Slim Summerville

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Slim Summerville
Born George Joseph Somerville
(1892-07-10)July 10, 1892
Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.
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Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
Cause of death stroke
Occupation Actor & Director
Years active 1912-1946
Spouse(s) Gertrude Roell (m. 1927–36)
Eleanor Brown (m. 1937–46)

Slim Summerville (born George Joseph Somerville, July 10, 1892 – January 5, 1946) was an American film actor, best known as a comedy performer.[1]

Life

Born George Joseph Somerville in Albuquerque, New Mexico, his mother died when he was five.[2] Moving from New Mexico to Canada to Oklahoma, he had a nomadic upbringing.[2]

He married Gertrude Martha Roell on 19 November 1927.[3][4] In early 1932, the Summervilles adopted a four-week-old baby boy whom they christened Elliott George.[5] The couple divorced in September 1936,[4][6] and he then married Eleanor Brown (also a divorcee) who was his nurse who cared for him when he was sick and fell in love and married him in 1937 to keep him from getting sick again.[3][7]

Summerville died of a stroke on January 5, 1946 in Laguna Beach, California.[3][8][9] He is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in South Los Angeles community of Inglewood, California. Twenty years after his death, his beach front house on Sleepy Hollow Lane in Laguna Beach was converted into the The Beach House restaurant.[10]

Career

Summerville's first job was as a messenger for the Canadian Pacific Telegraphs in Chatham, Ontario where he lived with his English grandparents.[7]

He was working as a poolroom porter when found by Edgar Kennedy,[3] who took him to Mack Sennett where he started at $3.50 per day.[8] His first role was as a "Keystone Kop" in Hoffmeyer's Legacy (1912).

His tall, gangly appearance was well utilized in numerous short comedy films during the silent film era, and in addition to his many acting roles, he directed more than 50 short films.

Occasionally, he played in dramatic films, such as All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and Jesse James (1939). However, he was most successful in comedy films, including several with ZaSu Pitts. He also played in films with Shirley Temple, Captain January (1936) and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938).

Legacy

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Slim Summerville has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6409 Hollywood Blvd.[11]

Inducted into the New Mexico Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2012.

Partial filmography

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References

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  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Slim Summerville. Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 2012-02-11

External links

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