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- Dom Pedro I, was the first emperor of Brazil. The son of Dom João VI of Portugal, he became known for proclaiming the independence of Brazil in 1822, establishing himself as the leader of the new country. Pedro I reigned until 1831 when he abdicated in favor of his son, Dom Pedro II.
- French author and novelist Louis Hémon was born in Brest, France, in 1880. His father was the Inspector-General of the University of Brest, and Louis was educated at the Ecole Coloniale, intending on a career in the diplomatic service. However, during his school days he wrote articles on sports events and some fiction stories for various Paris newspapers, and in 1906 he won a literary prize for one of his stories. He soon moved to London, England, where his writing career began to take off, and he met and married a local woman. However, the death of his wife in 1911 left him unable and unwilling to stay in London anymore, and he journeyed to Canada. He documented his travels in a journal, later published as "The Journal of Louis Hémon" (1924).
While in Canada he got a job as a laborer on a farm in Quebec. He stayed there for six months. During that time he met a woman named Eva Bouchard, who lived on a neighboring farm. Taken with her, he used her as the heroine for his most famous novel, "Maria Chapdelaine" (1921).
In 1913 he left the farm and headed west, looking for material for further stories. On July 8 of that year he was walking alongside a railroad track near Chapleau in Ontario when he was struck and killed by a passing train. He was buried in Chapleau. - Alice Charbonnet Kellerman was born on 12 October 1858 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. Alice Charbonnet was a writer, known for Venus of the South Seas (1924). Alice Charbonnet died on 14 July 1914 in Paris, France.
- Actor
- Director
Fatty Voss was born on 12 October 1886 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was an actor and director, known for Fatty's Feature Fillum (1917), Pirates of the Air (1916) and Shot in a Bar Room (1915). He died on 22 April 1917 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Kate Adams Keller was born on 12 October 1856 in Arkansas, USA. She died on 15 November 1921 in Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, USA.
- Arthur Nikisch was born on 12 October 1855 in Mosonszentmiklós, Hungary. He was married to Amélie Heussner. He died on 23 January 1922 in Leipzig, Germany.
- Producer
- Director
Anton Kolm was born on 12 October 1865 in Vienna, Austrian Empire [now Austria]. He was a producer and director, known for Trilby (1912), Der Meineidbauer (1915) and Der ledige Hof (1919). He was married to Luise Fleck. He died on 11 October 1922 in Vienna, Austria.- F.A. Turner was born on 12 October 1858 in New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Restitution (1918), Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1917) and A Man and His Mate (1915). He died on 13 February 1923.
- Jim Burris was born on 12 October 1876 in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. He was an actor, known for The Symbol of the Unconquered (1920) and The Sport of the Gods (1921). He was married to Florence Dorothy Hampton and Hattie Christian. He died on 2 June 1923 in Oxon Hill, Maryland, USA.
- Walter Perkins was born on 12 October 1857 in Biddeford, Maine, USA. He was an actor, known for Peaceful Valley (1920), Wee Lady Betty (1917) and The Atom (1918). He died on 3 June 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, USA.
- Edna Luby was born on 12 October 1884 in New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for The Immortal Flame (1916), The Gangster (1913) and A Change of Heart (1910). She was married to Samuel Thor. She died on 1 October 1928 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
Charles Barney was born on 12 October 1884 in Mississippi, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Casey's Birthday (1914), A Freight Train Drama (1912) and Her Bitter Lesson (1912). He died on 30 April 1929 in New York City, New York, USA.- Additional Crew
J.W. Lytle was born on 12 October 1886 in Sumner, Illinois, USA. J.W. was married to Tena Geraldine Cassens. J.W. died on 18 June 1931 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Marie Hübnerová was born on 12 October 1865 in Moorwies, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now Slatina nad Zdobnicí, Czech Republic]. She was an actress, known for Loupezník (1931). She died on 5 August 1931 in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic].
- Charles King was born on 12 October 1844 in Albany, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for A Daughter of the Sioux (1925), Tonio, Son of the Sierras (1925) and Warrior Gap (1925). He was married to Adelaide Yorke. He died on 17 March 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born Rasmus Karl Therkelsen Gottlieb in Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 12, 1886 the future Karl Dane had a rough childhood. His father was an alcoholic and spendthrift. At a young age his parents divorced. To escape his unhappy home he took a great interest in the arts, particularly puppeteering (something popular in Denmark at the time). Dane apprenticed as a machinist during his teenage years.
