Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 545
- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Actor
A. George Smith was born on 31 July 1875 in Foulsham, Norfolk, England, UK. He was a producer and actor, known for The Feathered Serpent (1934), Easy Riches (1938) and When the Devil Was Well (1937). He was married to Pauline Peters. He died on 30 March 1957 in Johannesburg, South Africa.- A. Roy Knabenshue was born on 15 July 1875 in Lancaster, Ohio, USA. He died on 6 March 1960 in Temple City, California, USA.
- Aage Bjørnbak was born on 16 February 1875 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was an actor, known for Valdemar Sejr (1910), Ansigttyven I (1910) and Greven af Luxemburg (1910). He died on 18 June 1913.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Abundio Martínez was born on 8 February 1875 in Huichapan, Hidalgo, Mexico. Abundio is known for El tango vuelve a París (1948), El buena suerte (1961) and A Quixote Without La Mancha (1969). Abundio died on 27 April 1914 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico.- Adabelle Driver was born on 6 December 1875 in Settle, North Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Twisted Rails (1934), The Dream Melody (1929) and The Fighting Terror (1929). She was married to Major William Driver. She died on 23 October 1952 in South San Gabriel, California, USA.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Adolph Tandler was born on 2 November 1875 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was a composer, known for Scarface (1932), The Aviator (2004) and Queen Kelly (1932). He died on 30 September 1953 in Eagle Rock, California, USA.- Agis Winding was born on 19 September 1875 in Århus, Denmark. She was an actress, known for Nøddebo præstegaard (1934), Naar bønder elsker (1942) and Love in Exile (1923). She was married to Erik Schall Holberg, Andreas Winding and Andreas Bertram Ludvig Camillo Larssen. She died on 31 January 1943.
- Agnes Mowinckel was born on 25 August 1875 in Bergen, Norway. She was an actress, known for Farende folk (1922), Proletargeniet (1914) and Kunstnerforeningen 100 år (1961). She died on 1 April 1963 in Oslo, Norway.
- Actress
Aino Haverinen was born on 10 May 1875 in Sortavala, Finland. She was an actress, known for Juha (1937), Syyllisiäkö? (1938) and Tulitikkuja lainaamassa (1938). She was married to Jonas Arno Arvi Niska and Kaarlo Juhana Halonen. She died on 28 May 1943.- Al Hart was born on 6 December 1875 in Liverpool, England, UK. He was an actor, known for As No Man Has Loved (1925), The Power and the Glory (1918) and The Beautiful Mrs. Reynolds (1918). He was married to Rose ?. He died on 10 January 1940 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Alan Stainer was born on 30 April 1875 in Guildford, Surrey, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Murder! (1930). He died on 6 August 1955 in East Molesey, Surrey, England, UK.
- Additional Crew
- Producer
- Cinematographer
Pioneering film producer and studio executive Albert E. Smith was born in Favershem, County Kent, England, on June 4, 1875, the son of a gardener. There were nine children in the Smith family--Albert, seven brothers and a sister--and when he was three years old the entire family emigrated to the US, eventually settling in Santa Barbara, CA. After a series of uneventful jobs, he took up a career as an illusionist, calling himself "The King of Entertainers". He eventually hooked up with another expatriate Brit, J. Stuart Blackton, and they formed an act and took it on the road. It was somewhat successful, but didn't offer quite the rewards they had envisioned. He and Blackton saw the potential in the burgeoning motion-picture business, and together with William T. Rock they formed the Vitagraph Company of America to produce and distribute films. While Blackton was the production head--involving himself in casting, writing, producing, directing, and pretty much every aspect of filmmaking--Smith largely confined himself to the financial end of the company, although he did on occasion assist Blackton in the actual filmmaking process. It was as a financial wizard that Smith was of greatest help to Vitagraph, however, and he developed a reputation as a savvy--some even described him as ruthless--businessman (Mary Pickford once met with Smith to discuss the possibility of her signing with Vitagraph, but she took such a dislike to him that she stormed out of the meeting shortly after it began). Smith's foresight and business acumen helped build Vitagraph into the premier motion-picture studio of the early silent era.
In 1925 Vitagraph was sold to Warner Brothers and, for all practical purposes, Smith retired. Married three times--the last to Jean Paige--Smith died in Hollywood on August 1, 1958.- Albert Hetényi-Heidelberg was born on 18 April 1875 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was a composer, known for Miss Iza (1933), Fixírozzák a feleségem (1914) and Szökik a nöm! (1915). He died on 5 July 1951 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Actor
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Albert Schweitzer was born on January 14, 1875, in Kaysersberg, near Strasbourg, Elsass-Lothringen, Germany (now in Alsace, France). His father and both grandfathers were pastors and organists. His family had been devoted to education, religion and music for generations.
