Motion Picture Director. One of the most respected American filmakers of the silent era. He directed several Mary Pickford blockbusters, including "Stella Maris" (1918) and "Daddy Long Legs" (1919), and by the mid-1920's he was earning a then-astronomical $150,000 a picture. But his hard-partying ways led to chronic alcoholism, and with the coming of talkies he was reduced to making B films at Poverty Row companies. Neilan directed his last film in 1937 and for the next two decades supported himself largely by driving a cab. In 1957 he got his act together enough to play the role of a clueless old senator in Elia Kazan's "A Face In The Crowd" (1957). He died of cancer the following year, at the Motion Picture Country Home. Mary Pickford reportedly paid for his funeral.
Motion Picture Director. One of the most respected American filmakers of the silent era. He directed several Mary Pickford blockbusters, including "Stella Maris" (1918) and "Daddy Long Legs" (1919), and by the mid-1920's he was earning a then-astronomical $150,000 a picture. But his hard-partying ways led to chronic alcoholism, and with the coming of talkies he was reduced to making B films at Poverty Row companies. Neilan directed his last film in 1937 and for the next two decades supported himself largely by driving a cab. In 1957 he got his act together enough to play the role of a clueless old senator in Elia Kazan's "A Face In The Crowd" (1957). He died of cancer the following year, at the Motion Picture Country Home. Mary Pickford reportedly paid for his funeral.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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