(born Jan. 17, 1880, Richmond, Que., Can.—died Nov. 5, 1960, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. film director. He performed in burlesque and vaudeville before joining the Biograph studio in 1908, and he soon was directing comedies under
D.W. Griffith's tutelage. He left to form his own Keystone Co. in 1912. Considered the father of slapstick comedy in motion pictures, he produced the first U.S. feature-length comedy,
Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914), and made over 1,000 comedy shorts, often featuring the wild antics of the Keystone Kops. He hired stars such as Mabel Normand, Fatty Arbuckle, and
Charlie Chaplin. Important directors such as
Frank Capra and
George Stevens also received experience under Sennett. Sennett excelled in comic timing, improvisation, and effective editing, and he used trick camera work and high-speed and slow-motion photography to produce his famous comic chase scenes. In 1937 he received a special Academy Award.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
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