Schweitzer took music lessons from his grandfather, a church organist. He spoke German and French in his bilingual Alsace family, and later added English to his studies. From 1893-1899 he studied philosophy and theology at the University of Strasbourg, University of Berlin and the Sorbonne. In 1899 he completed a doctorate dissertation on the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. From 1905-1912 he studied medicine in Strasbourg and Paris, and received his MD degree in tropical medicine and surgery in 1912.
From the age of 9 Schweitzer started regular performances of organ music in his father's church and continued his organ recitals until the age of 89. In 1905 he wrote a biography of Johann Sebastian Bach, in French, then he rewrote and updated the Bach book--in German--in 1908, the version considered definitive. Schweitzer also published a book on organ building and playing in 1906. He was involved in the restoration of many valuable historic organs worldwide, including construction of the organ at his hospital in Lambarene, where he played music for his patients. He was described as the doctor who returns health to ill people and music to old organs. Albert Schweitzer made notable organ recordings of Bach's music in the 1940s and 1950s. Schweitzer based his interpretation on his profound knowledge of personality, education, religious and social life of Bach.
In 1905 he began his medical studies at the University of Strasbourg, because he decided to go to Africa as a medical doctor rather than a pastor. His medical knowledge was in urgent need during an epidemic of sleeping sickness there. In 1913 he obtained his MD degree, but was turned down by the Paris Missionary Society because his very liberal views of Christ's teachings did not conform to the Society's orthodox beliefs. Schweitzer and his wife went to Lambarene, French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon), and started a hospital in a tent, gradually adding rooms for special cases of sleeping sickness, leprosy, paediatrics and surgery. After his release from French internment Schweitzer practiced medicine in Strasbourg from 1918-1923. In 1924 he returned to his hospital in Lambarene, which was to be restored after years of decay during his absence. There his medical practice included paediatrics, infectious diseases and epidemiology, as well as surgery and traumatology. His versatility in medicine helped to save many thousands of lives. Schweitzer donated his royalties from public performances and book publications to the hospital, which expanded to 500 beds by the 1950s. "Everyone must have his 'Lambarene'", said Schweitzer.
Schweitzer gained great reputation for writing "The Quest of the Historical Jesus" (1906). He was acclaimed for his two concise books on in 1905-1908. In 1917 Schweitzer and his wife were arrested by the French administration in Africa for being Germans, and sent to a French internment camp at the St. Remy mental institution. There Schweitzer was kept at the same room where Vincent Van Gogh lived before his suicide. The Schweitzers were prisoners of war until the end of the First World War in 1918. After his release Schweitzer gave a major speech about his "Reverence for Life" (1920). He spent six years in Europe and published "The Decay and the Restoration of Civilization" (1923) and "Civilization and Ethics" (1923), which he drafted during his captivity in St. Remy.
Schweitzer saved lives by his medical work, by writing and teaching and by advocating for peace and nuclear control. He admittedly followed the similar line as that of the Russian humanitarian and writer Lev Tolstoy. As the founder of a free public hospital, a writer and humanitarian, Schweitzer became the leading proponent of accessible medicine for all. He was also involved in the foundation of the Goethe Institute. From 1952 until his death Schweitzer worked against nuclear weapons together with Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russell. On December 10, 1953, Schweitzer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He donated his prize money to build a leprosy clinic in Lambarene. In 1957 Schweitzer co-founded The Committee for a sane Nuclear Policy.
As it was told, many girls adored Schweitzer, but Helene Bresslau offered him thoughtful partnership and practicality instead of flattery. Schweitzer and Helen began their relationship in 1898, as students. In many hundreds of their letters they only once used the word "love". Schweitzer called his medical work "the religion of love, actually put into practice." The disapproval, conservatism and shallowness of many Christian friends and even his own father did not stop him from his career change to medicine in 1905. Only Helene Bresslau understood him. In 1912 Schweitzer married her before they went to Equatorial Africa. It was a passionate, profound joining of souls. She trained as a nurse and became his assistant in medical work, in writing and in international public service. Their daughter, Rhena, was born in 1919, she later became the lab analyst at her father's hospital in Africa. His cousin Anne-Marie Schweitzer was the mother of Jean-Paul Sartre, who called Schweitzer 'Uncle Al'.
