J. Stuart Blackton
| James Stuart Blackton | |
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Blackton in 1912
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| Born |
James Stuart Blacktin January 5, 1875 Sheffield, England |
| Died | August 13, 1941 (aged 66) Los Angeles, California |
| Known for | Vitagraph Studios |
James Stuart Blackton (January 5, 1875 – August 13, 1941), usually known as J. Stuart Blackton, was an Anglo-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he founded Vitagraph Studios in 1897. He was one of the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation, is considered the father of American animation, and was the first to bring many classic plays and books to the screen. Blackton was also the commodore of the Atlantic Yacht Club.
James Stuart Blackton was born on January 5, 1875, in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, to Henry Blacktin and Jessie Stuart. He emigrated with his family to the United States in 1885 and changed the family name to Blackton.
He worked as a reporter and illustrator for the New York Evening World, and performed regularly on stage with conjuror Albert Smith. In 1896, Thomas Edison publicly demonstrated the Vitascope, one of the first film projectors, and Blackton was sent to interview Edison and provide drawings of how his films were made. Eager for good publicity, Edison took Blackton to his Black Maria, the special cabin he used to do his filming, and created a film on the spot of Blackton doing a lightning portrait of Edison. The inventor did such a good job selling the art of moviemaking that he talked Blackton and partner Smith into buying a print of the new film, as well as prints of nine other films, plus a Vitascope to show them to paying audiences.
The new act was a great success, despite the various things Blackton and Smith were doing between the Edison films. The next step was to start making films of their own. In this way the American Vitagraph Company was born.
During this period, J. Stuart Blackton not only ran the Vitagraph studio, but also produced, directed, wrote, and even starred in his films, playing the comic strip character "Happy Hooligan" in a series of shorts. Since profits were constantly increasing, Blackton felt that he could try any idea that sprang to his head. In a series of films, Blackton developed the concepts of animation.
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