Joseph Graybill

Joseph Graybill (April 17, 1887 – August 3, 1913) was an American silent film actor. He appeared in several films directed by D.W. Griffith.

Graybill joined the Biograph Company around 1909 in New York City. By 1910 Griffith was the main director. Graybill worked with Biograph in 1911 in California.[1]

Life

Joseph Graybill was born Harold Graybill in Kansas City, Missouri on April 14, 1887 to Clarence Frank and Henrietta ("Hattie") E. Graybill.[2] For many years his mother, Henrietta E. Graybill, worked as a Christian Science practitioner. He had a sister named Gladys. From 1894 to 1900 the family lived in Atchison, Kansas. The 1900 U.S. Federal Census shows Graybill, age 14, living in Atchison City, Kansas with his mother and sister. His occupation is listed as "at school". From 1901 to at least 1905 Graybill lived in Milwaukee.

Sometime between 1892 and 1903 Harold's father died. City directories for Kansas City show Frank C. Graybill in 1889 and 1891. A 1903 Milwaukee city directory lists Henrietta as the widow of a man named Frank.[3] The 1905 Wisconsin census shows Harold Graybill living in Milwaukee with his mother and sister Gladys. Harold is listed with the occupation of actor.

Career

Very little is known about Graybill's film and stage career. It is unclear when Graybill left Milwaukee. His first appearance was in a film released in 1909 titled The Light That Came directed by D.W. Griffith.

A few newspaper accounts mention Graybill stage and film acting. In October 1910 Graybill performed in a play titled Miss Patsy (by Sewell Collins) at the (now demolished) Belasco Theatre in Washington, D.C. His character was named Dr. Philip Gentry.[4] In May 1908 Graybill appeared in a performance of "The Witching Hour" by Augustus Thomas at a Cear Rapids, Iowa theater.[5] In October 1909 he appeared in a performance of "Vasta Herne" by Edward Peple in Des Moines, Iowa. A newspaper review noted that the play opened the three weeks prior in Milwaukee.[6]

A Wisconsin newspaper noted in July 1916 that a film titled "Saved From Himself" was reissued. The paper stated that Mabel Normand appeared opposite "the late Joseph Graybill. Mr. Graybill, it will be remembered, was a young actor of unusual promise who died three years ago."[7]

Two photos of Graybill can be found in the book When the Movies Were Young by Linda Arvidson Griffith (1969). The photos depict scenes in "How She Triumphed" and "The Italian Barber".[8]

Death

Graybill died in New York City on August 3, 1913 according to his death certificate. Different records state conflicting information as to the cause of death. The Internet Movie Database (IMDB) lists it as acute spinal meningitis.[9] The first death notice in the New York Times contradicts the death certificate as to the day of death - it lists the cause of death on August 2 as a nervous breakdown.[10] An obituary on August 4 lists the cause as gastritis.[11] Graybill's death certificate and the first death notice both note he entered Bellevue Hospital July 24. The death certificate states that the cause of death was acute pachymeningitis and a contributory factor was alcohol poisoning.[12]

Filmography

Stage

Further reading

  • Griffith, Linda Arvidson. When the Movies Were Young. New York: Dover Publications, 1969. This book was first published in 1925. In the introduction to the 1969 version Edward Wagenknecht writes that the book "...was one of the earliest volumes containing eye witness testimony to the conditions under which early motion pictures were made." Linda Arvidson was married to director D.W. Griffith in 1906 and later divorced.
  • Ragan, David. Who's Who in Hollywood, 1900-1976. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House Publishers, 1976.
  • Truitt, Evelyn Mack. Who Was Who on Screen, 2nd ed. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1977.
  • Truitt, Evelyn Mack. Who Was Who on Screen, 3rd ed. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1983.

External links

References

  1. ↑ Henderson, Robert M. D.W. Griffith: His Life and Work. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972. Page 99.
  2. ↑ Ancestry.com, Missouri Birth Records, 1851-1910.
  3. ↑ Ancestry.com, Kansas City, Missouri city directories 1889-1891
  4. ↑ Washington Post, October 4, 1910. Page 5.
  5. ↑ Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, May 2, 1908. Page 9.
  6. ↑ Iowa Unionist, October 1, 1909. Page 11.
  7. ↑ Janesville Daily Gazette, July 27, 1916. Page 6.
  8. ↑ Griffith, Linda Arvidson. When the Movies Were Young. New York: Dover Publications, 1969.
  9. ↑ Internet Movie Database
  10. ↑ New York Times, August 2, 1913, page 7.
  11. ↑ New York Times, August 4, 1913, page 7.
  12. ↑ New York State Department of Health, Vital Records Information
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