Volume I: Narrative History

Chapter 2 (1909 Into the Film Industry): Victor Heerman's Recollections

Another view of the beginnings in New Rochelle is provided by the recollections of Victor Heerman, who at the time had motion picture experience and was involved in the theatrical business in New York City, where he worked with a talent booking agency. Note

Well, along came Thanhouser, and, well, we were all glad to see him, and he said, "I'm going to make pictures."

I said, "Pictures?"

Well, stock companies and travelling companies were very big then, you know, and he said, "Yes, moving pictures."

So, I wasn't much interested, but he said, "Do you know anybody?"

I said, "Yes, I know Griffith down at Biograph," because Griffith used to come by when he was trying to find actors, and he'd pay ten dollars, and you'd find a hungry actor for ten dollars. If he wanted him, why that was fine.

So, he said he was going to start the thing, and he said, "Do you know him?"... So we went down to the Biograph, which was on 14th Street then. We got a cameraman there who knew all about developing and that. Note The next thing was to find a place.

I said, "Imp is down here on 11th Avenue around 43rd or 44th or 45th Street. One of those warehouses there is about the only place I know." Well, we looked around and around, and it was in the time of cold weather, too, and at last we wound up in a skating rink in New Rochelle that had closed. So Smith, who was the cameraman, said we'll put some of this here and some Cooper-Hewitt lights there, and that started the company. Then there was Barry O'Neil, who was an old stock director, who was the director, and Thanhouser's brother-in-law, who was Mrs. Thanhouser's brother [actually, brother-in-law], and his name was Lloyd Lonergan. That was the company!

The first script was readied, the first thing they had, and [they brought it down to New York City to the booking agency] and we cast the first one, and they went up on the train the next morning at 7:30 and got there at 8:00. So, each day the first one to come down would bring in a piece of paper with descriptions of the scenes that they were to play, and I had to get those people, and be up practically all night doing it, and get them on the train. Well, when it came to doing the costuming for a Western, I had to get the people, send them down to Christie's, pick up their stuff and be sure it all fit. Christie's would send baskets of wardrobe clothes up to the office building. We'd put it in the directors' room, and it would be taken over to the train, and that was it.

Well, the first thing you know, they summoned a meeting and some of the stock managers came by and said, "What's this? What's going on? Well, Thanhouser.... Thanhouser's not running." Of course, when you were running a play you paid dues. If you were not running your theatre, you didn't pay dues. I think the dues were ten or fifteen dollars a week. Anyway, they said, "Wait a minute! How long has this been going on?" So that was called off, and Thanhouser said, "Come on up here, and then you can go down to [New York City]." I said, "Oh, no."

So, I used to go up there now and then, because I knew practically everybody there. I started a lot of people in pictures there because every actor I knew needed five dollars....