Fred Niblo

Fred Niblo

Born: January 6, 1874
Died: November 11, 1948
in York, Nebraska, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fred Niblo (January 6, 1874 – November 11, 1948) was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer. Niblo was born Frederick Liedtke (several sources give "Frederico Nobile", apparently erroneously) in York, Nebraska, to a French mother and a father who had served as a captain in the American Civil War and was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg. Using the stage name, Fred Niblo, Liedtke began his show business career performing in vaudeville and in live theater. After more than twenty years doing live performing as a monologist, during which he traveled extensively around the globe, he worked in Australia from 1912 through 1915, where he turned to the burgeoning motion picture industry and made his first two films.

As a Hollywood director, he is most remembered for several notable films beginning with his 1920 work The Mark of Zorro which starred Douglas Fairbanks. The following year he teamed up with Fairbanks again in The Three Musketeers and then directed Rudolph Valentino in Blood and Sand.

In 1924, Niblo directed the film Thy Name Is Woman. In 1925, Niblo was the principal director of the epic Ben-Hur that was one of the most expensive films of the day but became the third highest-grossing silent film in cinema history. Niblo followed up on this success with two major 1926 works, The Temptress starring Greta Garbo in her second film in America, and Norma Talmadge in Camille. Niblo went on to direct some of the greatest stars of the era including Joan Crawford, Lillian Gish, and Ronald Colman. In 1930 he directed his first talkie with two of the biggest names in show business, John Gilbert and Renée Adorée in a film titled Redemption.

Fred Niblo retired in 1933 after more than forty years in show business. The last sixteen years were used to make more than forty films, most of which were feature length projects. He was an important personality in the early years of Hollywood and was one of the original founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In recognition of his role in the development of the film industry, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7014 Hollywood Boulevard on February 8, 1960. His Ben-Hur film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Fred Niblo died in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery near his wife Enid Bennett in Glendale, California. His son with Josephine Cohan, Fred Niblo, Jr. (1903–1973) was a successful Hollywood screenwriter.

Movies for Fred Niblo...

Crazy House
Title: Crazy House
Character: Studio Executive
Released: October 8, 1943
Type: Movie
Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson are Broadway stars who return to Universal Studios to make another movie. The mere mention of Olsen and Johnson's names evacuates the studio and terrorizes the management and personnel. Undaunted, the comedians hire an assistant director and unknown talent, and set out to make their own movie.
bee
Once Upon a Honeymoon
Title: Once Upon a Honeymoon
Character: Ship's Captain (uncredited)
Released: November 27, 1942
Type: Movie
A radio correspondent tries to rescue a burlesque queen from her marriage to a Nazi official.
bee
Life with Henry
Title: Life with Henry
Character: Mr.Sam Aldrich
Released: January 23, 1941
Type: Movie
Henry Aldrich wants to win a trip to Alaska.
bee
Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Title: Ellery Queen, Master Detective
Character: John Braun
Released: November 30, 1940
Type: Movie
Famed detective and crime novelist Ellery Queen solves a case involving the suspicious death of a rich man whose inheritors fight over his estate.
bee
I'm Still Alive
Title: I'm Still Alive
Character: Fred, Third Director
Released: September 20, 1940
Type: Movie
Hollywood stuntman falls in love with a big name actress but still wants to pursue his risky career. The women gives him a choice-the stunts or her. He chooses the stunts and still manages to get her.
bee
Estrellados
Title: Estrellados
Character: Self (Guest Appearance)
Released: July 7, 1930
Type: Movie
A matinée idol and a bumbling manager fight for the love of a would-be starlet. Estrellados is the Spanish version of Free and Easy (1930) with Hispanic/Spanish-speaking actors.
bee
Free and Easy
Title: Free and Easy
Character: Himself
Released: March 22, 1930
Type: Movie
Gopher City Kansas hosts a beauty contest. The winner, Elvira Plunkett, and her mother go to Hollywood. The Chamber of Commerce also provides Elvira with an agent, Gopher City's own Elmer J. Butz. Elmer likes Elvira and the shy Elvira likes him, but Mrs. Plunkett, a formidable woman, has little use for hapless Elmer. On the train west, they meet movie star Larry Mitchell, who takes a shine to Elvira and helps her meet MGM directors once they get to Tinsel Town. Elmer, meanwhile, wants to help Elvira with her career and he also wants to be her man. Movie stardom does come to the Gopher City entourage, but to whom is a surprise. And who will win the lovely Elvira's hand?
bee
A Man's Man
Title: A Man's Man
Character: Fred Niblo (uncredited)
Released: May 25, 1929
Type: Movie
An aspiring actress goes to Hollywood to make movies and marries a soda jerk.
bee
1925 Studio Tour
Title: 1925 Studio Tour
Character: Self
Released: April 9, 1925
Type: Movie
A tour of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio in 1925 shows the people who make the movies there, and gives viewers a glimpse at how movies are made.
bee
Hello, 'Frisco
Title: Hello, 'Frisco
Character: Fred Niblo
Released: September 28, 1924
Type: Movie
A comedy short directed by character Slim Summerville.
bee
Souls for Sale
Title: Souls for Sale
Character: Self - Celebrity Director
Released: April 22, 1923
Type: Movie
A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.
bee
Scandalous Tongues
Title: Scandalous Tongues
Released: October 22, 1922
Type: Movie
Silent feature directed by Victor Schertzinger
bee
The Bootlegger's Daughter
Title: The Bootlegger's Daughter
Character: Reverend Charles Alden
Released: October 6, 1922
Type: Movie
Silent directed by Victor Schertzinger
bee
Coals of Fire
Title: Coals of Fire
Character: Rev. Charles Alden
Released: August 26, 1918
Type: Movie
Pretty young Nell Bradley is the daughter of a saloonkeeper in a "dry" town, and is looked down upon by townspeople, but Rev. Charles Alden, the town minister, finds himself attracted to her. One day at Nell's father's bar, a traveling salesman gets a young woman intoxicated, intending to "have his way" with her. Nell sees this and gets the bartender to save the young woman's virtue, but just at that moment Rev. Alden walks in and mistakenly believes that Nell has gotten the girl drunk. Complications ensue. - From IMDB
bee
Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford
Title: Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford
Character: J. Rufus Wallingford
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
Adaptation of the play by George M. Cohan.