Sennett Bathing Beauties  

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-{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}+{{Template}}
-{{short description|Canadian-American actor and filmmaker}}+
-{{more citations needed|date=February 2018}}+
-{{Infobox person+
-| name = Mack Sennett+
-| image = Mack Sennett 1916.jpg+
-| alt = Black and white portrait photograph of Mack Sennett in 1916. He is dressed in a jacket, shirt and tie and is looking into the camera.+
-| caption = Sennett in 1916+
-| birth_name = Michael Sinnott+
-| birth_date = {{Birth date|1880|01|17|mf=y}}+
-| birth_place = [[Richmond, Quebec]], Canada+
-| death_date = {{Death date and age|1960|11|05|1880|01|17|mf=y}}+
-| death_place = [[Woodland Hills, California]], U.S.+
-| years_active = 1908–1949+
-| occupation = {{hlist|Actor,|director,|producer|screenwriter|presenter|composer|cinematographer}}+
-}}+
-'''Mack Sennett''' (born '''Michael Sinnott'''; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the King of Comedy.+
-Born in Melbourne, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the Biograph company of New York, and later opened [[Keystone Studios]] in [[Edendale, Los Angeles|Edendale, California]] in 1912. It was the first fully enclosed film stage, and Sennett became famous as the originator of [[slapstick]] routines such as pie-throwing and car-chases, as seen in the [[Keystone Cops]] films. He also produced short features that displayed his [[Sennett's Bathing Beauties|Bathing Beauties]], many of whom went on to develop successful acting careers.+'''Sennett Bathing Beauties''' was a bevy of women performing in bathing costumes assembled by film producer [[Mack Sennett]]. They appeared in comedy short subjects, in promotional material, and in promotional events such as [[Venice Beach]] beauty contests from ca 1915 - 1928.
- +
-Sennett's work in sound-movies was less successful and he was bankrupted in 1933. He was presented with an honorary Academy Award for his contribution to film comedy.+
-==Early life==+Beginning in 1915, the original trio assembled by Sennett consisted of Evelyn Lynn, Cecile Evans, and [[Marie Prevost]]
-Born Michael Sinnott in Richmond [[Danville, Quebec|Ste-Bibiane Parish, Quebec]], he was the son of [[Irish Catholic]] John Sinnott and Catherine Foy. His parents married 1879 in [[Tingwick]], Québec<ref name="Spokane Daily Chronicle - March 25th 1932">{{Cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19320325&id=ZoUSAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3fQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2954,5607197|title=Give Citizenship to Mack Sennett|accessdate=23 April 2010}}</ref> and moved the same year to Richmond, where John Sinnott was hired as a laborer. By 1883, when Michael's brother George was born, John Sinnott was working in Richmond as an innkeeper, a position he held for many years. His parents had all their children and raised their family in Richmond, then a small [[Eastern Townships]] village. At that time, Michael's grandparents were living in [[Danville, Quebec|Danville]], Québec. Michael Sinnott moved to [[Connecticut]] when he was 17 years old.+
-He lived for a while in [[Northampton, Massachusetts]], where, according to his autobiography, Sennett first got the idea to become an opera singer after seeing a [[vaudeville]] show. He claimed that the most respected lawyer in town, Northampton mayor (and future President of the United States) [[Calvin Coolidge]], as well as Sennett's mother, tried to talk him out of his musical ambitions.<ref>King of Comedy by Mack Sennett, 1954</ref> 
-  
-In New York City, Sennett became an actor, singer, dancer, [[clown]], [[set designer]], and director for [[American Mutoscope and Biograph Company|Biograph]]. A major distinction in his acting career, often overlooked, is that he played [[Sherlock Holmes]] 11 times, albeit as a parody, between 1911 and 1913.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickeralley.com/the-survival-of-mack-sennetts-comedies/|title=The Survival of Mack Sennett's Comedies – Flicker Alley|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref> 
-==Keystone Studios==+Hundreds more would follow; many remained nameless.
-[[Image:Mack Sennett Studios 1917.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Mack Sennett Studios, c. 1917]]+
-With financial backing from Adam Kessel and Charles O. Bauman of the [[New York Motion Picture Company]], Michael "Mack" Sennett founded [[Keystone Studios]] in [[Edendale, Los Angeles, California|Edendale, California]] in 1912 (which is now a part of [[Echo Park, California|Echo Park]]). The original main building which was the first totally enclosed film stage and studio ever constructed, is still there today. Many important actors cemented their film careers with Sennett, including [[Marie Dressler]], [[Mabel Normand]], [[Charles Chaplin]], [[Harry Langdon]], [[Roscoe Arbuckle]], [[Harold Lloyd]], [[Raymond Griffith]], [[Gloria Swanson]], [[Ford Sterling]], [[Andy Clyde]], [[Chester Conklin]], [[Polly Moran]], [[Louise Fazenda]], [[The Keystone Cops]], [[Bing Crosby]], and [[W. C. Fields]].+Two of those often named as Bathing Beauties later distanced themselves from the appellation: [[Mabel Normand]] and [[Gloria Swanson]]. Normand was a featured player, and her 1912 8-minute film ''[[The Water Nymph]]'' may have been the direct inspiration for the Bathing Beauties.
