Volume III: Biographies

HUNT, Jay

Director (1912)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Jay Hunt was a director for Thanhouser in 1912.

Biographical Notes: Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 4, 1865 (one account says 1855), Jay Hunt was educated at Central High School and the University of Pennsylvania. He studied art at the Academy of Design for one year, then changed his career goal and pursued the study of law for two years, after which he was admitted to the bar. However, he found law less interesting than anticipated, and soon he took up acting. The bright footlights captivated him, and before long he was on the stage in light comedy character parts with Mrs. John Drew in Philadelphia, where he remained for three years. For two years he was with the Kiralfy brothers company as stage director and comedian in The Black Crook and The Ratcatcher.

Hunt was a producer for and comedian on stage with E.H. Sothern, was in numerous comedy parts in Shakespeare plays, was manager of the Bowdoin Square Theatre and Howard Athenaeum in Boston, and directed William Farnum in his first stage role, in Time Will Tell, which Hunt wrote. At one time or another, Hunt was with Otis Skinner, John Mason, and Francis Wilson. As a playwright he wrote Down by the Sea, Hearts of Gold, A Crown of Thorns, The Master Workman, A Scarlet Sin, the aforementioned Time Will Tell, and other productions.

In June 1910, Albert E. Smith engaged Hunt as a director for Vitagraph films. His first picture credit was Her Hero, a comedy with John Bunny and Flora Finch. He remained with Vitagraph intermittently for the next three years. His screen career included directing for Thanhouser, where he was located in the summer of 1912. The August 10, 1912 issue of The Billboard reported that Jay Hunt left Thanhouser to start rehearsals for Queens of the Follies Bergere, staged by the Western Wheel Burlesque circuit, of which he was a hitherto undisclosed part owner. Hunt indicated that when this stint was completed he would then affiliate with a yet unknown film producer. However, he returned to Thanhouser for a short additional stay.

An article by Gordon Trent in The Morning Telegraph, August 25, 1912, treated the same subject: "Jay Hunt, the moving picture director whom many friends were surprised to learn, through these columns, was a burlesque magnate, has finished rehearsals of his Western Wheel show, 'Queens of the Follies Bergere,' and sent it out on the burlesque circuits. Upon doing this Mr. Hunt rejoined the Thanhouser Company as producer, from which post he had been absent for a month while putting on his wheel attraction."

In 1913, he went to the West Coast with the New York Motion Picture Company, located in Inceville (Santa Monica), California. Soon, he was working with Thomas Ince in Kay-Bee films, where he spent the better part of two years and was involved in such productions as The Mill by the Sea, Civilization, The Mills of the Gods, A Romance of Old Holland, and His Brother's Keeper. He then returned to spend another year with Vitagraph. Hunt also worked as a director for Horsley (The Protest, When Avarice Rules, The Explorer, etc.), Universal (in the summer of 1915 and most of 1916), and, beginning in late autumn 1916, Yorke-Metro.

A 1916 directory noted that his home address at the time was 803 3rd Street, Santa Monica, California. In his spare time he enjoyed riding and swimming. His brother Philip was also in films. Jay Hunt died in Los Angeles, California on November 18, 1932, following several weeks of illness. His widow, known professionally as Florence Hale, survived him, as did three daughters: Charlotte, Henrietta, and Augusta. The year prior to his death, he and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

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