Glen Gano

Glen Gano
Born(1892-12-11)December 11, 1892
Kokomo, Indiana, U.S.
DiedMay 7, 1973(1973-05-07) (aged 80)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesGlenn Gano
Alma materEgan School
Occupation(s)Actor, cinematographer
Years active1913–1971

Glen Gano (December 11, 1892[1] – May 7, 1973) was an American cinematographer and actor.

Early life and career

Born in Kokomo, Indiana,[1] Gano later attended the Egan Dramatic School in Los Angeles, where, as reported by The Times in July 1912, he and a young Eugene Pallette—then billed as E. W.—were amongst the "advanced pupils" appearing in the "Christmas-tree act" from Clyde Fitch's The Climbers.[2]

Launched 2 years later, Gano's screen acting career comprised a half-dozen appearances prior to America's entry into World War I, during which he served in the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[3]

By contrast, Gano's behind-the-camera credits span roughly half a century,[4] beginning with the 1921 canine-centered adventure film The Silent Call and concluding with American International's ill-conceived 1971 Thing with Two Heads precursor, The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant.[5][6] In the interim, Gano shot such works such as Three Stooges shorts Booby Dupes, Micro-Phonies, Idiots Deluxe, and The Yoke's On Me,[7][8] the Charles Starrett western Frontier Gun Law,[9] and Budd Boetticher's A Guy, a Gal and a Pal, starring future producer Russ Meyer.[9]

As a cinematographer, Gano became something of a celebrity, at least among industry insiders, both as a speaker and as the author of numerous articles on the subject, published in The Amateur Cinematographer and The Film Mercury.[10][11][12] He was also an innovator, having employed his own, home-made panchromatic stock on his 1921 DP debut.[5]

One particularly ironic footnote to Gano's 2-part career is the fact that it is precisely that brief, now all but forgotten first chapter during which his most widely publicized—and nearly fatal—feat occurred. On December 6, 1915, during the filming of an episode of the serial The Hazards of Helen, Gana, reportedly acting as a stunt double for the film's star, Helen Holmes, suffered what, over the next few days, would be described variously as "a fatal fall,"[13] "tragic death,"[14] "injuries from which he will probably die,"[15] (aka "probably fatal injuries"),[16] making an ill-fated leap from the 4th Street Bridge in Los Angeles. Thankfully, reports of his demise proved premature.[17]

Death

Gano died on May 7, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 80.[18]

Selected filmography

References

  1. ^ a b "United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZVF-HQL : Sat Nov 23 04:20:11 UTC 2024), Entry for Glen Gano, from 1917 to 1918.
  2. ^ "This Week: Nothing New But Vaudeville; Orpheum, Pantages and Empress Offer Splendid Bills; Egan School Plays". The Los Angeles Times. July 7, 1912. p. 26. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  3. ^ "Camouflagers Due for France Visit Here Before Departure". The Pittsburgh Gazette Times. January 11, 1918. p. 3. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "Glen Gano Filmography". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Through the Editor's Finder". American Cinematographer. Volume 26, No. 8. August 1945. p. 270. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Weiler, A. H. (July 22, 1971). "A Double Bill of Horror Arrives on Local Screens (Published 1971)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  7. ^ Hogan, David J. (2011). Three Stooges FAQ: Everything Left to Know About the Eye-Poking, Face-Slapping, Head-Thumping Geniuses. Milwaukee, WI: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. ISBN 978-1-55783-788-2.
  8. ^ Pitts, Michael R. (2010). Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1982. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 350. ISBN 978-0-7864-4447-2.
  9. ^ a b Hollywood Reporter (1950). Motion Picture Production Encyclopedia. Hollywood, CA: Hollywood Reporter Press. pp. 601, 638. OCLC 1405501842.
  10. ^ "To Transfer Film Library from New York to Hollywood". American Cinematographer. June 1927. p. 16. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  11. ^ Gano, Glenn (April 1928). "The New Era in Cinephotography". The Amateur Cinematographer. p. 6. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  12. ^ Gano, Glen (January 4, 1929). "Photography of the Talkie". The Film Mercury. p. 13. Retrieved December 28, 2024. See also:
  13. ^ U.P. (December 7, 1915). "Movie Actor Has Fatal Fall". The Oregon Daily Journal. p. 1. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  14. ^ "Actor's Tragic Death". Elko Independent. December 7, 1915. p. 1. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "Motion Picture Actor Dangerously Injured in Scene". Venice Daily Vanguard. December 7, 1915. p. 8. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  16. ^ "Train Hits Actor in Movie Thriller". The San Francisco Examiner. December 8, 1915. p. 1.
  17. ^ "Movie Actor in Narrow Death Escape". The San Bernardino County Sun. December 8, 1915. p. 3. Retrieve3d December 28, 2024.
  18. ^ "California, Death Index, 1940-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGT9-PQM : 26 November 2014), Glen Gano, 07 May 1973; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

Glen Gano at IMDb


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