- Lois Weber
Infobox Actor
name = Lois Weber
caption = Lois Weber, 1921
birthdate = birth date|1881|6|13
birthplace =Allegheny, Pennsylvania
deathdate = death date and age|1939|11|13|1881|6|13
deathplace =Hollywood, California
spouse =Phillips Smalley (1906-1922)
Harry Gantz (1926-1935)
awards =Walk of Fame - Motion Picture
6518 Hollywood BlvdLois Weber (
June 13 1881 -November 13 1939 ) was an Americansilent film actor , producer and director, and was the first woman to direct a full-length feature film when she directed "The Merchant of Venice" in 1914.Weber was born in
Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now Pittsburgh's Northside neighborhood), where she was apparently an excellent pianist. She ran away from home hoping to pursue a singing career inNew York City . After leaving home she lived in poverty and worked as a street-corner evangelist, preaching and singing hymns in New York and Pittsburgh. In 1905 she joined theGaumont Film Company company as an actor, and in 1906 married Gaumont managerPhillips Smalley .In 1908 she landed a role in a film she had written called "Hypocrites", which was directed by
Herbert Blaché , husband of famous early filmmakerAlice Guy . Fact|date=February 2007 "Hypocrites" was also the title of a 1915 film that Weber wrote, directed, produced -- and starred in -- which addressed social themes and moral lessons considered daring for the time. These films (and themes) includedabortion andbirth control in "Where Are My Children?",capital punishment in " The People vs. John Doe", andalcoholism anddrug addiction in "Hop, the Devil's Brew" (all 1916). Because of their controversial nature, her films were often successful at the box office.In 1916 she became
Universal Studios ' highest-paid director, and in 1917 she formed her own production company, Lois Weber Productions. Lois Weber was the first and only woman granted membership in theMotion Picture Directors Association . Film directorJohn Ford worked with Weber as her assistant before making films on his own (CITATION NEEDED ). One of Weber's most successful films from this period was "The Blot " (1921) withClaire Windsor andLouis Calhern , one of five films of Weber's released throughParamount Pictures .In the 1920s her fortunes began to change – she lost her company, obtained a divorce from the abusive, alcoholic Smalley in 1922, and had a nervous breakdown. She married Harry Gantz in 1926, but they divorced in 1935. Her last silent films were "Sensation Seekers" and "The Angel of Broadway" (both 1927). Weber's final film was "White Heat" (1934), a tale of miscegenation on a sugar plantation. "White Heat" was poorly received, and she could later only find work as a
script doctor for Universal. She died, penniless, at age 58.For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Lois Weber has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6518 Hollywood Blvd.External links
*imdb name|id=0916665|name=Lois Weber
References
*Acker, Ally. 2002. [http://www.reelwomen.com/weberbio.html Lois Weber] , Reel Women Productions
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.