Joseph Farnham
Encyclopedia
Joseph White Farnham was an American
playwright
and a film writer and film editor of the silent movie
era to the early 1930s. He was also a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
. He was born in Connecticut
.
Farnham got his start in film through his business relationship with theatre
empresarios Gustave
and Daniel Frohman
who owned The Frohman Amusement Corp.. The Big Parade
is probably the most famous of his works adapted to film. In the 1st Academy Awards
of 1929, nominees could be considered for an Oscar for an award on the basis of multiple films within the year. Joseph won his Best Writing - Title Cards award for the films Fair Co-Ed; Laugh, Clown, Laugh
; and Telling the World
. This was the only year that an Oscar for title cards would be awarded.
Joseph Farnham has the sad distinction of being the very first Academy Award-winner to die. He died of a heart attack
while living in Los Angeles
, California
and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and a film writer and film editor of the silent movie
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
era to the early 1930s. He was also a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
. He was born in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
.
Farnham got his start in film through his business relationship with theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
empresarios Gustave
Gustave Frohman
Gustave Frohman was a theatre producer and advance man. He was one of three Frohman brothers who entered show business and he worked for most of his career alongside his brother, Charles Frohman. These two financed a number of theatre productions, often featuring African American actors...
and Daniel Frohman
Daniel Frohman
Daniel Frohman was a Jewish American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer.Frohman was born in Sandusky, Ohio...
who owned The Frohman Amusement Corp.. The Big Parade
The Big Parade
The Big Parade is a 1925 silent film. It tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.The film was...
is probably the most famous of his works adapted to film. In the 1st Academy Awards
1st Academy Awards
The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 1927 and 1928 and took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, in Los Angeles, California. AMPAS president Douglas Fairbanks hosted the...
of 1929, nominees could be considered for an Oscar for an award on the basis of multiple films within the year. Joseph won his Best Writing - Title Cards award for the films Fair Co-Ed; Laugh, Clown, Laugh
Laugh, Clown, Laugh
Laugh, Clown, Laugh is a 1928 silent film starring Lon Chaney and Loretta Young. The movie was directed by Herbert Brenon and produced and released through MGM Studios.-Cast:*Lon Chaney - Tito/Flick*Loretta Young - Simonetta...
; and Telling the World
Telling the World
"Telling the World" is a song by English singer-songwriter Taio Cruz, released as the seventh overall single and first single from the second re-release of his second studio album, Rokstarr. The song also appears in the film Rio, and is known as the main theme for the film. The lyrics are sung in...
. This was the only year that an Oscar for title cards would be awarded.
Joseph Farnham has the sad distinction of being the very first Academy Award-winner to die. He died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
while living in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
.
Selected filmography
- The Big House (1930)
- The Thirteenth ChairThe Thirteenth ChairThe Thirteenth Chair is a 1929 mystery film directed by Tod Browning. It is based on a 1916 play of the same name by Bayard Veiller.-Cast:* Conrad Nagel as Richard Crosby* Leila Hyams as Helen 'Nellie' O'Neill...
(1929) - The Unholy NightThe Unholy NightThe Unholy Night is a 1929 mystery film directed by Lionel Barrymore, starring Ernest Torrence and featuring Boris Karloff.-Cast:* Ernest Torrence - Dr...
(1929) - The CameramanThe Cameraman (1928 film)The Cameraman is a 1928 American silent comedy directed by Edward Sedgwick and an uncredited Buster Keaton. The picture stars Buster Keaton, Marceline Day, Harold Goodwin, and others.The Cameraman was Keaton's first film with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(1928) - Laugh, Clown, LaughLaugh, Clown, LaughLaugh, Clown, Laugh is a 1928 silent film starring Lon Chaney and Loretta Young. The movie was directed by Herbert Brenon and produced and released through MGM Studios.-Cast:*Lon Chaney - Tito/Flick*Loretta Young - Simonetta...
(1928) - Alias Jimmy ValentineAlias Jimmy ValentineAlias Jimmy Valentine is a 1928 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film directed by Jack Conway, and starring William Haines, Leila Hyams, Lionel Barrymore, and Karl Dane. It is sourced from the O. Henry story,A Retrieved Reformation which was turned into the 1910 play Alias Jimmy Valentine by Paul Armstrong. The...
(1928) - The Trail of '98The Trail of '98The Trail of '98 is a 1928 silent drama film featuring Harry Carey. The film was originally released by MGM in a short-lived widescreen process called Fanthom Screen.-Cast:* Dolores del Río as Berna* Ralph Forbes as Larry* Karl Dane as Lars Petersen...
(1928) - London After MidnightLondon After Midnight (film)London After Midnight aka The Hypnotist is a silent mystery film with horror overtones produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Lon Chaney, Marceline Day, Conrad Nagel, Henry B. Walthall, and Polly Moran and was directed by Tod Browning. It is also a lost film, quite...
(1927) - Slide, Kelly, SlideSlide, Kelly, SlideSlide, Kelly, Slide is a 1927 comedy film, released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Edward Sedgwick, and starring William Haines and Harry Carey.-Cast:* William Haines - Jim Kelly* Sally O'Neil - Mary Munson* Harry Carey - Tom Munson...
(1927) - The Red MillThe Red Mill (film)The Red Mill is a 1927 comedy film directed by Fatty Arbuckle and written by Frances Marion. The film never had a VHS release, though it aired on the network channel Turner Classic MoviesTCM on January 3, 2008, which was the birthday of leading role actress Marion Davies...
(1927) - The ShowThe Show (1927 film)The Show is a 1927 silent American drama film directed by Tod Browning, based upon C.T. Jackson's 1910 novel, The Day of Souls.-Plot:A Hungarian carnival troupe follows a young girl who reforms a tearaway after her old suitor tried to kill him with a poisonous lizard.-Cast:* John Gilbert - Cock...
(1927) - The Road to MandalayThe Road to Mandalay (film)The Road to Mandalay is a 1926 silent drama film directed by Tod Browning.-Cast:* Lon Chaney - Singapore Joe* Lois Moran - Joe's Daughter* Owen Moore - The Admiral* Henry B. Walthall - Father James* Sojin - English Charlie Wing...
(1926) - The BlackbirdThe BlackbirdThe Blackbird is a 1926 drama film directed by Tod Browning.-Plot:The Blackbird is a thief who uses a second identity when necessary: a rescue mission keeper with contorted legs, known as his bishop brother The Bishop. He lives above a cheap bar in the Limehouse district, where his alter ego The...
(1926) - The Big ParadeThe Big ParadeThe Big Parade is a 1925 silent film. It tells the story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.The film was...
(1925) - GreedGreed (film)Greed is a 1924 American dramatic silent film. It was directed by Erich von Stroheim and starring Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt, Dale Fuller, Tempe Pigott, Sylvia Ashton, Chester Conklin, Joan Standing and Jack Curtis....
(1924)