Burr McIntosh

William Burr McIntosh (August 21, 1862 – April 28, 1942) was an American lecturer, photographer, film studio owner, silent film actor, author, publisher of Burr McIntosh Monthly,[1] reporter and a pioneer in the early film and radio business.

Burr McIntosh
Burr McIntosh, 1918
Born(1862-08-21)August 21, 1862
Wellsville, Ohio, USA
DiedApril 28, 1942(1942-04-28) (aged 79)
Hollywood, California, USA
Years active1880s–1934

Life and career

He was born in Wellsville, Ohio, the son of William A. McIntosh (died 1921) and his wife Minerva née Bottenberg (died 1883).[2] His father was the president of a public company, New York and Cleveland Gas Coal Company, and a member of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club.[3] The club's activities were blamed (but the members were not held legally responsible) for the failure of the South Fork Dam, which caused the Johnstown Flood in 1889 that resulted in the loss of over 2,200 lives in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. His sister Nancy McIntosh, an operatic soprano, was the protege, adopted daughter and heiress to the estate of W. S. Gilbert of Gilbert and Sullivan.[4]

McIntosh graduated from Lafayette College in 1884, where he was an athlete[5] and became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

He began as a stage actor and then moved into silent films. His most enduring role was Squire Bartlett, who banished the character played by Lillian Gish from his home and into the cold Maine winter in D.W. Griffith's classic film, Way Down East (1920). Miss Gish described McIntosh as a gentle giant, "always apologizing for having to treat me so cruelly". He appeared in 53 films between 1914 and 1934.[1]

He died in Hollywood from a heart attack.

Selected filmography

References
  1. Burr McIntosh A Timeline of His Life and Review of the Burr McIntosh Monthly.
  2. "Death of Mrs. W. A. McIntosh", Pittsburgh Daily Post, January 10, 1883, p. 4
  3. "Johnstown Flood – People". NPS.gov., accessed April 17, 2010
  4. Stone, David. Nancy McIntosh at Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, August 17, 2005, accessed April 17, 2010
  5. Smith, J. Donald. "Who Was Nancy McIntosh?", Sir Arthur Sullivan Society Magazine, No. 104, Winter 2020/21, pp. 8–35
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