-Sennett's [[slapstick]] comedies were noted for their wild car chases and [[custard pie]] warfare, especially in the ''Keystone Cops ''series. Sennett's first female comedian was Mabel Normand, who became a major star under his direction and with whom he embarked on a tumultuous romantic relationship. Sennett also developed the ''Kid Comedies'', a forerunner of the ''[[Our Gang]]'' films, and in a short time, his name became synonymous with screen comedy which were called "flickers" at the time. In 1915, Keystone Studios became an autonomous production unit of the ambitious [[Triangle Film Corporation]], as Sennett joined forces with [[D. W. Griffith]] and [[Thomas H. Ince|Thomas Ince]], both powerful figures in the film industry.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}+Although Gloria Swanson worked for Sennett in 1916 and was photographed in a bathing suit, she was also a star and "vehemently denied" being one of the bathing beauties.
 +:One morning as I went through the ''Times'', in my tub, I noticed a three-column picture on Page One of a pretty girl who had been involved in a minor traffic accident. The picture made the front page for two obvious and attractive reasons. The young lady's knees were showing.
-[[File:MackSennetBathingBeauties.JPG|left|thumb|Sennett Bathing Beauties]]+Not individually featured or named, many of these young women ascended to significant careers of their own, including [[Juanita Hansen]], [[Claire Anderson]], Marie Prevost, [[Phyllis Haver]], [[Myrtle Lind]] and [[Carole Lombard]]. Other notable
-== Sennett Bathing Beauties ==+Bathing Beauties include: [[Alice Day]], [[Polly Moran]], [[Madeline Hurlock]], [[Vera Reynolds]], [[Mary Thurman]], [[Thelma Hill]], [[Thelma Parr]], [[Marvel Rea]], [[Harriet Hammond]], [[Evelyn Francisco]], [[Vera Steadman]], Josephine Cogdell and [[Ora Carew]].
-{{main|Sennett Bathing Beauties}}+
-Also beginning in 1915, Sennett assembled a bevy of women known as the Sennett Bathing Beauties to appear in provocative bathing costumes in comedy short subjects, in promotional material, and in promotional events such as [[Venice Beach]] beauty contests. The Sennett Bathing Beauties continued to appear through 1928.+In the 1920s, Sennett's Bathing Beauties remained popular enough to provoke imitators such as the [[Christie Studios]]' Bathing Beauties (counting [[Raquel Torres]] and [[Laura La Plante]] as alumnae) and [[20th Century Fox#Fox Film Corporation|Fox Film Corporation]]'s "Sunshine Girls" (counting [[Janet Gaynor]] as an alumna). The Sennett Bathing Beauties continued to appear through 1928.
-== Independent production ==+{{GFDL}}
- +
-In 1917, Sennett gave up the Keystone trademark and organized his own company, Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation. (Sennett's bosses retained the Keystone trademark and produced a cheap series of comedy shorts that were "Keystones" in name only: they were unsuccessful, and Sennett had no connection with them.) Sennett went on to produce more ambitious comedy short films and a few feature-length films.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}+
-During the 1920s, his short subjects were in much demand, featuring stars such as [[Louise Fazenda]], [[Billy Bevan]], [[Andy Clyde]], Harry Gribbon, [[Vernon Dent]], [[Alice Day]], Ralph Graves, Charlie Murray, and [[Harry Langdon]]. He produced several features with his brightest stars such as [[Ben Turpin]] and Mabel Normand.+
- +
-Many of Sennett's films of the early 1920s were inherited by [[Warner Bros. Studio]]. Warner Bros. merged with the original distributor, First National, and added music and commentary to several of these short subjects. Unfortunately, many of the films of this period were destroyed due to inadequate storage. As a result, many of Sennett's films from his most productive and creative period no longer exist.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickeralley.com/the-survival-of-mack-sennetts-comedies/|title=The Survival of Mack Sennett's Comedies – Flicker Alley|access-date=21 January 2019}}</ref>+
- +
-==Move to Pathé Exchange==+
- +
-In the mid-1920s, Sennett moved to [[Pathé Exchange]] distribution. Pathé had a huge market share, but made bad corporate decisions, such as attempting to sell too many comedies at once (including those of Sennett's main competitor, [[Hal Roach]]). In 1927, Hollywood's two most successful studios [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] and [[Paramount Pictures]], took note of the profits being made by smaller companies such as [[Pathé Exchange]] and [[Educational Pictures]]. MGM and Paramount resumed the production and distribution of short subjects. Hal Roach signed with MGM, but Mack Sennett remained with Pathé Exchange even during hard times, which were brought on by the competition. Hundreds of other independent exhibitors and movie houses of this period had switched from Pathe' to the new MGM or Paramount films and short subjects.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}+