In 1910 he met and fell in love with Carla Dagmar Hagen. They had two children together: Ejlert Carl and Ingeborg Helene. Dane was restless all his life. War broke out, and Denmark was hit with major unemployment. Hoping to support his family (and find new adventures) Dane immigrated to America in 1916 with the intent to send for his family once he could afford to.
Dane was miserable and lonely, compounded by the fact his wife soon asked for a divorce. He worked various odd jobs (mostly as a mechanic and carpenter) and lived in various states.
Hearing of the good money in flickers Dane tried his luck. By 1917 he was given a small extra role at Vitagraph. Though his scene ended up on the cutting room floor Dane continued to seek a film career. With the outbreak of War in the US Dane found luck, being cast as the evil Hun in many Anti Kaiser films including "To Hell with the Kaiser!", "The Wolves of Kultur", and "My Four Year in Germany". Dane was very successful in such roles. Possibly to avoid anti German sentiment it was at this time he changed his name to the less provocative sounding 'Dane' (after well...being a Dane).
By 1918 Dane had grown disillusioned with Hollywood and had fallen in love with a Swedish woman named Helen Benson. Benson strongly disapproved of his acting so Dane quit and took up chicken farming. The pair married and Benson became pregnant in 1923. However she died in childbirth as did the child, a baby girl. Dane was devastated. Terribly lonely Dane quickly married telephone operator Emma Sawyer. The marriage only lasted 6 months.
During this unfortunate time Dane ran into old friend Charles Hutchison who convinced him to try acting again. This proved very lucky as Dane was chosen by King Vidor for the role of Slim in "The Big Parade". The film would be a major success and go on to be one of the best selling silents of all time (ironic considering Dane's previous Hun roles, it was an anti war film).
Dane was signed by MGM for a salary of $150 per week, which would eventually rise to $1,500 weekly. His family back in Denmark spotted him and they reconnected, though Dane would never see his children again. Dane so had many key roles in major movies including many Lillian Gish and John Gilbert films (such as La Boheme and The Scarlet Letter).
Dane's career continued to rise with a role as Ramadan in 1926's "Son of the Sheik" with Rudolph Valentino and "Bardelys the Magnificent" with John Gilbert. In 1927 Dane paired with British actor George K. Arthur to form the comedic duo Dane & Arthur. The pair were quite successful with Dane usually playing the slow witted Scandinavian.
Contrary to popular and hugely inaccurate Hollywood Babylon lore Dane did decently in talkies. His English was a bit shaky but his accent was understandable and suited his type and look perfectly. He would go on to have roles in many films between 1928 and 1930.
By 1928 Dane began to burn too brightly. He worked too hard and became ill and severely fatigued (almost dying of pneumonia at one point). He began a relationship with crazed Russian Thais Valdemar (contrary to what she claimed they never married). In 1930 Dane's roles had grown smaller and he soon lost his contract. Dane suffered a nervous break down the same year.
After recovering in 1931 Dane and Arthur reunited for an 8 month vaudeville tour which did very well and led to another film contract. However by 1932 this too had ended as writers couldn't think up enough clever scenarios for Dane. He made one final film, the 3 hour serial "The Whispering Shadow" which starred a new actor named Bela Lugosi (incredibly it took only 12 days to shoot). Dane had a small yet key role in the serial, ending his film career with a wonderful yet underrated performance.
Dane made major investments in mining in 1931 and 1933. However his business partner was crooked and Dane soon lost all the money he had made in films. Now impoverished Dane went from one menial job to another, always losing them in some cruel and unfair way. One such job was as a waiter at a café. The owner fired Dane soon after when he discovered a former movie star turned waiter did not draw in customers. MGM also refused to rehire Dane as even a carpenter or an extra despite his skills. Yes he did own a hot dog stand, no he didn't operate it in front of the MGM gates. That was a Kenneth Anger invention.