Schweitzer was a multifaceted person, a true Renessance man. He was a doctor, a pastor, a teacher, a writer, a musician, a father and husband, an international lecturer and the leading proponent of peace, all at the same time. He admired all people as brothers and sisters. His openness and helpfulness to strangers was disarming and ennobling. He was learning from simple people through his entire life, being himself patient, modest and humble. "Why are you traveling in the 4th class?" some official asked him - "Because there is no 5th class", answered Schweitzer.
His humor was legendary. His look resembled that of his friend Albert Einstein. Once on a train he was asked by two schoolgirls, "Dr. Einstein, will you give us your autograph?" He did not want to disappoint them, so he signed their autograph book: "Albert Einstein, by his friend Albert Schweitzer."
He died on September 4, 1965, in the hospital, which he founded in 1913, and was laid to rest in the ground of his hospital in Lambarene, Gabon.- Composer
- Soundtrack
Albert W. Ketèlbey was born on 9 August 1875 in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK. He was a composer, known for The Curse of the Jade Scorpion (2001), New York Stories (1989) and Som du vill ha mej (1943). He was married to Mabel Maud Pritchett and Charlotte Siegenberg. He died on 26 November 1959 in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, UK.- Albert Whelan was born on 5 May 1875 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor, known for Educated Evans (1936), Thank Evans (1938) and Dance Band (1935). He died on 19 February 1961 in London, England, UK.
- Aldrich Bowker was born on 1 January 1875 in Ashby, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Nancy Drew... Trouble Shooter (1939), Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) and Susan and God (1940). He died on 21 March 1947 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Edward Alexander "Aleister" Crowley was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, philosopher, professional writer, and self-proclaimed prophet. In his youth, Crowley joined the occult organization Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1887-1903), where he received much of his training in theurgy and ceremonial magic. In 1904, Crowley established his own religion: Thelema (Greek for "the will"). He had supposedly received a divine revelation from an angel. Crowley believed that humans should strive to overcome both their desires and their socially-instilled inhibitions in order to find out the true purpose of their respective lives. Several of Crowley's religious ideas went on to influence Wicca, the practice of chaos magick, Satanism, and Scientology.
In 1875, Crowley was born in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire to a wealthy family. His father was the retired engineer Edward Crowley (1829-1887), who was 46-years-old at the time of Crowley's birth. Edward had grown wealthy due to being the partial owner of a successful brewery. Cowley's mother was Emily Bertha Bishop (1848-1917), a member of a somewhat prominent family whose members lived in both Devonshire and Somerset.
Crowley's parents were converts of the Plymouth Brethren, a Christian fundamentalist movement whose members believed that the Bible is the only authority for church doctrine and practice. Crowley received his early education at an evangelical boarding school located in Hastings. He was then send to the Ebor preparatory school in Cambridge. The boy grew to hate the abusive Reverend Henry d'Arcy Champney, who inflicted sadistic punishments on his students. Crowley eventually dropped out of this school, due to health problems. The boy had developed albuminuria, a urine disease.
By the time he was 12, Crowley was skeptical about Christianity and its teachings. Years of bible study had resulted in Crowley realizing and memorizing the inconsistencies in the Bible. He eagerly pointed these to his religious teachers. In his teen years, Crowley largely rejected Christian morality. He felt the need to satisfy his sexual urges, and did not view this need as immoral. He received college lessons in chemistry, and started writing poetry as a hobby. In his early 20s, Crowley was also a chess enthusiast, and an increasingly skilled mountaineer. In 1894, Crowley joined the Scottish Mountaineering Club. In 1895, Crowley climbed the peaks of five mountains in the Bernese Alps.
By 1895, Crowley started using his nickname "Aleister" as his legal name. From 1895 to 1898, Crowley attended Trinity College, Cambridge. He studied primarily philosophy and literature. He was the president of the local chess club, and briefly considered pursuing a career as a professional chess player. In 1896, Crowley had his first sexual experience with another man while vacationing in Stockholm, Sweden. He would later embrace his bisexuality. He had sexual sexual relationships with various men while living in Cambridge, though such activities were illegal in Victorian England. In 1897, Crowley started a romantic relationship with the on-stage female impersonator (drag queen) Herbert Charles Pollitt (1871-1942). They eventually broke up because Pollitt refused to join his boyfriend in his studies of mysticism and occultism. Crowley later wrote several texts concerning his lifelong regrets about ending his relationship with Pollitt.
In 1898, Crowley dropped out of Cambridge. He maintained excellent grades, but he lost interest in actually pursuing a degree. Also in 1898, Crowley published two volumes of his poems. Shortly after leaving Cambridge, the novice occultist Crowley started hanging out with members of the occultist organization Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1887-1903). He was formally initiated into the organization in November 1898. His initiation ritual was performed by the organization's de facto leader, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854 -1918). Crowley grew to consider Mathers to be an ineffectual leader.
