Hollywood Mourns Mack Sennett -- Updated

Nov. 9, 1960: Mack Sennett dies at the age of 80. “He took a farce situation and gave us the occasion and opportunity to indulge in that best of tonic -- laughter," said the Rev. Harold Ring. [Updated on Nov. 10, at 3:09 p.m.  Mack Sennett’s moviemaking in a Feb. 20, 1913, article about filming what is apparently “Barney Oldfield’s Race for a Life.”  ]

Comments

[Mary Mallory]

Mack gave a lot to Los Angeles, be it in Edendale or Studio City. He gave us so many wonderful comedians: Charlie Chaplin, Charley Chase, etc.

[Randy Skretvedt]

Could someone please provide the complete date and source for the 1913 article? I sent a link to this to a couple of Mack Sennett scholars and now I'm being besieged for the full information....

Many thanks!

[Brent Walker]

Thanks so much for covering Mack Sennett in the Daily Mirror! I also referenced this February 20, 1913, column about Barney Oldfield Race For a Life in my book Mack Sennett's Fun Factory. With the Photoplayers (usually bylined by Al Waddell, or Waddy) seemed to cover a lot of details on Keystone productions for a short time in 1913--I wish it had run longer in the paper! By the way, as also mentioned in my book, the location where they filmed--then called Redondo Road--is now the stretch of Aviation Blvd. running right alongside LAX. In 1913, there were farms where the airport is now. The Santa Fe tracks are still in the identical spot today--heading north alongside LAX and the 405, then curving east through Inglewood. Everything around them has changed, however.