Fred Balshofer, by Larry Semon

[Joan Myers]

I found this clipping last night in Fred Balshofer's scrapbooks at the Margaret Herrick Library. I can't read the date on my copy, but as I recall it's from mid-1916. It is very cool.



Joan

[Gary Johnson]

I'd place this article being written a year later, around 1917.

Old Fred sure lived a long life - into his 90's. His book "One Reel & a Crank" was one
of the first recollections I ever read of the early years of the film industry but why
did he wait to pen it until he almost passed away? He could of wrote it 20 years
early when his mind would of been even sharper or was his manuscript sitting on
some publisher's shelf that long?

Gary J.

[Richard M Roberts]

I'd place this article being written a year later, around 1917.

Old Fred sure lived a long life - into his 90's. His book "One Reel & a Crank" was one
of the first recollections I ever read of the early years of the film industry but why
did he wait to pen it until he almost passed away? He could of wrote it 20 years
early when his mind would of been even sharper or was his manuscript sitting on
some publisher's shelf that long?

Gary J.

Methinks Mr Balshofer had to wait for all interested parties to be dead and the baliff's warrants to have expired before daring to publish anything about his life. Lets just say that ONE REEL A WEEK is definitely HIS version of events, and that he was a reasonably shady character.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

[Gary Johnson]

Weren't most of the early film pioneers founding members
of the Crook-Of-The-Month club?.......in a free market
sort of way, of course.

Gary J.

[Richard M Roberts]

Weren't most of the early film pioneers founding members
of the Crook-Of-The-Month club?.......in a free market
sort of way, of course.

Gary J.

Sure, but even that group considered Balshofer more bent than the general line, part of the reason he was pretty much out of the biz by the early 20's.

RICHARD M ROBERTS