Harry L. Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an
American comedian who appeared in
vaudeville,
silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies, he was briefly partnered with Oliver Hardy.
[.]
Life and career
Born in
Council Bluffs, Iowa, he began working in
vaudeville then joined
Vitagraph Movie Studios. He eventually went over to
Keystone Studios where he became a major star. At the height of his film career he was considered one of the four best comics of the silent film era. His screen character was that of a wide-eyed, childlike man with an innocent's understanding of the world and the people in it. He was a first-class pantomimist.
Most of Langdon's 1920s work was produced at the famous
Mack Sennett studio. His screen character was so unique, and his antics so different from the broad Sennett slapstick, that he soon had a following. Success led him into feature films, directed by Arthur Ripley and
Frank Capra. When Langdon had such good directors guiding him, he produced work that rivaled
Charlie Chaplin's,
Harold Lloyd's, and
Buster Keaton's. His best films were
The Strong Man (
1926),
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926) and
Long Pants (1927). After his initial success, Langdon took creative control of his films and career, but his appeal faded soon afterward. His last starring silent feature was made in 1928. Capra later claimed that Langdon's decline stemmed from the fact that, unlike the other great silent comics, he never fully understood what made his own film character successful.
[Katz, Ephraim. The Film Encyclopedia. (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Publishers) 689.] However, Langdon's biographer William Schelly among others have expressed skepticism about this claim, arguing that Langdon had established his character in vaudeville long before he entered movies, added by the fact that he wrote most of his own material during his stage years. The truth most likely lies somewhere between these two points, but history shows that Langdon's greatest success was while being directed by Capra, and once he took hold of his own destiny, his original film comedy persona dropped sharply in popularity with audiences. This is likely not due to Langdon's material, which he had always written himself, but with his inexperience with the many fine points of directing, at which Capra excelled, but at which Langdon was a novice.