- +
-==Experiments, awards, and bankruptcy==+
-[[File:Mabel's Dramatic Career 1913.jpeg|thumb|right|280px|Movie theatre audience members Roscoe Arbuckle and Sennett square off while watching [[Mabel Normand]] onscreen in ''[[Mabel's Dramatic Career]]'' (1913)]]+
-[[File:The Fatal Mallet.jpg|right|thumb|Mabel Normand, Sennett, and Charles Chaplin in ''[[The Fatal Mallet]]'' (1914)]]+
-[[File:Love, Speed and Thrills - Walter Wright - 1915, Keystone Film - EYE FLM39508 - OB 685625.webm|thumb|Silent film ''Love, Speed and Thrills'' (1915) directed by [[Walter Wright (director)|Walter Wright]] and produced by Sennett, running time: 14:12, is a chase film in which a man (named Walrus) kidnaps the wife of his benefactor, but the so-called "Keystone Cops" are also chasing down Walrus.]]+
-Sennett made a reasonably smooth transition to sound films, releasing them through Earle Hammons's Educational Pictures. Sennett occasionally experimented with color. Plus, he was the first to get a talkie short subject on the market in 1928. In 1932, he was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Live Action Short Film]] in the comedy division for producing ''[[The Loud Mouth]]'' (with Matt McHugh, in the sports-heckler role later taken in [[Columbia Pictures]] remakes by [[Charley Chase]] and [[Shemp Howard]]). Sennett also won an Academy Award in the novelty division for his film ''[[Wrestling Swordfish]]'' also in 1932.<ref name=oscars/> On March 25, 1932, he became a United States citizen.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mack Sennett is Naturalized |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C0CEEDD163EE633A25755C2A9659C946394D6CF |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 26, 1932 }}</ref>+
- +
-Sennett often clung to outmoded techniques, making his early-1930s films seem dated and quaint. This doomed his attempt to re-enter the feature-film market with ''Hypnotized'' (starring [[blackface]] comedians [[Moran and Mack]], "The Two Black Crows"). However, Sennett enjoyed great success with short comedies starring [[Bing Crosby]], which were more than likely instrumental in Sennett's product being picked up by a major studio, [[Paramount Pictures]]. [[W. C. Fields]] conceived and starred in four famous Sennett-Paramount comedies. Fields himself recalled that he "made seven comedies for the Irishman", his original deal called for one film and an option for six more, but ultimately only four were made with Fields as star. Two other Sennett shorts were made with Fields scripts: The Singing Boxer (1933) with [[Donald Novis]] and Too Many Highballs (1933) with [[Lloyd Hamilton]].+
- +
-Sennett's studio did not survive the [[Great Depression]]. His partnership with Paramount lasted only one year and he was forced into bankruptcy in November 1933.+
- +
-On January 12, 1934, Sennett was injured in an automobile accident that killed [[Charles Mack (blackface performer)|blackface performer Charles Mack]] in [[Mesa, Arizona]].<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Mack, comedian, Killed in Crash. Moran, His Partner in Blackface Skits, Escapes Injury in Arizona Mishap |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9907E6D91439E33ABC4A52DFB766838F629EDE |quote=... injured Mack Sennett, former producer of 'Bathing Beauty' film comedies. |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 12, 1934 |accessdate=22 March 2015 }}</ref>+
- +
-His last work, in 1935, was as a producer-director for Educational Pictures, in which he directed [[Buster Keaton]] in ''[[The Timid Young Man]]'' and [[Joan Davis]] in ''[[Way Up Thar]]''. (The 1935 [[Vitaphone]] short subject ''[[Keystone Hotel (film)|Keystone Hotel]]'' is not a Sennett production, although it featured several alumni from the Mack Sennett Studios. Actually, Sennett was not involved in the making of this film.)+
- +
-Mack Sennett went into semiretirement at the age of 55, having produced more than 1,000 silent films and several dozen [[talkies]] during a 25-year career. His studio property was purchased by [[Mascot Pictures]] (later part of [[Republic Pictures]]), and many of his former staffers found work at [[Columbia Pictures]].+
- +
-In March 1938, Sennett was presented with an honorary [[Academy Award]]: "for his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen, the basic principles of which are as important today as when they were first put into practice, the Academy presents a Special Award to that master of fun, discoverer of stars, sympathetic, kindly, understanding comedy genius – Mack Sennett."<ref name=oscars>[http://www.oscars.org/research-preservation/resources-databases/index.html Academy Awards Database] at [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]]</ref>+
- +
-==Later projects==+
