Volume III: Biographies

DION, Hector *

Actor (1915-1916)

Thanhouser Career Synopsis: Hector Dion appeared in Thanhouser films in 1915 and 1916.

Biographical Notes: Hector Dion was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1881. He followed a stage career with Denman Thompson, Joseph Murphy, Orrin Johnson, Broadhurst, and others. His screen career is believed to have begun with Vitagraph, where circa 1907 he was a part of that firm's first company of stock players, joining William Shea, Paul Panzer, and William V. Ranous. An article in The Moving Picture World, November 9, 1912, stated that he was the first leading man at Vitagraph and was the first person to play leading roles opposite Florence Turner.

By early 1912 he was with American Biograph, after which he left for Reliance early in the summer of the same year. At Reliance he was a leading man for a brief period, but things didn't work out, and soon he was at liberty. The November 22, 1912 issue of The Moving Picture World reported that he had just joined (actually, rejoined) Biograph. He subsequently appeared in the 1912 productions of Just Like a Woman, A Lodging for the Night, A Father's Lesson, Drink's Cure, and The Wrong Bottle, and the 1913 productions of The Crook and the Girl, A Tender-Hearted Crook, The Stopped Clock, No Place for Father, and His Inspiration.

In June 1914 he was directing and acting for Turner Films. He spent much time in England in 1914, where he had a special engagement with Florence Turner and directed her for Hepworth and the British Colonial Company. He returned to the United States in February 1915. Hector Dion was an actor with Thanhouser in 1915 and 1916 and appeared in nearly a dozen films. The Motion Picture News Studio Directory in 1916 noted that his address at the time was care of the Screen Club, New York City, and that his recreations included swimming, motoring, and fencing. By 1918 he was with Mutual in Los Angeles.

Thanhouser Filmography:

1915: The Crogmere Ruby (8-15-1915), The Crimson Sabre (11-30-1915), Their Last Performance (12-28-1915)

1916: Silas Marner (2-19-1916), The Fifth Ace (3-22-1916), The Girl From Chicago (4-18-1916), When She Played Broadway (5-9-1916), The Fugitive (8-13-1916), Saint, Devil and Woman (9-25-1916), King Lear (12-17-1916)

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