A new book has been launched that sheds light on the remarkable career of a Hollywood legend born and raised in London, Ont.
The book is written by Western University professor Mark Kearney and titled Al Christie: Hollywood’s Forgotten Film Pioneer.
Speaking with 980 CFPL’s Mike Stubbs on London Live, Kearney says he got the inspiration when browsing Western’s Weldon Library over 20 years ago.
He read about London silent film director John Robertson and stumbled across Christie, who had a longer career than Robertson, so Kearney shifted his focus.
Christie was born in London in 1881 and left around 1909.
He worked at the Grand Theatre part-time, watched Vaudevillians and looked for ways they could improve.
At barely 20 years old, “he would go and meet with these people and say, ‘I’ve got some ideas that you might want to try out on your next show,'” Kearney said. “Word spread that when you go to London, Ont., to perform at the Grand, check out this guy, he can help you out.”
Christie soon became known as the “Act Doctor,” and moved to New York to work for a company that put on shows and movies.
He began directing when “some guy who was directing a movie got hit on the head and couldn’t finish the film, and he stepped in and did it and kept doing it,” Kearney explained.
Christie eventually moved to Hollywood because winter in New York made filming difficult.
His company reportedly flipped a coin to decide whether to move to California or Florida, and the coin landed on California.
Christie and his team took a train, got a car, and landed in Hollywood, which was not well-known at the time.
They found an old bar for sale, set it up in 1911 as their studio, and began making movies.
“For the first 20 years of his career, he made silent movies just because that’s what everyone made,” Kearney said. “Everything was silent at that point with cards and subtitles.”
“He made hundreds (of silent films) before sound came along.”
The studio had a good reputation and is believed to be the first film studio in Hollywood.
Kearney said he hopes the book will shed light on a Hollywood legend from London who has been overlooked for too long.
“It’s amazing, and it’s amazing that a lot of people don’t know him.”
The book is available for purchase on Amazon.
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