 Essanay Film Manufacturing Company logo in a still frame from a Charlie Chaplin film | |
| Industry | Film |
|---|---|
| Founder | Broncho Billy Anderson George Kirke Spoor  |
Essanay Studios, officially the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in 1907 in Chicago by George Kirke Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson, originally as the Peerless Film Manufacturing Company, then as Essanay (formed by the founders' initials: S and A) on August 10, 1907.[1][2] Essanay is probably best known today for its series of Charlie Chaplin comedies produced in 1915-1916. In late 1916, it merged distribution with other studios and stopped issuing films in the fall of 1918. According to film historian Steve Massa, Essanay is one of the important early studios, with comedies as a particular strength.[3] Founders Spoor and Anderson were subsequently awarded special Academy Awards for pioneering contributions to film.
- ^ Grossman, James R. (2004). The Encyclopedia of Chicago. University of Chicago Press. pp. 293–294. ISBN 0-226-31015-9.
- ^ Arnie Bernstein, Hollywood on Lake Michigan: 100 Years of Chicago & the Movies, Lake Claremont Press, 1998, p. 37. ISBN 978-0-9642426-2-3.
- ^ Massa, Steve. "Who's Who (1910)". National Film Preservation Foundation. Retrieved 2022-02-28.