B. A. Rolfe
| Benjamin Albert Rolfe | |
|---|---|
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| Born | October 24, 1879 Brasher Falls, New York |
| Died | April 23, 1956 Walpole, Massachusetts |
| Occupation | Band leader, movie producer |
Benjamin Albert Rolfe (October 24, 1879 – April 23, 1956) was an American musician known as "The Boy Trumpet Wonder" who went on to be a bandleader, recording artist, radio personality and film producer.
Born in Brasher Falls, New York, Rolfe was the son of a music director. At a young age he played the piccolo and cornet in his father's band, touring the U.S. East Coast as well as Europe. After high school, he worked as a musical clown in a traveling circus until joining the Majestic Theater Orchestra in Utica, New York. His work led to a position at the Utica Conservatory of Music where he was head of the brass instrument department. However, drawn back to show business, in the early part of the 20th century, he worked in vaudeville, producing a revue and serving as bandleader.
In 1914, Rolfe turned his talents to the fledgling motion picture business, establishing his own production company, Rolfe Photoplays Inc. Although he filmed in California, Rolfe's productions were primarily made in and around Fort Lee, New Jersey, and distributed through an agreement with Louis B. Mayer's Metro Pictures Corporation. Rolfe's company produced more than 50 silent films, several of which were collaborations with director/screenwriter Oscar A. C. Lund, including the 1916 drama Dorian's Divorce starring Lionel Barrymore.
His film company's last production was the 15-part mystery serial, The Master Mystery (1919), starring Harry Houdini. Mounting financial difficulties resulted in Rolfe Photoplays Inc. going out of business and before 1920 he was making a living producing and directing films for Metro Pictures and other small independent production companies such as A. H. Fischer, Inc., for which he produced Even as Eve and directed Man and Woman, both released in 1920. Rolfe's last directorial effort was A. H. Fischer's Miss 139 (1921), notable in that he managed to get a credible performance from star Diana Allen, the less than talented but dazzlingly beautiful former Ziegfeld Follies girl. She also starred in Man and Woman.
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