Motion Picture Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Film Industry Figure. He received recognition as a Canadian-born silent film director, producer and screenwriter. Born John Sidney Allcott, the son of Irish immigrants, he started as an actor on the New York stage. Around 1904, he turned to film acting, soon working his way to general manager of Biograph Studios in New York City. In 1907, he directed his first film for Kalem Studios and was fast becoming one of the great directors of the motion picture business. In 1910, he was the first-ever filmmaker to travel outside the United States, filming on location in Ireland for the film "The Lad from Old Ireland." Traveling to Egypt and Palestine in 1912 and costing $35,000 to produce, "From the Manger to the Cross" earned the Kalem Company an astounding profit of almost $1 million, and the film was selected in 1998 for preservation by the National Film Registry (NFR) of the United States Library of Congress. Joining Famous Players Lasky (Paramount Pictures) in 1915, he worked with many of the biggest stars of the silent era like Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Norma Talmadge and Pola Negri, before retiring in 1927. After the death of his wife, actress Valentine Grant in March of 1949, he resided with his friend Robert G. Vignola, where he died from the complications of cardiac thrombosis.
Motion Picture Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Film Industry Figure. He received recognition as a Canadian-born silent film director, producer and screenwriter. Born John Sidney Allcott, the son of Irish immigrants, he started as an actor on the New York stage. Around 1904, he turned to film acting, soon working his way to general manager of Biograph Studios in New York City. In 1907, he directed his first film for Kalem Studios and was fast becoming one of the great directors of the motion picture business. In 1910, he was the first-ever filmmaker to travel outside the United States, filming on location in Ireland for the film "The Lad from Old Ireland." Traveling to Egypt and Palestine in 1912 and costing $35,000 to produce, "From the Manger to the Cross" earned the Kalem Company an astounding profit of almost $1 million, and the film was selected in 1998 for preservation by the National Film Registry (NFR) of the United States Library of Congress. Joining Famous Players Lasky (Paramount Pictures) in 1915, he worked with many of the biggest stars of the silent era like Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Norma Talmadge and Pola Negri, before retiring in 1927. After the death of his wife, actress Valentine Grant in March of 1949, he resided with his friend Robert G. Vignola, where he died from the complications of cardiac thrombosis.
Bio by: Fritz Tauber
Family Members
Advertisement
See more Olcott memorials in:
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