In the late 1890s, Crowley received training in ceremonial magic by more experienced members of the Golden Dawn. He was fascinated with the ritual use of drugs. He rose through the organization's ranks, but was soon refused entry into the group's inner Second Order. The openly bisexual and libertine Crowley was disliked by several conservative members of the organization. Crowley had started a feud with a fellow member, the Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). Yeats' friends resented Crowley.
A schism eventually started within the Golden Dawn, between Mathers' supporters and the members who disliked Mathers' autocratic policies. Crowley chose to support Mathers, and tried to take over one of the organization's temples in the name of Mathers. The dispute resulted in a court case between the rival factions of the Golden Dawn, over ownership of the temple. Mathers lost the court case, and Crowley started being treated as a pariah by members of the winning faction.
In 1900, Crowley decided to migrate to Mexico. He settled in Mexico City, where he experimented with the Enochian invocations of the famed occultist and alchemist John Dee (1527-1608/1609). His mountaineering activities led him to reach the top of several Mexican mountains, such as Iztaccihuatl, Popocatepetl, and Colima. After leaving Mexico, Crowley started traveling the world in search of new experiences. He visited California, Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, and France. Crowley took part in a failed mountaineering expedition that attempted to reach the peak of K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth. The expedition reached an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,100 meters). They abandon the attempt to reach the peak, as Crowley and several other expedition members were suffering from malaria.
In August 1903, Crowley married Rose Edith Kelly (1874-1932), the sister of one of his close friends. It was a marriage of convenience, not love. Rose wanted to escape an arranged marriage, and was fleeing from domineering family members. Her brother viewed the marriage as a personal betrayal by Crowley. The couple took an extended honeymoon. In February 1904, the couple settled in Cairo Egypt. Crowley started invoking ancient Egyptian deities in magical ceremonies. He also took the opportunity to study Islamic mysticism.
In early April 1904, Crowley started listening to the disembodied voice of the angel Aiwass. It supposedly delivered to Crowley messages from the god Horus, concerning a new age for humanity. Crowley recorded his divine revelations in "The Book of the Law", the first publication of Thelema. The disembodied voice supposedly also requested a number of difficult tasks from Crowley, who simply chose to ignore them as unreasonable demands.
In 1905, Crowley returned to his private estate in Scotland, for the first time in several years. He renounced his former mentor Mathers, as Crowley was convinced that the old man was conspiring against him. Crowley established his own printing company, the "Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth". He chose the name to mock a Christian charity organization, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1698-). The primary purpose of the company was the promotion of Crowley's literary works. By this point, Crowley was relatively famous as a poet. Several of his poems were favorably received by critics, but they never sold well.
Crowley soon resumed world traveling. He led a failed mountaineering expedition to climb the mountain Kanchenjunga in Nepal. Crowley faced a mutiny over his reckless behavior during the expedition. He returned to India, then made an extended tour of Southern China. He also visited Hanoi in Vietnam. He worked on a new ritual while in China, invoking his Holy Guardian Angel. He proceeded to travel through Japan and Canada, and visited New York City in a failed effort to secure funding for a new mountaineering expedition.
Crowley's return to the United Kingdom came with a nasty surprise for him. He learned that his first-born daughter Lilith Crowley had died of typhoid fever during his absence. He also realized that his wife Rose was struggling with alcoholism, and that she was probably not fit to be a parent. His own health was failing at the time, and he underwent a series of surgical operations.
In 1907, Crowley started regularly using hashish in his magic rituals. In 1909, he published an essay concerning the mystical aspects of hashish use. He published several books concerning the occult during the late 1900s. The family fortune which he had inherited was running out at the time, and he tried to secure additional funds. At one point, Crowley was hired by George Montagu Bennett, the Earl of Tankerville, to protect him from evil witchcraft. Crowley realized that Tankerville was a cocaine-addict suffering from paranoia, so Crowley just improvised a drug rehabilitation project for his employer.
In 1908, Crowley realized that horror short stories were selling much better than poetry. So he published a series of his own horror stories. He also became a regular writer for a weekly magazine, the so-called "Vanity Fair" (1868-1914). In 1909, Crowley established his own magazine, "The Equinox" (1909-1998). The magazine specialized in texts about occultism and magick, but also regularly published poetry, prose fiction, and biographies.
