Volume III: Biographies

BOSS, Yale *

Actor (1910)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Yale Boss acted for Thanhouser in 1910.

Biographical Notes: Yale F.F. Boss (his middle two initials were rarely used) was born in Utica, New York on October 18, 1899, and received his education from a private tutor. Yale was his grandmother's maiden name. At the age of eight or nine (probably nine) he went on the stage, playing in Top o' the World, in The Silver Star, with Mlle. Genée in her famous toe dance, and in other productions, after which he went to the American Biograph Company, where he was directed by D.W. Griffith.

He later played the part of the little boy in The Actor's Children, the first Thanhouser public release (March 15, 1910). At the time he lived in New York City. Prior to his Thanhouser employment, both he and his young co-player, Orilla Smith, had "a bit of stage training and considerable moving picture experience," according to an account in The New York Dramatic Mirror, March 19, 1910. He soon went to Edison, where he received much publicity as a child star and was featured in many productions through 1917.

A note in The Moving Picture World, January 6, 1912, was printed in response to a reader's inquiry: "Yale Boss is not a dwarf, but a small boy, who has been kept singularly free from mannerisms while acquiring dramatic training. He does not work for other than the Edison Company."

W. Stephen Bush interviewed the child actor, and the results were published in The Moving Picture World, June 6, 1914. At the time, Yale Boss was 14 years old and was with the Edison Company: "'Oh, I am in the pictures now for more than three years,' said Yale facing the interviewer with a frank smile and without a trace of embarrassment. 'somebody here saw me in the Biograph and I guess kind o' liked me, and I have been here ever since. I think it is easy money. I do expect to grow up into a regular big actor; why shouldn't I?'

"This being a purely rhetorical question requiring no answer, I nodded to Yale to go on. 'I like comedy, but then I like all screen work. I have been in so many pictures I don't remember them all, but you may remember The Ransom of Red Chief, The Printer's Boy and the Dolly of the Dailies series, Within the Enemy's Lines.' I congratulate Yale on being a healthy, unspoiled lad. He simply cannot help being happy."

By the autumn of 1918 he had also worked with Famous Players and Conquest-Forum Films, appearing in The Half Back and Knights of the Square Table for the latter company. In 1916 a directory noted that he was 5'8" tall, weighed 148 pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes. A 1918 listing gave his weight as 150 pounds and stated that he had a dark complexion. He enjoyed such activities as horseback riding and swimming and was a violinist and pianist. In late 1915 his address was 2675 Decatur Avenue, New York City. In 1916-1918 directory listings his home address was given as 203 West 109th Street, New York City.

He married Nelie Chandler. In the later years of his life he was a garage owner. Yale Boss died in Augusta, Georgia on November 16, 1977.

Thanhouser Filmography:

1910: The Actor's Children (3-15-1910)

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