Mack Swain
Born: 1876-02-15 in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Died: 1935-08-25
Known For: Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mack Swain (born Moroni Swain, February 16, 1876 – August 25, 1935) was an early American film actor, who appeared in many of Mack Sennett's comedies at Keystone Studios, including the Keystone Cops series. He also appeared in major features by Charlie Chaplin. In the early 1900s Swain had his own stock theater company, which performed in the western and midwestern United States. Swain worked in vaudeville before starting in silent film at Keystone Studios under Mack Sennett. While with Keystone, he was teamed with Chester Conklin to make a series of comedy films. With Swain as "Ambrose" and Conklin as the grand mustachioed "Walrus", they performed these roles in several films including The Battle of Ambrose and Walrus and Love, Speed and Thrills, both made in 1915. Besides these comedies, the two appeared together in a variety of other films, 26 all told, and they also appeared separately and/or together in films starring Mabel Normand, Charles Chaplin, Roscoe Arbuckle and most of the rest of the roster of Keystone players. Swain later took his Ambrose character with him to the L-KO Kompany. Having already worked with Charles Chaplin at Keystone, Swain began working with him again at First National in 1921, appearing in The Idle Class, Pay Day, and The Pilgrim. He is also remembered for his large supporting role as Big Jim McKay in the 1925 film The Gold Rush, for United Artists, written by and starring Chaplin. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Mack Swain received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1500 Vine Street.
Filmography
1998
- Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists as Big Jim McKay (archive footage)
1959
- The Chaplin Revue as Various (archive footage)
1953
- Yesterday and Today as (archive footage)
1943
- Happy Times and Jolly Moments as (archive footage)
1935
- Bad Boy as Man on Rowing Machine
1932
- Lighthouse Love as Captain Wiggins—the Lighthouse Keeper
- The Midnight Patrol
1931
- Finn and Hattie as Le Bottin
- Love, Be with Humanity: Part 2 as Doctor
- Stout Hearts and Willing Hands as Kop(as the Original Keystone Kops)
- Love, Be with Humanity: Part 1 as Doctor
1930
- The Sea Bat as Dutchy
- Soup to Nuts as First Fat Diner (uncredited)
- Cleaning Up as Mack
- Redemption as Magistrate
1929
- The Locked Door as Hotel Proprietor
- The Cohens and Kellys in Atlantic City as Mr. Tom Kelly
1928
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as Sir Francis Beekman
- The Last Warning as Robert Bunce
- Caught in the Fog as Detective Ryan
- Tillie's Punctured Romance as Tillie's Father
- The Girl from Nowhere as Wilbur Ashcraft
1927
- Becky as Irving Spiegelberg
- My Best Girl as Judge
- Mockery as Vladimir Gaidaroff
- See You in Jail as Slossom
- The Girl from Everywhere as Wilfred Ashcraft - Director
- The Shamrock and the Rose as Mike Kelly
- The Beloved Rogue as Nicholas
- A Texas Steer as Bragg
- Finnegan's Ball as Patrick Flannigan
1926
- Torrent as Don Matías
- Kiki as Pastryman (uncredited)
- Hands Up! as Silas Woodstock
- Sea Horses as Bimbo-Bomba
- The Devil's Circus
- Whispering Wires as McCarthy
- Her Big Night as Myers, film producer
- Footloose Widows as Ludwig
- The Nervous Wreck as Jerome Underwood
1925
- The Gold Rush as Big Jim McKay
- The Eagle as Innkeeper (uncredited)
1923
- The Pilgrim as Deacon
- Pitfalls of a Big City as The Vamp's Husband
- This Way Out as The Girl's Father
1922
- Pay Day as Foreman
1921
- The Idle Class as Edna's Father (uncredited)
1920
- Full o' Spirits
- Innocent Ambrose as Ambrose Schnitz
1919
- Heroic Ambrose as Ambrose Schnitz
- Oh, What a Knight as The Sheriff
- Her First False Hare as Unknown
1918
- Adventurous Ambrose as Ambrose
1917
- Lost: A Cook as Farmer Ambrose
- Thirst as Ambrose
- The Pullman Bride as Rover Peabody - the Chosen One
- His Naughty Thought as Walter Ambrose
- The Late Lamented as Boarder (unconfirmed)
1916
- His Bitter Pill as Jim - a Big Hearted Sheriff
- Madcap Ambrose as Ambrose
- A Movie Star as Handsome Jack
1915
- Hogan's Romance Upset as Fight Spectator
- Ye Olden Grafter as The Grafter
- Love, Speed and Thrills as Ambrose
- Ambrose's Fury as Ambrose
- That Little Band Of Gold as Audience Member (uncredited)
- Fatty's New Role as Ambrose Schnitz
- Ambrose's Little Hatchet as Ambrose
- Ambrose's Nasty Temper as Ambrose
- The Home Breakers as Ambrose
- Ambrose's Lofty Perch as Ambrose
- Ambrose's Sour Grapes as Ambrose
- When Ambrose Dared Walrus as Ambrose
- Willful Ambrose as Pa Ambrose
- Saved by Wireless as The Spy
- Mabel Lost and Won as Mabel's Rival's Husband
- Caught in a Park as The Bartender
1914
- Caught in a Cabaret as Tough Patron / Party Guest / Boy's Father (uncredited)
- The Fatal Mallet as Rival Suitor (uncredited)
- Tillie's Punctured Romance as Tillie's Father
- Hello, Mabel as The Married Flirt
- Caught in the Rain as Husband (uncredited)
- The Knockout as Gambler (uncredited)
- A Busy Day as Husband
- Mabel at the Wheel as Race Spectator (uncredited)
- His Prehistoric Past as King Lowbrow
- Fatty's Wine Party as Restaurant Proprietor
- A Thief Catcher as Crook (uncredited)
- Ambrose's First Falsehood as Ambrose
- Getting Acquainted as Ambrose
- A Rowboat Romance as (unconfirmed)
- Mabel's Married Life as Wellington, a Ladykiller
- Gentlemen of Nerve as Mr. Walrus
- Gussle, the Golfer as Ambrose
- A Robust Romeo
- Laughing Gas as Patient
- His Trysting Places as Ambrose
- His Musical Career as Mike, Charlie's Partner
- The Under-Sheriff as Villager
- Leading Lizzie Astray as Cafe Patron - In from the Mines
- The Sea Nymphs as Ambrose
- Other People's Business
- A Gambling Rube as (unconfirmed)
- A Missing Bride
- Mabel’s Nerve
- Love and Gasoline
- Double Crossed as The Belle's Boyfriend
1913
- Fatty Joins the Force as Cop at Station House
- A Muddy Romance as Desk Sergeant / Park Attendant
- The Gusher as Villager / Cop