In 1909, Crowley divorced his wife Rose, as he was fed-up with her drinking binges. Rose was institutionalized in 1911.In November 1909, Crowley started a long journey through the deserts of Algeria. He chose to recite the Quran on a daily basis while living in the desert. At one point, Crowley offered a blood sacrifice to the demon Choronzon while still in Algeria. He returned to London in January 1910, to find that his old mentor Mather was suing him for publishing secret texts of the defunct Golden Dawn. Crowley both won the court case, and enjoyed the publicity which the case brought him. The yellow press was portraying him as a Satanist, and Crowley found it amusing to embrace various stereotypes about Satanism at the time.
In 1910, Crowley organized the Rites of Artemis, a public performance of magic and symbolism. All the performers were associates and followers of Crowley. The celebrations received favorable reviews from the press. The encouraged Crowley soon organized the Rites of Eleusis in Westminster, but this performance received mostly negative reviews. There were press reports at the time that Crowley was homosexual, but the authorities made no attempt to arrest him. Crowley devoted the next couple of years to his writing activities, completing 19 works on magic and mysticism in this period. He also continued publishing poetry and fiction.
In 1912, Crowley published the magical book "The Book of Lies", one of his best-reviewed works. Crowley found himself accused of plagiarizing the works of the German occultist Theodor Reuss (1855-1923), based on the similarities between their ideas. Crowley managed to convince Reuss that the similarities were coincidental, and befriended Reuss in the process. Crowley was then initiated in Reuss' own occult organization, the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). With Reuss' permission, Crowley established a British branch of the organization and completely rewrote most of the organization's rituals. OTO was practicing sex magic, and Crowley liked that idea.
In 1913, Crowley served as the producer for a group of female violinists. Primarily because the group's leader was a close friend and lover of Crowley. He followed them during 6 weeks of performances in Moscow, Russia. Crowley wrote several new works while in Moscow. In January 1914, Crowley and his long-term lover Victor Neuburg settled together in a Parisian apartment. The couple experimented with sex magic rituals, which involved the use of strong drugs. At the time, Crowley regularly invoked the Roman gods Jupiter and Mercury in his new rituals. Noticing that Neuburg had started distancing himself from Crowley by the end of their vacation in Paris, Crowley had an intense argument with him and ritually cursed Neuburg.
By 1914, Crowley was nearly bankrupt. He financially depended on donation by his followers. In May 1914, he transferred the ownership of his estate in Scotland. Later that year, Crowley suffered from a bout of phlebitis. Following his recovery, he decided to migrate to the United States for financial reasons. He settled in New York City, where he became a regular writer for the American version of the magazine "Vanity Fair" (1913-1936). He continued experimenting with sex magic while living in the Big Apple.
During World War I, Crowley declared his support for the German Empire against the British Empire. His sympathies were possibly influenced by his German friends in the OTO. In 1915, Crowley was hired as a writer for the propagandist newspaper "The Fatherland", which championed German interests in the United States. Crowley left New York City for a while, going on an extended tour of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. He visited Vancouver to make contact with the local variation of the OTO. Crowley spend part of the winter of 1916 in New Orleans, which was his favorite American city. In February 1917, Crowley headed to Florida for a family reunion with a number of his evangelical Christian relatives who had settled there.
Later in 1917, Crowley returned to New York City. He struggled with unemployment, as several of the newspapers and magazines which had previously hired him had shut down. In 1918, Crowley worked on a new translation of the Taoist book "Tao Te Ching". At the time, Crowley claimed to have started experiencing past life memories. Fueled by his belief in reincarnation, Crowley proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of Pope Alexander VI/Rodrigo de Borja (1431-1503, term 1492-1503). Having more free time than usual while living in Greenwich Village, Crowley found a new hobby in painting. He exhibited several of his painting at a local literary club, and attracted some attention from the local press.
In 1919, the impoverished Crowley moved back to London. The local press labeled a traitor for his Germanophile tendencies. He was suffering from asthma attacks at the time. An English doctor prescribed a supposedly miraculous drug for Crowley, which promised to cure his asthma. The drug was actually heroine, and was highly addictive. Crowley developed a drug addiction. In January 1920, Crowley moved to the Parisian apartment of his lover Leah Hirsig. While there, he started efforts to establish a new organization, the Abbey of Thelema. He named it after a fictional organization which had appeared in the works of Francois Rabelais (c. 1483-1553).
In April 1920, Crowley settled in Sicily with a number of his supporters and their families. They established the Abbey of Thelema. They established daily rituals for the sun god Ra. Crowley offered a libertine education for the children of his followers, and allowed them to witness sex magic rituals. The organization soon attracted new followers, but Crowley's drug addiction was increasingly out of control. In 1922, Crowley published the autobiographical novel "Diary of a Drug Fiend". The British press criticized it for supposedly promoting the use of drugs.
