surrounds his death, since his wife (and former co-star) Dorothy Dwan was allowed almost no contact with him and never saw his body, which was ordered cremated after a tightly secured funeral, which was carried out per Semon's "previous instructions" and to which almost no attendees were allowed. The whereabouts of Semon's cremated remains are to this day a mystery, and his widow professed until her death to be mystified by the circumstances of his passing. With enormous financial obligations facing him Larry Semon could easily have considered a dramatic escape of this sort from his creditors. Whether he did, or whether his death was the sad final chapter to a high-rising, briefly brilliant, but ultimately short-lived career may never be known for certain.

A Simple Sap

1928

as It

Dummies

1928

as The Entertainer

Oh, What a Man!

1927

as The Detective

The Stunt Man

1927

as Larry

Underworld

1927

as Slippy Lewis

Spuds

1927

as Spuds

The Perfect Clown

1925

as Bert Larry

The Cloudhopper

1925

as Borden Rhoom / Getz A. Bunn

Go Straight!

1925

as Self

The Dome Doctor

1925

as Peter Pep

The Wizard of Oz

1925

as Scarecrow

Kid Speed

1924

as The Speed Kid

Her Boy Friend

1924

as Larry, the Chief's son

The Girl in the Limousine

1924

as Tony

Trouble Brewing

1924

as Government agent

Horseshoes

1923

as Larry

Lightning Love

1923

as Larry, a Suitor

The Gown Shop

1923

as Larry, a salesman

The Barnyard

1923

as Lay Zee, Farm Hand

The Midnight Cabaret

1923

as Larry, a Waiter

No Wedding Bells

1923

as Larry

The Counter Jumper

1922

as Larry, the Counter Jumper

Golf

1922

as The son

A Pair of Kings

1922

as King August / Stranger

A Weakend Driver

1922

The Show

1922

as The Prop Man / Gentle Onlooker

The Sawmill

1922

as The Dumb-Bell

The Bell Hop

1921

as The Bellhop

The Fall Guy

1921

as Larry, the Fall Guy

The Bakery

1921

as Larry, a Bakery Clerk

The Rent Collector

1921

as Larry, the Rent Collector

The Hick

1921

as Larry, the Hick

The Sportsman

1921

as The Sportsman

The Suitor

1920

as The Suitor

The Stage Hand

1920

as The Stage Hand

School Days

1920

as Joe

The Fly-Cop

1920

as The Fly Cop

The Grocery Clerk

1919

as The Grocery Clerk

The Head Waiter

1919

as The Head Waiter

Dew Drop Inn

1919

as Larry, the Detective

Dull Care

1919

as Larry, a Detective

Between the Acts

1919

as Larry, the Handy Man and a Drunkard

The Simple Life

1919

as A Farmer's Boy

His Home Sweet Home

1919

as The Husband

The Star Boarder

1919

as Star Boarder / Little Joe, Escaped Convict

Passing the Buck

1919

as The House Detective

Well, I'll Be

1919

as The Sheriff

Scamps and Scandals

1919

as Larry

Traps and Tangles

1919

as Detective Sparks

Pluck and Plotters

1918

as The Janitor

Frauds and Frenzies

1918

as Larry, First Prisoner

Bears and Bad Men

1918

as Larry Cutshaw

Huns and Hyphens

1918

as Larry

Dunces and Dangers

1918

as Larry

Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs

1918

as Lawrence

Hindoos and Hazards

1918

as Larry

Romans and Rascals

1918

as Caesar / A Minstrel

Tough Luck and Tin Lizzies

1917

as Larry

Plagues And Puppy Love

1917

as Larry

Risks and Roughnecks

1917

as Our Hero

Gall and Golf

1917

as O.U. Dubb

Walls and Wallops

1916