Alfred Clark

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Alfred Clark (born December 19, 1873 in New York City , † June 16, 1950 in Fulmer , Bucks, England) was an American-English pioneer for special effects in the early days of film . He is considered the inventor of the stop trick technique.

Life

He attended the College of the City of New York and the Cooper Union School of Art and Science in New York. He began his career in the music recording industry in 1889 with North American Phonograph , which was disbanded five years later.

He then worked for The Edison Kinetoscope business for a year . In 1895 he was the successor to William KL Dickson at Edison's film studio Black Maria . In the same year he produced The Execution of Mary Stuart and Joan of Arc .

In 1895 he returned to the music industry and worked with Emil Berliner and Eldridge R. Johnson on a sound box (a sound box ). From 1896 he received several patents on inventions for sound reproduction. In 1899 he went to Europe and founded a joint venture with the Gramophone Company (London) in Paris, Cie française du Gramophone . In 1909 he became Managing Director of the Gramophone Company and restructured the business. In 1928 he got British citizenship. At Electric and Musical Industries (EMI) he became company chairman in 1930 , founding chairman in 1931 and chairman and managing director in 1941 . Half a year after he became life president in 1946 , he resigned after a violent uproar on the board of directors.

He was an art lover and patron of George Gray Barnard . He collected Chinese porcelain . His collection, which Edgar Ernest Bluett reported in Apollo Magazine in 1933/34 , and which was presented at the 1935 international art exhibition, was later dissolved by his widow. He was also involved in the Oriental Ceramic Society in London from 1934 to 1948 .

literature

  • Joan M. Marter: The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art , Volume 1, p. 482 ( online )
  • Peter Martland: Recording History: The British Record Industry, 1888-1931 ; P. 30, fn. 31 ( online )
  • Chinese Pottery and Porcelain in the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Clark
  • Blue and White Porcelain from the collection of Mrs Alfred Clark. To be exhibited for sale (...) October 16th - 31st 1974

Filmography

  • 1895: The Execution of Mary Stuart (The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots)
  • 1895: A Frontier Scene
  • 1895: Rescue of Capt. John Smith by Pocahontas
  • 1895: Duel Between Two Historical Characters
  • 1895: Fan Dance
  • 1895: Indian Scalping Scene
  • 1895: Cyclone Dance
  • 1895: Trilby Dance
  • 1895: Umbrella Dance
  • 1895: Joan of Arc

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Clark, Alfred
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American-English pioneer of special effects in the early days of film
DATE OF BIRTH December 19, 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH June 16, 1950
Place of death Fulmer , Bucks, England