In 1923, Crowley was at the center of an international scandal. A young Thelemite follower died from a liver infection, after drinking polluted water. His widow published stories of the unsanitary conditions in the Abbey, and of self-harm rituals which Crowley had created for his followers. The international press published scathing stories for Crowley. Benito Mussolini, the fascist Prime Minister of Italy (1883-1945, term 1922-1943) decided to deport Crowley in April 1923. The Abbey was not officially targeted by the fascist government, but it soon collapsed due to its lack of leadership. There was no way to attract more followers of Crowley to Sicily without using Crowley's physical presence as a tool for recruitment.
In self-exile in Tunis during much of 1923, Crowley started working on his autobiography, "The Confessions of Aleister Crowley". In January 1924, Crowley moved back to France in preparation for a series of nasal operations. For the next few years, Crowley spend part of each year in Tunis and part of each year in France. He wrote a few significant works at the time, though some of his personal relationships deteriorated.
In the mid-1920s, Crowley declared himself to be the new leader of the OTO, following the death of Reuss. His right to leadership was questioned by other candidate leaders,. The OTO soon split itself to several rival factions, each proclaiming itself to be the true continuation of the original organization. In 1928, Crowley was deported from France. Due to Crowley's past loyalty to the German Empire, the French authorities worried that he may be a German agent.
In 1929, Crowley moved back to the United Kingdom. He secured a book deal with Mandrake Press, which agreed to publish his autobiography and several works of prose fiction. The Great Depression negatively affected Crowley. In November 1930, Mandrake went into liquidation. Crowley was left with no regular published for his works, and no regular source of income. Crowley spend part of the year 1930 in Berlin, Germany, where his expressionistic paintings were displayed in a gallery. His works gained favorable press reviews, but few of them were actually sold. Painting was not a profitable occupation for Crowley.
In January 1932, Crowley started socializing with German communists and other far left figures in Berlin, despite having never previously expressed any interest in their ideologies. Some of his biographers suspect that Crowley was merely acting as a spy for British intelligence at this time. Later that year, he returned to London for another nasal surgery. In desperate need of money, Crowley launched a series of court cases for libel against his perceived enemies. The litigation proved more expensive than he expected, and he was declared bankrupt in February 1935. The bankruptcy case revealed that Crowley's expenses over the past few years had far exceeded his income.
In 1936, Crowley published "The Equinox of the Gods". It was his first new book in half a decade, and sold unusually well. Crowley also managed to secure funding from the Agape Lodge, a Californian splinter faction of the OTO. His benefactor was the Lodge's de facto leader, the rocket engineer Jack Parsons (1914-1952). Crowley was concerned at the time about the disestablishment of the German faction of the OTO, whose members faced persecution by the Nazi Party. Several of Crowley's German friends had been arrested, and others had fled the country.
During World War II, Crowley was closely associated with the British intelligence community. His biographers are uncertain whether he was working as a British agent, or merely assisting actual agents. Among Crowley's close associates during the War were two fellow British writers who were working as intelligence agents: Roald Dahl (1916-1990) and Ian Fleming (1908-1964). Crowley supposedly helped create a new war slogan for the BBC, called "V for Victory". His asthma attacks worsened during the war, in part because the medication he needed was unavailable. He was briefly hospitalized in Torquay. Among Crowley's last published works was a wartime book about the concept of human rights.
On December 1, 1947, Crowley died due to chronic bronchitis, aggravated by pleurisy. He was 72-years-old at the time of his death. Despite Crowley maintaining several friendly and professional contacts during the last years of his life, only about a dozen people bothered to attend his funeral. His body was cremated, and his ashes were delivered to the next leader of the OTO, Karl Gemer. Gemer was living at the time in exile in the United States. Gemer buried Crowley's ashes in a garden located in Hampton, New Jersey. Crowley remains one of the most famous and influential occultists of his era, thought the nature of his legacy remains a controversial topic. - Producer
Alfred P. Sloan was born on 23 May 1875 in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. He was a producer. He died on 17 February 1966 in New York City, New York, USA.- Alfred Rittig was born on 5 March 1875 in Víden, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He is known for Karel Havlícek Borovský (1931) and Písnickár (1932).
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Alfredo De Antoni was born on 14 July 1875 in Piedmont, Italy. He was an actor and director, known for Il processo Clémenceau (1917), Malìa (1917) and Maman Colibrì (1918). He died on 3 December 1953 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.- Alfréd Drasche Lázár was born on 15 June 1875 in Dorog, Austrian empire [now Hungary]. He was a writer, known for Tüzpróba (1918). He died on 28 August 1949 in Meyerhofen, Austria.
