thumb|thumbtime=2|upright=1.5|The Man from Egypt (Dutch intertitles). Collection [[EYE Film Institute Netherlands.]]

thumb|upright=1.5|Worries and wobbles, a 1917 farce with intertitles in Dutch. Collection EYE Film Institute Netherlands.

Lawrence Semon (February 9, 1889 – October 8, 1928) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era. In his day, Semon was considered a major movie comedian, but he is now remembered mainly for working with both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy before they started working together. He directed and appeared in the 1925 silent film The Wizard of Oz, which had a slight influence on the better-known 1939 talkie The Wizard of Oz released by MGM. The film was included in the 2005 three-disc DVD version of the 1939 film, along with other silent Oz movies.

Early life

Born in West Point, Mississippi on February 9, 1889, Semon was the son of a travelling Jewish vaudeville magician Zera Semon, who billed himself as "Zera the Great". His mother, Irene Semon (née Rea), worked as Zera's assistant. Along with his older sister, Semon joined his parents' act until his father's death. After completing his education in Savannah, Georgia, Semon moved to New York City, where he worked for The New York Sun and later The New York Morning Telegraph as a cartoonist, comics artist and graphic artist. While working as an artist, Semon appeared in monologues in vaudeville, where he attracted the attention of Vitagraph Studios. In 1915, he was offered a contract with the company.

Career

After signing with Vitagraph, Semon worked behind the scenes as a scenario writer, director, and film producer for actor Hughie Mack's films. He occasionally cast himself in bit parts in the films he worked on. When Mack left Vitagraph, Semon began playing the lead roles.

Semon tried to reverse his money problems by entering the more lucrative field of feature films. He produced and starred in a few features in the mid-1920s, including the financial disaster The Wizard of Oz in 1925; by 1927, however, he was back in short subjects released through Educational Pictures. After filing for bankruptcy in March 1928, Semon returned to vaudeville.

Death

After returning to Los Angeles, Semon was admitted to a sanatorium in Victorville, California, where on October 8, 1928—at the age of 39—he died of pneumonia and tuberculosis. His wife Dorothy Dwan was reported to be at his bedside when he died. He was cremated and his ashes were given to his wife.

Nicknames

French audiences knew him as Zigoto, Italian ones as Ridolini, and Spanish ones as Jaimito ("Jimmy") in pre-war releases and Tomasín ("Tommy") in the 1940 rereleases by Manuel Rotellar.

Filmography

As a director, not a star:

  • Tubby Turns the Tables (1916)
  • Terry's Tea Party (1916)
  • Out Ag'in, in Ag'in (1916)
  • More Money Than Manners (1916)
  • The Battler (1916)
  • Losing Weight (1916)
  • The Man from Egypt (1916)
  • A Jealous Guy (1916)
  • Romance and Roughhouse (1916)
  • There and Back (1916)
  • A Villainous Villain (1916)
  • Love and Loot (1916)
  • Sand, Scamps and Strategy (1916)
  • She Who Last Laughs (1916)
  • Walls and Wallops (1916)
  • Jumps and Jealousy (1916)
  • His Conscious Conscience (1916)
  • Hash and Havoc (1916)
  • Captain Jinks' Evolution (1916)
  • Rah! Rah! Rah! (1916)
  • Help! Help! Help! (1916)
  • Shanks and Chivalry (1916)
  • Speed and Spunk (1917)
  • Captain Jinks' Widow (1917)
  • Captain Jinks' Nephew's Wife (1917)
  • Captain Jinks' Dilemma (1917)
  • Bullies and Bullets (1917)
  • Jolts and Jewelry (1917)
  • Big Bluffs and Bowling Balls (1917)
  • Somewhere in Any Place (1917)
  • Rips and Rushes (1917)
  • He Never Touched Me (1917)
  • Cops and Cussedness (1917)
  • Masks and Mishaps (1917)
  • Guff and Gunplay (1917)
  • Pests and Promises (1917)
  • Footlights and Fakers (1917)
  • Bombs and Blunders (1917)
  • Turks and Troubles (1917)
  • Flatheads and Flivvers (1917)
  • Dubs and Drygoods (1917)
  • Hazards and Home Runs (1917)
  • Gall and Gasoline (1917)
  • Boasts and Boldness (1917)
  • Worries and Wobbles (1917)
  • Shells and Shivers (1917)

