Paul Sablon (6 November 1888 – 3 November 1940), later Paul Bourgeois, was a Brussels-born actor, director, cinematographer, writer and animal trainer, who worked in the early film industry, including for Pathé Frères in Europe and Universal in the United States.[1]
While working in the Netherlands, "Sablon became the regular cameraman for Alfred Machin’s tiger Mimir."[2] He later toured with the Circus Hagenbeck, developing his animal training skills.[1] During his American era he seems to have been a combination animal trainer, critically and commercially successful director, con man and workplace predator.[3] “Bourgeois and his wife, actress Rosita Marstini, arrived in Hollywood in summer 1915” after he had worked with animals in New York and New Jersey.[3] He was head animal trainer and Universal City Zoo superintendent from approximately 1915 to 1916.[4] In 1916, he defrauded investors with an ice rink scheme and then absconded to Arizona with the money and his 19-year-old stenographer.[3] He spent time in both Canada and the United States but died in his home country of Belgium.[1][3]
Filmography
editActor:
- 1912: Het vervloekte Geld (The Curse of Money)
- 1913: Beasts of the Jungle[5]
- 1915: The Prisoner of the Harem[6]
- 1916: Hungry Happy’s Dream[7]
Director or cinematographer, in Europe:
- 1912: Babylas va se marier
- 1912: L'Âme des moulins[8]
- 1912: Calvaire du mousse
- 1912: L'Or qui brûle
- 1912: De Molens die juichen en weenen
- 1912: La Peinture et les cochons
Director, working in the United States under the name Paul Bourgeois:
- 1915: Joe Martin Turns 'Em Loose[9]
- 1915: The Tiger-Woman[10]
- 1916: Nadine of Nowhere[11]
- 1916: The Whole Jungle Was After Him[12]
- 1916: On the Trail of the Tigress[13]
Further reading
edit- Donaldson, Geoffrey (1997). Of joy and sorrow : a filmography of Dutch silent fiction. Amsterdam: Stichting Nederlands Filmmuseum. ISBN 90-71338-10-X. OCLC 39197409.
References
edit- ^ a b c "Paul Sablon". DEV EYE Filmdatabase. Eye Filmmuseum. 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
- ^ Engelen, Leen. "ON THE TRAIL OF THE TIGRESS | Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival". Retrieved 2022-12-14.
- ^ a b c d Johnston, Keith (2021-10-03). "He made history as Hollywood's first animal trainer. Then he scammed L.A. with 'iceless ice'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
- ^ "Motion Picture News (Nov-Dec 1916) - Lantern". lantern.mediahist.org. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
- ^ "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". www.silentera.com. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
- ^ McMahan, Alison (2014-08-22). Alice Guy Blaché: Lost Visionary of the Cinema. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-5013-0269-5.
- ^ "Hungry's Happy Dream". ECHO (Early Cinema History Online). Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- ^ "Paul Sablon". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
- ^ "Joe Martin Turns Them Loose". ECHO (Early Cinema History Online). Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- ^ "Greenroom Jottings". Motion Picture. Macfadden-Bartell. 1915. p. 127.
- ^ "Nadine of Nowhere". ECHO (Early Cinema History Online). Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- ^ "Whole Jungle Was After Him, The". ECHO (Early Cinema History Online). Retrieved December 14, 2022.
- ^ "On the Trail of the Tigress". ECHO (Early Cinema History Online). Retrieved December 14, 2022.
External links
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