- Alice Berend was born on 30 June 1875 in Berlin, Germany. She was a writer, known for Frau Hempels Tochter (1919), Ich will Dich Liebe lehren (1933) and Die Bräutigame der Babette Bomberling (1927). She died on 2 April 1938 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.
- Alice Hetsey was born on 3 September 1875 in Vienna, Austria. She was an actress, known for Die Geheimnisse von London - Die Tragödie eines Kindes (1920), Der Fluch (1925) and Der Gardeoffizier (1927). She died on 11 February 1939 in Vienna, Austria.
- Alois Tichý was born on 1 June 1875 in Chrudim, Cechy, Austria-Hungary [now Czech Republic]. He was an actor, known for Aloisuv los (1919), Za svobodu národa (1920) and Tanecnice (1920). He died on 14 January 1922 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Amadeu Amaral was born on 6 November 1875 in Capivari, São Paulo, Brazil. He was an actor, known for Alma do Brasil (1931). He died on 24 October 1929 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Writer
- Actor
- Script and Continuity Department
Anatoli Lunacharsky was born on 24 November 1875 in Poltava, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. He was a writer and actor, known for Salamander (1928), Slesar i kantsler (1924) and Congestion (1918). He died on 26 December 1933 in Menton, France.- Writer
- Director
Andor Garvay was born on 13 August 1875 in Máramarossziget, Hungary, Austria-Hungary. Andor was a writer and director, known for Növérek (1912), A végzetes nyakék (1913) and Nöstényfarkas (1919). Andor died on 8 April 1927 in the USA.- Andor Kardos was born on 1 May 1875 in Nagyvárad, Hungary. He was an actor, known for Az utolsó hajnal (1917), Alraune (1919) and Cox és Box (1915). He died on 18 March 1938 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Ann Stephenson was born on 6 March 1875 in Germany. She was an actress, known for Tony Draws a Horse (1950), Armchair Theatre (1956) and Television World Theatre (1957). She was married to Allan R. Macbeth and A.B. Imeson. She died on 25 December 1968 in Paignton, Devon, England, UK.
- Anna Larssen Bjørner was born on 12 September 1875 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She was married to Sigurd Bjørner and Jens Otto Gyntelberg Larssen. She died on 6 March 1955 in Vedbæk, Denmark.
- Anna von Palen was born on 26 May 1875 in Perleberg, Germany. She was an actress, known for Das Klima von Vancourt (1917), Die Glocken der Katharinenkirche (1918) and Wenn das Herz in Haß erglüht (1917). She died on 27 January 1939 in Berlin, Germany.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Anni Swan was born on 4 January 1875 in Helsinki, Finland. She was a writer, known for Olli's Apprenticeship (1920), Tottisalmen perillinen (1940) and Pikku Suorasuu (1962). She was married to Otto Manninen. She died on 24 March 1958 in Helsinki, Finland.- Antal Farkas was born on 13 September 1875 in Szentes, Austria-Hungary [now Hungary]. He was a writer, known for Jön az öcsém (1919). He died on 28 September 1940 in Budapest, Hungary.
- Antonio Gandusio was born on 29 July 1875 in Rovigno, Künstenland, Austria-Hungary [now Rovinj, Istria, Croatia]. He was an actor, known for Eravamo 7 sorelle (1939), For Men Only (1938) and Il nostro prossimo (1943). He died on 23 May 1951 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy.
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Younger brother of Manuel Machado (1874-1947), with whom he co-wrote several collections of poems. One of Spain's most important poets of the first decades of the 20th Century. His most famous collection of poems, Campos de Castilla, contains writings dating between 1907 and 1917, depicting the Castillan peasant as exemplary for the Spanish perception of God, creation and judgment. His later poems reflect the poet's profound sadness about war - World War I and, of course, the Spanish Civil War. He died on the eve of World War II.- Ardelia Palmer was born on 19 August 1875 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, USA. She was married to William Lewis Collins Palmer. She died on 6 June 1968 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, USA.
- Armand Lurville was born on 21 March 1875 in Paris, France. He was an actor, known for The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), La dame aux camélias (1934) and Messieurs les ronds de cuir (1936). He died on 25 September 1955 in Paris, France.
