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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The Stunt Man | Larry | 1927-10-22 |
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Spuds | Spuds | 1927-04-10 |
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Oh, What a Man! | The Detective | 1927-12-04 |
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Underworld | Slippy Lewis | 1927-08-20 |
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The Wizard of Oz | Scarecrow / Toymaker | 1925-02-12 |
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The Dome Doctor | Peter Pep | 1925-04-18 |
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The Perfect Clown | Bert Larry | 1925-12-14 |
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The Cloudhopper | Borden Rhoom / Getz A. Bunn | 1925-06-06 |
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Go Straight! | Self | 1925-04-27 |
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The Girl in the Limousine | Tony | 1924-07-20 |
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Her Boy Friend | Larry, the Chief's son | 1924-09-27 |
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Trouble Brewing | Government agent | 1924-03-12 |
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Kid Speed | The Speed Kid | 1924-11-16 |
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Horseshoes | Larry | 1923-12-09 |
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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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The Gown Shop | Larry, a salesman | 1923-08-13 |
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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 Counter Jumper | Larry, the Counter Jumper | 1922-12-08 |
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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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A Pair of Kings | King August / Stranger | 1922-06-10 |
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The Bakery | Larry, a Bakery Clerk | 1921-06-19 |
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The Sportsman | The Sportsman | 1921-01-08 |
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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 Fall Guy | Larry, the Fall Guy | 1921-07-15 |
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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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The Fly-Cop | The Fly Cop | 1920-03-28 |
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School Days | Joe | 1920-05-03 |
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Dull Care | Larry, a Detective | 1919-10-05 |
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Passing the Buck | The House Detective | 1919-05-18 |
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Between the Acts | Larry, the Handy Man and a Drunkard | 1919-09-07 |
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Traps and Tangles | Detective Sparks | 1919-01-19 |
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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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Well, I'll Be | The Sheriff | 1919-04-14 |
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His Home Sweet Home | The Husband | 1919-07-06 |
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The Simple Life | A Farmer's Boy | 1919-08-04 |
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Dew Drop Inn | Larry, the Detective | 1919-11-02 |
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The Grocery Clerk | The Grocery Clerk | 1919-12-01 |
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The Star Boarder | Star Boarder / Little Joe, Escaped Convict | 1919-05-26 |
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Babes and Boobs | A Boob | 1918-02-01 |
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Dunces and Dangers | Larry | 1918-08-04 |
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Pluck and Plotters | The Janitor | 1918-12-22 |
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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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Bathing Beauties and Big Boobs | Lawrence | 1918-07-22 |
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Huns and Hyphens | Larry | 1918-09-22 |
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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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Big Bluffs and Bowling Balls | 1917-01-22 | |
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Somewhere in Any Place | 1917-01-29 | |
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Jolts and Jewelry | 1917-01-15 | |
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Bullies and Bullets | 1917-01-08 | |
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Risks and Roughnecks | Our Hero | 1917-09-17 |
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He Never Touched Me | 1917-02-12 | |
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Footlights and Fakers | 1917-03-12 | |
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Plagues And Puppy Love | Larry | 1917-10-01 |
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Gall and Golf | O.U. Dubb | 1917-09-03 |
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Tough Luck and Tin Lizzies | Larry | 1917-10-22 |
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Turks and Troubles | 1917-03-26 | |
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Walls and Wallops | 1916-11-13 |