As a Comedy Star:

  • Chumps and Chances (1917)
  • Gall and Golf (1917)
  • Slips and Slackers (1917)
  • Risks and Roughnecks (1917)
  • Plans and Pajamas (1917)
  • Plagues and Puppy Love (1917)
  • Sports and Splashes (1917)
  • Tough Luck and Tin Lizzies (1917)
  • Rough Toughs and Roof Tops (1917)
  • Spooks and Spasms (1917)
  • Noisy Naggers and Nosey Neighbors (1917)
  • Guns and Greasers (1918)
  • Babes and Boobs (1918)
  • Rooms and Rumors (1918)
  • Meddlers and Moonshiners (1918)
  • Stripes and Stumbles (1918)
  • Rummies and Razors (1918)
  • Whistles and Windows (1918)
  • Spies and Spills (1918)
  • Romans and Rascals (1918)
  • Skids and Scalawags (1918)
  • Boodle and Bandits (1918)
  • Hindoos and Hazards (1918)
  • Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs (1918)
  • Dunces and Dangers (1918)
  • Mutts and Motors (1918)
  • Huns and Hyphens (1918)
  • Bears and Bad Men (1918)
  • Frauds and Frenzies (1918)
  • Humbugs and Husbands (1918)
  • Pluck and Plotters (1918)
  • Traps and Tangles (1919)
  • Scamps and Scandals (1919)
  • Well, I'll Be (1919)
  • ' (1919)
  • The Star Boarder (1919)
  • His Home Sweet Home (1919)
  • The Simple Life (1919)
  • Between the Acts (1919)
  • Dull Care (1919)
  • Dew Drop Inn (1919)
  • The Head Waiter (1919)
  • The Grocery Clerk (1919)
  • The Fly Cop (1920)
  • School Days (1920)
  • Solid Concrete (1920)
  • The Stage Hand (1920)
  • The Suitor (1920)
  • The Sportsman (1921)
  • The Hick (1921)
  • The Bakery (1921)
  • The Rent Collector (1921)
  • The Fall Guy (1921)
  • The Bell Hop (1921)
  • The Sawmill (1922)
  • The Show (1922)
  • A Pair of Kings (1922)
  • Golf (1922)
  • The Agent (1922)
  • The Counter Jumper (1922)
  • No Wedding Bells (1923)
  • The Barnyard (1923)
  • The Midnight Cabaret (1923)
  • The Gown Shop (1923)
  • Lightning Love (1923)
  • Horseshoes (1923)
  • Trouble Brewing (1924)
  • The Girl in the Limousine (1924)
  • Her Boy Friend (1924)
  • Kid Speed (1924)
  • My Best Girl (1925)
  • Wizard of Oz (1925)
  • The Perfect Clown (1925)
  • The Dome Doctor (1925)
  • The Cloudhopper (1925)
  • Stop, Look and Listen (1926)
  • Pass the Dumplings (1927)
  • Spuds (1927)
  • The Plumber's Daughter (1927)
  • A Dozen Socks (1927) (uncredited)
  • The Stunt Man (1927)
  • Oh, What a Man! (1927)
  • Underworld (1927)
  • Dummies (1928)
  • A Simple Sap (1928)

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File:Passing the Buck (1919) - Ad 1.jpg|<small>Ad for the comedy short film '<br />in The Moving Picture World</small>

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References

  • Larry Semon: The Cartoonist as Comic (Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3)
  • Larry Semon at Virtual History
  • Lambiek Comiclopedia article.