1889-07-14 West Point, Mississippi, USA
American silent film comedian whose hugely successful career disappeared virtually overnight, Larry Semon was the son of a traveling vaudeville magician, Zera the Great. He grew up in show business and was trained in stage comedy and acrobatics. A talent for drawing and cartooning led to art school and then work as a cartoonist for various New York City newspapers. The humor evident in his published cartoons prompted executives at New York's Vitagraph Studios to hire him as a gag writer in 1916. He quickly proved himself and was promoted to director for the Hughie Mack series of comedies. His background in magic helped him create interesting new gags for the comedian. When Mack left the studio in 1917, Semon took over the starring role himself. His one-reelers were quite successful, and Vitagraph sent him to California to participate in its new West Coast operation. He produced as well as wrote, starred in and directed his own films, at the same time also producing films for other comics. In the summer of 1928 Semon apparently fell ill with tuberculosis and simultaneously, it seems, suffered a nervous breakdown. He entered a sanitarium near San Bernardino, CA, where he reportedly died on October 8. However, an air of mystery surrounds his death, since his wife (and former co-star) Dorothy Dwan was allowed almost no contact with him and never saw his body, which was ordered cremated after a tightly secured funeral, which was carried out per Semon's "previous instructions" and to which almost no attendees were allowed. The whereabouts of Semon's cremated remains are to this day a mystery, and his widow professed until her death to be mystified by the circumstances of his passing. With enormous financial obligations facing him Larry Semon could easily have considered a dramatic escape of this sort from his creditors. Whether he did, or whether his death was the sad final chapter to a high-rising, briefly brilliant, but ultimately short-lived career may never be known for certain.
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A Simple Sap | It | 1928-02-11 |
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Dummies | The Entertainer | 1928-01-01 |
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Oh, What a Man! | The Detective | 1927-12-04 |
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The Stunt Man | Larry | 1927-10-22 |
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Spuds | Spuds | 1927-04-10 |
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Underworld | Slippy Lewis | 1927-08-20 |
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The Perfect Clown | Bert Larry | 1925-12-14 |
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The Dome Doctor | Peter Pep | 1925-04-18 |
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The Wizard of Oz | Scarecrow | 1925-02-12 |
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Go Straight! | Self | 1925-04-27 |
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The Cloudhopper | Borden Rhoom / Getz A. Bunn | 1925-06-06 |
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Her Boy Friend | Larry, the Chief's son | 1924-09-27 |
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The Girl in the Limousine | Tony | 1924-07-20 |
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Kid Speed | The Speed Kid | 1924-11-16 |
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Trouble Brewing | Government agent | 1924-03-12 |
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Lightning Love | Larry, a Suitor | 1923-10-22 |
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The Midnight Cabaret | Larry, a Waiter | 1923-05-09 |
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The Barnyard | Lay Zee, Farm Hand | 1923-06-11 |
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No Wedding Bells | Larry | 1923-01-09 |
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Horseshoes | Larry | 1923-12-09 |
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The Gown Shop | Larry, a salesman | 1923-08-13 |
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The Counter Jumper | Larry, the Counter Jumper | 1922-12-08 |
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A Pair of Kings | King August / Stranger | 1922-06-10 |
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A Weakend Driver | 1922-05-04 | |
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The Show | The Prop Man / Gentle Onlooker | 1922-03-19 |
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Golf | The son | 1922-09-03 |
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The Sawmill | The Dumb-Bell | 1922-01-01 |
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The Fall Guy | Larry, the Fall Guy | 1921-07-15 |
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The Sportsman | The Sportsman | 1921-01-08 |
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The Bakery | Larry, a Bakery Clerk | 1921-06-19 |
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The Bell Hop | The Bellhop | 1921-09-17 |
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The Rent Collector | Larry, the Rent Collector | 1921-05-22 |
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The Hick | Larry, the Hick | 1921-03-09 |
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The Suitor | The Suitor | 1920-11-01 |
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The Stage Hand | The Stage Hand | 1920-09-20 |
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School Days | Joe | 1920-05-03 |
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The Fly-Cop | The Fly Cop | 1920-03-28 |
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Traps and Tangles | Detective Sparks | 1919-01-19 |
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Between the Acts | Larry, the Handy Man and a Drunkard | 1919-09-07 |
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The Simple Life | A Farmer's Boy | 1919-08-04 |
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Well, I'll Be | The Sheriff | 1919-04-14 |
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Passing the Buck | The House Detective | 1919-05-18 |
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The Head Waiter | The Head Waiter | 1919-12-01 |
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Scamps and Scandals | Larry | 1919-02-16 |
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His Home Sweet Home | The Husband | 1919-07-06 |
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The Star Boarder | Star Boarder / Little Joe, Escaped Convict | 1919-05-26 |
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Dull Care | Larry, a Detective | 1919-10-05 |
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The Grocery Clerk | The Grocery Clerk | 1919-12-01 |
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Dew Drop Inn | Larry, the Detective | 1919-11-02 |
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Pluck and Plotters | The Janitor | 1918-12-22 |
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Dunces and Dangers | Larry | 1918-08-04 |
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Huns and Hyphens | Larry | 1918-09-22 |
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Frauds and Frenzies | Larry, First Prisoner | 1918-11-17 |
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Hindoos and Hazards | Larry | 1918-06-29 |
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Romans and Rascals | Caesar / A Minstrel | 1918-05-27 |
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Bears and Bad Men | Larry Cutshaw | 1918-10-07 |
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Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs | Lawrence | 1918-07-22 |
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Bullies and Bullets | 1917-01-08 | |
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He Never Touched Me | 1917-02-12 | |
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Jolts and Jewelry | 1917-01-15 | |
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Big Bluffs and Bowling Balls | 1917-01-22 | |
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Footlights and Fakers | 1917-03-12 | |
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Somewhere in Any Place | 1917-01-29 | |
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Tough Luck and Tin Lizzies | Larry | 1917-10-22 |
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Gall and Golf | O.U. Dubb | 1917-09-03 |
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Turks and Troubles | 1917-03-26 | |
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Plagues And Puppy Love | Larry | 1917-10-01 |
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Risks and Roughnecks | Our Hero | 1917-09-17 |
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Walls and Wallops | 1916-11-13 |
