Volume III: Biographies

DUNNE, James J. *

Actor, assistant director (1913-1916)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: James J. Dunne was an actor and assistant director who worked with Thanhouser from 1913 to 1916.

Biographical Notes: James J. Dunne joined Thanhouser in late 1913. His first film in which he worked was The Skating Master, released on February 14, 1914. Another film in which he later played a part, The Success of Selfishness, was released earlier, on February 6th. For the balance of the year he acted in various films but was not featured in publicity. The New Rochelle Pioneer, December 5, 1914, reported that he had recently been appointed assistant director to James Durkin.

The New Rochelle Pioneer, November 21, 1914, carried the following item: "Mr. and Mrs. James J. Dunne, of 88 Washington Avenue, were pleasantly surprised, Wednesday evening, on the occasion of their fifth wedding anniversary, by a crowd from the Thanhouser Film Corporation, where Mr. Dunne is employed as a director. The evening was spent in singing, and music and recitations were given, almost every one of the guests taking part. The couple were spirited away to Loew's Theatre by David H. Thompson, who is always a part in these agreeable affairs, and upon their return, the former thought he heard a 'giggle,' and in the excitement he brushed against the dining room table, smashing a lamp, but the numerous presents more than made up for this accident.

"A bountiful collation was served at midnight. Those who took part in the festivities included: Mr. and Mrs. David H. Thompson, Mr. and Mrs. W. Ray Johnston, Mr. and Mrs. Max Wirth, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Benham, Mrs. James F. Dunne, Miss Fannie Bourke, Miss Nellie Dunne, Miss Helen Alexander, of New Brighton, S.I.; Boyd Marshall, Frank Wood, Raymond Dunne, Philip Brady, Leo Wirth, Joseph Brady, of this city, and Jack Brett, of Mount Vernon."

A 1915 Sketch: As part of a biographical series by William J. Kellette, the following appeared in The New Rochelle Pioneer, April 3, 1915: "James J. Dunne doesn't exactly need an introduction to New Rochelleans, but, as he's a moving picture 'feller' his criminal pedigree must be uncovered before your very eyes, as it were. But 'Jimsy' is not only an actor of parts in many spots, but an assistant director as well, and someday he may be 'among those present' with a megaphone in hand, telling the others how to put action on the screen.

"Jim's first picture, a year ago, was The Skating Master. He had a good part in it, and showed up well. Shortly after that he was made assistant director to Carl Louis Gregory on Princess films, and followed with Arthur Ellery, now directing Princess, but Jim was subsequently sent to James Durkin, the late Nolan Gane, and is now with George Foster Pratt, late of the New Theatre, New York City, who recently became a Thanhouser director.

"The acting germ first got into Jim at St. Francis Xavier's College, of which he is an alumnus, where he became inoculated with the deadly virus by taking prominent parts in Shakespearean plays, and by being ever ready to help out on New Rochelle amateur theatricals. He's always to be found on the firing line when the Elks give entertainment, and he has found time to devote some of his spare moments to lodge work in No. 756, of which he is a member. Probably no one in the city can 'put over' 'Lasca' quite so well as Jim. Mr. Dunne was born in New Rochelle on July 23, 1883; he's married and is living on Washington Avenue. He has a sunny disposition and 'Sunny Jim' always has a smile.

"He's an optimist who believes - stealing someone's stuff - 'that the high cost of living is worth the price.' Since becoming an assistant director Jim has learned a lot about New Rochelle real estate values. He has come to know the city like a book, going through it as with a fine-toothed comb for locations for photoplays. If the director wants a rear view of a house that has seven broken shingles off the roof, Jim can be guaranteed to lead him to it. In other words, Dunne is observing. He has a little book wherein he jots down locations that may be worth looking after in the future, and someday he'll find his system will come in handy. Jim's one of these boys that can crowd 16 hours into a 9 hour work day and doesn't get tired, and it has been intimated around the studio that he's the fellow that invented work. Otherwise, he's all right."

Later Activities: Dunne was with a party of Thanhouser players in May 1915 when the group visited the Watervliet Arsenal and, later, went down the Hudson. Two films, A Maker of Guns and Dot on the Day Line Boat were filmed during the trip. In early 1916 he was an assistant director at the Thanhouser studio in Jacksonville, Florida. In The Net he doubled for actress Ethel Jewett in an ocean scene.

The New Rochelle Pioneer, June 3, 1916, announced that he was among nearly two dozen important players, directors, and cameramen who were dismissed by the studio on Saturday morning, May 27, 1916, as part of an economy move when the Thanhouser Film Corporation's future was uncertain.

New Rochelle city directories list his occupation in 1911 as a "stamper," and his residence as 11 Guion Place; his 1914 residence as 88 Washington Avenue, and his occupation as stamper; his 1915 and 1916 address as the same, and his occupation as a director; and his 1917 and 1918 address as 4 Stephenson Avenue and his occupation as a clerk. Mary Dunne, director of the New Rochelle Nurses' Register, lived with him.

Notes: His surname appeared as "Dunn" in some publicity. He is not to be confused with James Dunne, born in New York City on November 2, 1905, who was educated in New Rochelle, and who later acted in many stage and screen plays. This James Dunne was married to Edna Rush, and died on September 1, 1967 (per information preserved in the Thayer Collection at Harvard University).

Thanhouser Filmography:

1914: The Success of Selfishness (2-6-1914), The Skating Master (2-15-1914), The Grand Passion (Princess 3-20-1914), Their Cousin from England (3-22-1914), A Telephone Strategy (Princess 5-29-1914), His Enemy (Princess 6-5-1914), The Toy Shop (Princess 6-12-1914), The Pendulum of Fate (7-21-1914), A Rural Romance (8-14-1914), His Winning Way (Princess 9-4-1914), The Harvest of Regrets (9-27-1914), The Touch of a Little Hand (Princess 10-16-1914), The Man With the Hoe (11-15-1914)

1915: Movie Fans (4-30-1915), A Maker of Guns (7-6-1915), Uncle Jeremiah (scheduled for production in 1915 but apparently never made; listed under 12-31-1915 in the filmography section of the present work)

1916: What Doris Did 3-1-1916), The Net (4-1-1916)

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