Subject:  ARCHIVE: December 2, 1884 ~Here is the little known Hollywood tale of Joseph Farnham, born 135 years ago today. And who sadly at his death at just age 46, reluctantly becoming the very FIRST Academy Award winner to die, just 2 years after his honor at the first Academy Awards! … |
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Date Posted: Monday, December 02, 10:14:11am
In reply to:
Colt
's message, "Dec.2nd~Happy Birthday! Actress Connie Booth (79) Actor Arch Hall Jr. (76) Actor Henry Kingi (76) Actress Cathy Lee Crosby (75) Director Penelope Spheeris (74)." on Monday, December 02, 01:55:32am
American playwright, film writer and editor
of the silent movie era before the 1930s.
He was also one of the 36 founders of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). ...
Joseph White Farnham
(December 2, 1884 – June 2, 1931)
Biography …
Born December 2, 1884 in New Haven Connecticut, Joseph White Farnham got his start in film through his business relationship with theatre empresarios Gustave and Daniel Frohman who owned The Frohman Amusement Corp. The Big Parade is probably the most famous of his works adapted to film. In the 1st Academy Awards of 1929, nominees could be considered for an Oscar for an award on the basis of multiple films within the year. Joseph won his Best Writing - Title Cards award for the films Fair Co-Ed; Laugh, Clown, Laugh; and Telling the World. This was the only year that an Oscar for title cards would be awarded.
A former New York playwright, he went to Hollywood in 1918 and wrote as screenwriter, and as duties as Editor. He would also write intertitles for scores of silent films, mostly at MGM. His credits include "The Big Parade" (1925), "The Black Bird" (1926), "The Show" (1927), "London After Midnight" (1927), "The Crowd" (1928), and "The Wind" (1928).
Farnham's editing efforts included Erich von Stroheim's epic, yet daunting masterpiece "Greed" (1924), from its original FIVE-hour running time, to two hours, per studio's demands. All this against the director's wishes and to the dismay of generations of movie buffs. He allegedly did the job without reading the script, prompting Stroheim to remark, "The man who cut my film had nothing on his mind but a hat".
In 1929, Farnham became the first and only recipient of an Academy Award for Best Title Writing, for the films "Fair Co-Ed" (1928), "Laugh Clown, Laugh" (1928), and "Telling the World" (1928). Within a year, talkies had made the category (and Farnham's job) obsolete. When he succumbed to a heart attack at 46 in Beverly Hills, Farnham reluctantly became the FIRST Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Oscar-winner to die, as he passed away just two years after his victory. …
...Farnham, seen here with film star Douglas Fairbanks.
Joseph Farnham was buried in the Whispering Pines section of Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. …
 
RIP …
Links …
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0267868/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_W._Farnham
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11496/joseph-farnham
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