Silent Film Actor and Director Charles Avery Bradford began his career on the stage and starred on Broadway with W. H. Crane in David Harum. In 1908 he joined DW Griffith at Biograph and began his movie career. He acted and directed in well over 200 films between 1908 and 1926. He worked with the original Bison group in Los Angeles, IMP, Nestor, Keystone, Triangle, Rolin, LKO, Fox - Lehrman Sunshine, Romayne Comedies, Big U Froman, Vitagraph, Joe Rock, MGM, and Universal. One of the original seven "Keystone Kops", and an important player in a number of Sennett comedies. He played Mabel Normand's sweetheart in her directorial debut, Won in a Cupboard. Charlie Chaplin borrowed Charles Avery's tiny coat for his tramp costume since Charles Avery was only 5'4" tall. He directed all the greats including Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, Ford Sterling, the entire Hogan series with Charles Murray as well as directing Syd Chaplin, including in A Submarine Pilot. His cause of death was acute dilation of the heart caused by chronic myocarditis and not suicide as many people wrongly claim. He was an important figure in the silent era who has sadly been forgotten.
Silent Film Actor and Director Charles Avery Bradford began his career on the stage and starred on Broadway with W. H. Crane in David Harum. In 1908 he joined DW Griffith at Biograph and began his movie career. He acted and directed in well over 200 films between 1908 and 1926. He worked with the original Bison group in Los Angeles, IMP, Nestor, Keystone, Triangle, Rolin, LKO, Fox - Lehrman Sunshine, Romayne Comedies, Big U Froman, Vitagraph, Joe Rock, MGM, and Universal. One of the original seven "Keystone Kops", and an important player in a number of Sennett comedies. He played Mabel Normand's sweetheart in her directorial debut, Won in a Cupboard. Charlie Chaplin borrowed Charles Avery's tiny coat for his tramp costume since Charles Avery was only 5'4" tall. He directed all the greats including Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, Ford Sterling, the entire Hogan series with Charles Murray as well as directing Syd Chaplin, including in A Submarine Pilot. His cause of death was acute dilation of the heart caused by chronic myocarditis and not suicide as many people wrongly claim. He was an important figure in the silent era who has sadly been forgotten.
Bio by: TLS
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