Fred Gabourie (September 19, 1881 - March 1, 1951)[1] was a technical director and department head.
Fred Gabourie | |
|---|---|
 Gabourie - center - flanked by Phyllis Haver and Buster Keaton (Buster in front of Eddie Cline) on location for The Balloonatic (1923) | |
| Born | Fred Gabourie September 19, 1881 Tweed, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | March 1, 1951 (aged 69) Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | c.1918–1951 |
Gabourie was born in Tweed, Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Seneca Indian tribe.[1] He served in the Spanish–American War.[2]
He worked primarily for Buster Keaton, figuring out how to make Keaton's innovative stunts work. As one author put it, "Fred Gabourie had the most interesting job in the world: He solved problems for Buster Keaton."[3] As technical director, he was responsible for set design, construction, props management, and location scouting.[3] During this time, he designed the electric house in The Electric House, which featured an automated staircase, library, swimming pool, and dining room.[4] He located and purchased the ship for The Navigator. Only after Gabourie found the ship and suggested to Keaton that it would be a great prop to build a movie around did Keaton and his staff come up with a script.[5] Gabourie also worked out how to accomplish the famous stunt in Steamboat Bill, Jr. in which the front of a house (weighing two tons) falls on Keaton without harming him.[6]
Keaton and Gabourie, working with an architect, co-designed Keaton's lavish Beverly Hills mansion, eventually called the Italian Villa.[7]
Gabourie was also responsible for the ships in the silent version of The Sea Hawk.[1]
Gabourie went to MGM with Keaton but worked on just one picture with him (The Cameraman) before MGM promoted him to construction superintendent, a position he held until he died.[8]
Gabourie's son, Fred Gabourie Jr., played some small parts in film and on TV, but eventually became a judge.[9]
Notes
edit- ^ a b c "Fred Gabourie (I)". IMDb. Retrieved June 15, 2018.[unreliable source?]
- ^ Foote 2014, p. 197.
- ^ a b Foote 2014, p. 182.
- ^ Blesh 1966, pp. 155–156.
- ^ Blesh 1966, pp. 251–252.
- ^ Blesh 1966, p. 290.
- ^ Sainte-Claire, Victoria. "PARLOR, BEDROOM AND BATH: Inside the Italian Villa". Retrieved June 15, 2018.
- ^ Meade 1995, p. 401.
- ^ "Fred Gabourie (II)". IMDb.[unreliable source?]
Bibliography
editBlesh, Rudi (1966). Keaton. New York: The MacMillan Company.
Foote, Lisle (2014). Buster Keaton's Crew: The Team Behind His Silent Films. McFarland & Company.
Meade, Marion (1995). Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase. HarperCollins.
Further reading
edit- Stephens, Michael L. (March 25, 2008). Art Directors in Cinema: A Worldwide Biographical Dictionary. McFarland. p. 112. ISBN 9781476611280.