Robert G. Vignola
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Robert G. Vignola (born Rocco Giuseppe Vignola, August 5, 1882 – October 25, 1953) was an Italian-born American actor, screenwriter and film director in American cinema. One of the silent screen's most prolific directors, he made a handful of sound films in the early years of talkies but his career essentially ended in the silent era. Born at Trivigno, in the province of Potenza, Vignola left Italy with his family at the age of 3 and was raised in upstate New York. He made his acting debut at 19 performing in "Romeo and Juliet", with Eleanor Robson Belmont and Kyrle Bellew. He began his film career as an actor in 1906 with the short film The Black Hand, directed by Wallace McCutcheon and produced by Biograph Company, generally considered the film that launched the mafia genre. In 1907 he joined Kalem Studios, for which he made numerous movies. One of Vignola's most notable film roles was as Judas Iscariot in From the Manger to the Cross (1912), directed by Sidney Olcott, one of the most successful films of the period. Vignola directed 87 films, most notably The Vampire (1913), sometimes cited as the first "vamp" movie, and Seventeen (1916), where Rudolph Valentino did an uncredited cameo. He had a long association directing the early movies of Pauline Frederick such as Audrey (1916) and Double Crossed (1917). His biggest success was the big-budget epic When Knighthood Was in Flower (1922), starring Marion Davies, which achieved critical and commercial acclaim. Other films include Déclassée (1925), with the uncredited appearance of the then unknown Clark Gable; Broken Dreams (1933), which received a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the Venice Film Festival, and The Scarlet Letter (1934), the last film of Colleen Moore. Vignola died in Hollywood, California in 1953. He lived in a mansion at Whitley Heights owned by William Randolph Hearst. Hearst's mistress Marion Davies was allowed to stay without him at Vignola's mansion, worried that she was having affairs and considering Vignola a trusted companion for her as he was homosexual. He was buried in St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands, New York.
Known For
Credits
- 1915 · Honor Thy Father as Chick Fenway - a Thief
- 1915 · The Railroad Raiders of '62 as Railroad Engineer (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1914 · The Show Girl's Glove as
- 1913 · The Padrone's Plot as Tony
- 1913 · The Vampire as
- 1913 · Shenandoah as Undetermined Role
- 1913 · The Alien as Paola
- 1913 · The Scimitar of the Prophet as Hadjji - a Mohammedan Priest
- 1913 · The War Correspondent as Hal Martin - the Star Reporter
- 1913 · The Message of the Palms as Uncle Tom - the Colonel's Servant
- 1913 · The Peril of the Dance Hall as Pablo Florenti - Pepita's Father
- 1913 · The Prosecuting Attorney as The Criminal
- 1913 · A Desperate Chance as Joe Mellon - the Brakeman
- 1913 · A Sawmill Hazard as Geoffrey Stern
- 1912 · The Shaughraun as Harvey Duff
- 1912 · Ireland, the Oppressed as Michael Dee
- 1912 · The Little Gluers as Darby O'Drive
- 1912 · From the Manger to the Cross as Judas
- 1912 · A Prisoner of the Harem as Mahmoud Pasha
- 1912 · Tragedy of the Desert as The Flirtatious Malmoud Bey
- 1912 · Captured by Bedouins as Judge Barnett - the Father
- 1912 · An Arabian Tragedy as Ayub Kashif
- 1911 · The Colleen Bawn as Mr. Corrigan
- 1911 · Rory O'More as Black William
- 1911 · Railroad Raiders of '62 as Engineer
- 1911 · The Fiddler’s Requiem as Dolores' fiance
- 1911 · A Sawmill Hero as
- 1910 · When Lovers Part as
- 1910 · The Lad from Old Ireland as Man in Campaign Office
- 1908 · The Fight for Freedom as
- 1908 · Over the Hills to the Poor House as
- 1906 · The Black Hand as