-Rumors abounded that Sennett would be returning to film production (a 1938 publicity release indicated that he would be working with [[Stan Laurel]] of [[Laurel and Hardy]]), but apart from Sennett reissuing a couple of his Bing Crosby two-reelers to theaters, nothing happened. Sennett did appear in front of the camera, however, in ''[[Hollywood Cavalcade]]'' (1939), itself a thinly disguised version of the Mack Sennett-Mabel Normand romance. In 1949, he provided film footage for and also appeared in the first full-length comedy compilation called ''Down Memory Lane'' (1949), which was written and narrated by [[Steve Allen]]. Sennett was profiled in the television series ''[[This is Your Life]]'' in 1954.<ref>{{IMDb title|id=0721407|title=This Is Your Life, broadcast March 10, 1954.}}</ref><ref>Thomas, Bob (1954). "Sennett Takes Sentimental Journey in Past at Reunion". ''Panama City News'', March 12, 1954. Retrieved from [http://looking-for-mabel.webs.com/sennettobelisk.htm Looking for Mabel Normand] on 3 February 2012.</ref> and made a cameo appearance (for $1,000) in ''[[Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops]]'' (1955). His last contribution worth noting was to the NBC radio program ''Biography in Sound'' relating memories of working with W.C. Fields, which was broadcast February 28, 1956.+
- +
-==Death==+
-Sennett died on November 5, 1960, in [[Woodland Hills, California]], aged 80.<ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Mack Sennett, 76, Film Pioneer Who Developed Slapstick, Dies. Keystone Kops, Custard Pies and Bathing Beauties Were Symbols of His Movies |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F07EED81E31E633A25755C0A9679D946191D6CF |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 6, 1960 }}</ref> He was interred in the [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City|Holy Cross Cemetery]] in [[Culver City, California]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sennett Buried in Hollywood |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9901E5D91F31EF3ABC4C51DFB767838B679EDE |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 24, 1960 }}</ref>+
- +
-==Filmography==+
-{{main|Mack Sennett filmography}}+
- +
-==Tributes==+
-For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Sennett was honored with a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6712 [[Hollywood Boulevard]]. He was also inducted into [[Canada's Walk of Fame]] in 2014.+
- +
-==Keystone legacy==+
- +
-A line in a [[Henry Kuttner]] science-fiction short story "Piggy Bank" reads, "Within seconds the scene resembled a Mack Sennett pie-throwing comedy."<ref>''A Treasury of Great Science Fiction, vol. 2'', [[Anthony Boucher]] (ed.) Doubleday & Co., 1959.</ref>+
- +
-In ''[[A Story of Water]]'', a 1961 short film by [[Jean-Luc Godard]] and [[François Truffaut]], the directors dedicate the film to Mack Sennett.+
- +
-[[Henry Mancini]]'s score for the 1963 film ''[[The Pink Panther (1963 film)|The Pink Panther]]'', the original entry in the series, contains a segment called "Shades of Sennett". It is played on a silent film era style "[[barrel house]]" piano, and accompanies a climactic scene in which the incompetent police detective [[Inspector Clouseau]] is involved in a multi-vehicle chase with the antagonists.+
- +
-In 1974, [[Michael Stewart (playwright)|Michael Stewart]] and [[Jerry Herman]] wrote the musical ''[[Mack & Mabel]]'', chronicling the romance between Sennett and Mabel Normand.+
- +
-Sennett also was a leading character in ''[[The Biograph Girl]]'', a 1980 musical about the silent-film era.+
- +
-[[Peter Lovesey]]'s 1983 novel ''Keystone'' is a [[whodunnit]] set in the Keystone Studios and involving (among others), Mack Sennett, Mabel Normand, Roscoe Arbuckle, and the Keystone Cops.+
- +
-[[Dan Aykroyd]] portrayed Mack Sennett in the 1992 movie ''[[Chaplin (film)|Chaplin]]''. [[Marisa Tomei]] played Mabel Normand and [[Robert Downey, Jr.]] starred as Charlie Chaplin.+
- +
-Joseph Beattie and Andrea Deck portrayed Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand, respectively, in episode eight of series two of ITV's ''[[Mr. Selfridge]]''.+
- +
-==See also==+
-*[[Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood]]+
- +
-==References==+
-{{reflist}}+
- +
-==Further reading==+
-* Lahue, Kalton (1971); ''Mack Sennett's Keystone: The man, the myth and the comedies''; New York: Barnes; {{ISBN|978-0-498-07461-5}}+
- +
-==External links==+
-{{Commons category}}+
-*{{Internet Archive author |sname=Mack Sennett |sopt=t}}+
-*{{IMDb name|784407|Mack Sennett}}+
-*{{Find a Grave|942}}+
-*[http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/1789/mack-sennett Mack Sennett] at Virtual History+
-*[http://catalog.oscars.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=69727 Mack Sennett papers], Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences+
- +
-{{Mack Sennett}}+
-{{Academy Honorary Award}}+
-{{Portal bar|Biography|Film}}+
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-{{Authority control}}+
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-{{DEFAULTSORT:Sennett, Mack}}+
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Sennett Bathing Beauties was a bevy of women performing in bathing costumes assembled by film producer Mack Sennett. They appeared in comedy short subjects, in promotional material, and in promotional events such as Venice Beach beauty contests from ca 1915 - 1928.

