George Melford
| George Melford | |
|---|---|
Who's Who in the Film World, 1914
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| Born |
February 19, 1877 Rochester, New York |
| Died | April 25, 1961 (aged 84) Hollywood |
| Other names | G.W. Melford |
| Occupation | Actor, director, screenwriter, producer |
| Years active | 1909–1960 |
| Spouse(s) | Louise Marsland (1904–1924) Diana Miller |
George H. Melford (February 19, 1877 – April 25, 1961) was an American stage and film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. Often taken for granted as a director today, the stalwart Melford's name by the 1920s was, like Cecil B. DeMille's, appearing in big bold letters above the title of his films.
Born in Rochester, New York, in 1877 (though older sources state 1888) as George Henry Knauff, son of German immigrant Henrietta Knauff (the name Melford was an adopted stage name). George Knauff Melford had four sisters: Mary Knauff (Mrs. Godfrey Willis Wainwright); Henrietta Knauff; Alice Irene Knauff (Mrs. Edmond Francois Bernoudy)--all of Los Angeles—and Mrs. Frederick Kells/Keils of Ottawa, Canada. Melford graduated from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He was an accomplished stage actor working in Cincinnati, Ohio, before joining the Kalem Company motion picture studio in New York City in 1909. Hired by director Sidney Olcott for character actor roles, in the fall of 1910 he was sent to work with a film crew on the West Coast. In 1911, with Robert Vignola, he co-directed Ruth Roland in his first short film, Arizona Bill based on a script he had written. From there Melford went on to direct another 30 films for Kalem Studios until 1915, when he was hired by Jesse L. Lasky to direct feature-length films for Lasky's Feature Play Company. That same year Melford became one of the founding members of the Motion Picture Directors Association.
In 1916 Melford directed To Have and to Hold, a film based on the Mary Johnston novel that had been the bestselling novel in the United States for 1900. In 1921 he directed what is probably his most famous silent film—The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino.
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