Thomas H. Ince | |
|---|---|
 Ince, c. 1918 | |
| Born | Thomas Harper Ince November 16, 1880 |
| Died | November 19, 1924 (aged 44) |
| Other names | Creator of the Hollywood Studio system Father of the Western |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1897–1924 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | John Ince (brother) Ralph Ince (brother) Willette Kershaw (sister-in-law) |
Thomas Harper Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an American silent era filmmaker and media proprietor.[1] Ince was known as the "Father of the Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films.[2]
Ince revolutionized the motion picture industry by creating the first major Hollywood studio facility and invented movie production by introducing the "assembly line" system of filmmaking. He was the first mogul to build his own film studio dubbed "Inceville" in Palisades Highlands. Ince was also instrumental in developing the role of the producer in motion pictures. Three of his films, The Italian (1915), for which he wrote the screenplay, Hell's Hinges (1916) and Civilization (1916), which he directed, were selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. He later entered into a partnership with D. W. Griffith and Mack Sennett to form the Triangle Motion Picture Company, whose studios are the present-day site of Sony Pictures. He then built a new studio about a mile from Triangle, which is now the site of Culver Studios.[3][4]
Ince's untimely death at the height of his career, after he became severely ill aboard the private yacht of media tycoon William Randolph Hearst, has caused much speculation, although the official cause of his death was heart failure.[5]
- ^ "US World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918 Thomas Harper Ince". FamilySearch.org. Although in later years Ince would remove two years from his age, he wrote on his Draft Registration Card that he was born in 1880. His christening records also show a birth date of 1880. "Rhode Island Birth and Christenings, 1600–1914". FamilySearch.org.
- ^ Wanamaker, Marc (1982). "Thomas H. Ince, Father of the Western". The Movie, pp. 2170–2172.
- ^ Cerra, Julie Lugo; Wanamaker, Marc (14 March 2011). Our Favorite Things p. 62-70. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439640647. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "The Culver Studios". theculverstudios.com.
- ^ Taves, Brian. (2012). Thomas Ince: Hollywood's Independent Producer. The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-3423-9. Retrieved 10 January 2016. Taves' extensive biography contains a strong rebuttal to the much rumored murder of Thomas Ince; see pp. 1-13.