Beginning in 1915, the original trio assembled by Sennett consisted of Evelyn Lynn, Cecile Evans, and Marie Prevost


Hundreds more would follow; many remained nameless.

Two of those often named as Bathing Beauties later distanced themselves from the appellation: Mabel Normand and Gloria Swanson. Normand was a featured player, and her 1912 8-minute film The Water Nymph may have been the direct inspiration for the Bathing Beauties.

Although Gloria Swanson worked for Sennett in 1916 and was photographed in a bathing suit, she was also a star and "vehemently denied" being one of the bathing beauties.

One morning as I went through the Times, in my tub, I noticed a three-column picture on Page One of a pretty girl who had been involved in a minor traffic accident. The picture made the front page for two obvious and attractive reasons. The young lady's knees were showing.

Not individually featured or named, many of these young women ascended to significant careers of their own, including Juanita Hansen, Claire Anderson, Marie Prevost, Phyllis Haver, Myrtle Lind and Carole Lombard. Other notable

Bathing Beauties include: Alice Day, Polly Moran, Madeline Hurlock, Vera Reynolds, Mary Thurman, Thelma Hill, Thelma Parr, Marvel Rea, Harriet Hammond, Evelyn Francisco, Vera Steadman, Josephine Cogdell and Ora Carew.

In the 1920s, Sennett's Bathing Beauties remained popular enough to provoke imitators such as the Christie Studios' Bathing Beauties (counting Raquel Torres and Laura La Plante as alumnae) and Fox Film Corporation's "Sunshine Girls" (counting Janet Gaynor as an alumna). The Sennett Bathing Beauties continued to appear through 1928.


Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Sennett Bathing Beauties" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Retrieved from "http://artandpopularculture.com/Sennett_Bathing_Beauties"
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