- Actor
- Producer
Arnold Daly was born on 4 October 1875 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for My Own United States (1918), The Exploits of Elaine (1914) and The New Exploits of Elaine (1915). He was married to Mary Blythe (remarried) and Mary Blythe (actress). He died on 13 January 1927 in New York City, New York, USA.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Arrigo Frusta was born on 26 November 1875 in Turin, Italy. He was a writer and director, known for Othello (1914), Grenadier Roland (1911) and La bisbetica domata (1913). He died in 1965 in Turin, Italy.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Arthur A. Penn was born on 13 February 1875 in London, England, UK. He was a composer, known for Smilin' Through (1922), Lorna Doone (1922) and Young Eagles (1930). He died on 6 February 1941 in New London, Connecticut, USA.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Arthur Bergen was born on 24 October 1875 in Germany. He was an actor and director, known for Erinnerungen einer Nonne (1927), Frühere Verhältnisse (1927) and Das Lebenslied (1926). He died in 1943.- Arthur Bernardes was born on 8 August 1875 in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. He died on 23 March 1955 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- Arthur Chesney Train was born on 6 September 1875 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He was a writer, known for The Blind Goddess (1926), Rose of the South (1916) and Illusion (1929). He died on 22 December 1945 in the USA.
- Arthur Conquest was born on 7 October 1875 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Tinctures of Iron (1914), Bluebeard (1902) and Whitewashing the Ceiling (1914). He was married to Lottie [Charlotte] Hallett (actress). He died on 6 December 1945 in London, England, UK.
- Arthur Currie was born on 5 December 1875 in Napperton, Ontario, Canada. He died on 30 November 1933 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- Arthur Metcalfe was born on 18 December 1875 in Fulham, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Seven Days Leave (1930), Dead Man's Curve (1928) and Pants (1917). He died on 1 October 1960 in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, England, UK.
- Arthur Poole was born on 19 April 1875 in Hackney, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Phantom Picture (1916), The Green Terror (1919) and The Girl Who Wrecked His Home (1916). He died on 15 December 1964 in Brighton, Sussex, England, UK.
- Arthur T. Mason was born on 7 February 1875 in Hulme Walfield, Cheshire, England, UK. He was a writer, known for A Dear Fool (1921). He died on 13 May 1941 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK.
- Arthur Wontner (1875-1960), the critics' choice. "No better "Sherlock Holmes" than Arthur Wontner is likely to be seen and heard in pictures, in our time... The keen, worn, kindly face and quiet prescient smile are out of the very pages of the book", Vincent Starrett's 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'.
Arthur Wontner made his first stage appearance in 1897 and his first film 18 years later. Best-known today for his characterization of "Sherlock Holmes" in five films produced between 1931 and 1938, some Holmes aficionados prefer Wontner's studious interpretation to the more aggressive, energetic portrayals of Basil Rathbone. Ironically, Wontner landed the role on the strength of his performance in the 1930 stage production, Sexton Blake, based on a pulp-fiction character who'd been created as a Sherlock Holmes imitation. In later years, he played several small but memorable character roles, such as the elderly automobile fancier in Genevieve (1953).
Wontner was fifty-six when he made his first Sherlock Holmes film, "Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour" (actually called Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour (1931) in England). The story was based on "The Final Problem", but with some liberal rearranging. Norman McKinnel played "Moriarty" in this movie but would be replaced by Lyn Harding ("Dr. Grimesby Roylott" in Doyle's play, "The Speckled Band") for the others in the series. "The Missing Rembrandt" (based on "Charles Augustus Milverton") and "The Sign of Four" would be the next two films with Wonter.
For the final two, he would be pitted against "Professor Moriarty". The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935) was from "The Valley of Fear", and last up was Murder at the Baskervilles (1937). Apparently, the studio had difficulty in making the short story fill out to a feature-length film, as both "Moriarty" and "Henry Baskerville" are added to the movie. Strangely enough, though made in 1937, it wasn't released in the U.S. until 1941, when Basil Rathbone had already made The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939). To cash in on the success of that film, Wontner's movie was retitled "Murder at the Baskervilles".
Two actors played "Watson": Ian Hunter in The Sign of Four: Sherlock Holmes' Greatest Case (1932) and Ian Fleming, an Australian actor, who played "Watson" as "nice but dim". Of the five Holmes movies Wontner made, three were for Twickenham Studios, a low-budget production company. "Silver Blaze" and "The Sign of Four" were made by ARP. However, one of the films, Sherlock Holmes and the Missing Rembrandt (1932), is lost. Sherlock Holmes' Fatal Hour (1931) was unobtainable for decades, but it turned up on an American video dealer's list and was shown at the annual film evening in November 2000. It was very appropriate because it was first shown to the Society by Tony Howlett at the very first film evening in 1951, when Arthur Wontner, himself, was present.
The Society has the other three movies on film, "The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes", "Silver Blaze" and "The Sign of Four".
(This biography is used with the kind permission of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London.)