George Siegmann
George Siegmann (born February 8, 1882 in New York City , New York , † June 22, 1928 in Hollywood , California ) was an American silent film actor and director , who was above all a sought-after villain actor .
life and career
George Siegmann made his film debut in 1909 in Confidence , directed by David Wark Griffith , with whom he would collaborate on numerous films over the next few years. Griffith cast him as the psychopathic mulatto Silas Lynch in his cinematic milestone The Birth of a Nation , which, however, is also marked by strong racism towards characters like Siegmann's Lynch. Because of his tall, brawny figure, Siegmann was primarily committed to such rogue roles. The following year he played the Persian King Cyrus II in Griffith's second epic intolerance, also directed by Griffith . In The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance , he also served as assistant director. Between 1915 and 1919 he was also his own director of 19 films before he turned back to acting.
He had other well-known appearances as Porthos alongside Douglas Fairbanks in The Three Musketeers (1921) and as Bill Sikes in the 1922 film adaptation of Oliver Twist with Jackie Coogan . He had his last of almost 130 film roles as the cruel surgeon in The Man Who Laughs (1928) by Paul Leni . After Siegmann had survived a car accident seriously injured in 1915, he died in 1928 at the age of only 46 of pernicious anemia . Just a year earlier he had married Maud Darby for the first time.
Filmography (selection)
- 1909: Confidence
- 1909: The Sealed Room
- 1914: The Avenging Conscience: or 'Thou Shalt Not Kill'
- 1915: The Birth of a Nation (The Birth of a Nation)
- 1916 intolerance (Intolerance)
- 1918: Hearts of the World
- 1921: The Three Musketeers (The Three Musketeers)
- 1922: Oliver Twist
- 1923: Scaramouche (Scaramouche)
- 1923: The fairground of life (Merry Go Around)
- 1924: The Castros' Blood Wedding (A Sainted Devil)
- 1924: The Hero Girl of Trenton (Janice Meredith)
- 1925: Zander the Great
- 1927: Spuk im Schloß (The Cat and the Canary)
- 1927: The Red Mill
- 1927: Uncle Tom's Cabin (Uncle Tom's Cabin)
- 1928: The Man Who Laughs
Web links
- George Siegmann in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ David J. Ska (October 15, 2001). The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror. Macmillan. P. 35. ISBN 978-0571199969 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Siegmann, George |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American silent film actor and director |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 8, 1882 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 22, 1928 |
| Place of death | Hollywood , California |