Days before his death Dane was returning to his apartment when he was pick-pocketed of all the money he had in the world: $18. On the eve of April 14th, 1934 Dane's friend (and possible girlfriend though the evidence is sketchy) Frances Leake arrived at his apartment to take him to a movie, hoping to lift his spirits. Unable to enter she had the landlady open the door. The duo discovered Dane slumped in his chair, a revolver at his side. He had left a note by a scrapbook of his publicity clippings, "To Frances and all my friends---Goodbye." He was 47.
Dane's body was held hoping his relatives could be found in Denmark. The Danish community of Hollywood was livid and insisted he be given a proper and dignified burial. At their urging MGM paid for a funeral. Dane was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.- Prince Randian was born in the Demarara district, British Guyana in 1871, the child of British Indian slaves. Born with tetra-amelia syndrome (the lacking of all four limbs), little is known about his early life or how he was discovered, but it seems his incredible adaptability did not go unnoticed. Reputedly, he was brought to the United States by P.T. Barnum in 1889 at the age of 18, performing as an "oddity" or "freak" at dime shows, museums and primarily at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York
For his act, Randian was billed as "the human caterpillar who crawls on his belly like a reptile." He wore a one-piece wool garment that fit tightly over his body, giving him the appearance of a caterpillar, snake or potato. He was efficient at moving from place to place by wriggling his hips and shoulders in a snake-like motion. He would demonstrate his astonishing ability to fend for himself regardless of his handicap. He would shave himself by securing a razor in a wooden block, paint with a brush or write with a pen by using his lips, and most famously, roll and light his own cigarette in his only film appearance, Freaks (1932) (1932). Randian was also said to have been a skilled carpenter, using his mouth and shoulders to manipulate his tools, and he kept all of the props and materials used in his act in a wooden box that he reportedly constructed, painted and installed a lock by himself using a saw, knife and hammer. "Someday," he used to say, "I'll build myself a house."
Randian could speak English, German and French in addition to Hindi, his native language. He married early in life to a Hindu woman known only as Princess Sarah, who remained devoted to him throughout his long 45-year career in the sideshow. The couple had four daughters, plus a son who later became his manager. They settled at 174 Water Street in Paterson, New Jersey.
Prince Randian died of a heart attack at 7:00 PM on December 19, 1934, shortly after his comeback performance at Sam Wagner's 14th Street Museum in New York. He was 63 years old. - Joe Traub was born on 12 October 1901 in New York City, New York, USA. Joe was a writer, known for King of the Islands (1936), Merry Wives of Reno (1934) and Into the Night (1928). Joe died on 8 November 1936 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Ramsay MacDonald was born on 12 October 1866 in Lossiemouth, Morayshire, Scotland, UK. He was married to Margaret Ethel Gladstone. He died on 5 November 1937 in Atlantic Ocean.
- Actress
- Script and Continuity Department
Charlotte Woods was born on 12 October 1900 in Iowa, USA. She was an actress, known for The Girl I Loved (1923), Oh, Lady, Lady (1920) and Fighting Bill (1921). She died on 7 February 1938 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Delphin was born on 12 October 1882 in Fessey, Haute-Saône, France. He was an actor, known for Carnival in Flanders (1935), Zero for Conduct (1933) and Le nain (1912). He died on 6 May 1938 in Paris, France.
- Edward O'Neill was born on 12 October 1862 in Solapur, Maharashtra, India. He was an actor, known for Mary Girl (1917), Hindle Wakes (1918) and Justice (1917). He died on 20 August 1938 in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK.
- Kirill Vladimirovich Romanov was born on 12 October 1876 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He was married to Grand Duchess Victoria Feodorovna of Russia. He died on 12 October 1938 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, France.
- Kullervo Manner was born on 12 October 1880 in Kokemäki, Finland. He died on 15 January 1939 in the Soviet Union.
- Arthur Harden was born on 12 October 1865 in Manchester, England, UK. He died on 17 June 1940 in London, England, UK.
- James Bradbury Sr. was born on 12 October 1857 in Old Town, Maine, USA. He was an actor, known for The Garden of Allah (1916), Abraham Lincoln (1930) and Hot Heels (1927). He was married to Florence May Saunders (actress) and Ruth Torbett. He died on 12 October 1940 in Clifton, New York, USA.
- Writer
- Actor
- Script and Continuity Department
Clifford Howard was born on 12 October 1868 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for The Valley of Decision (1916), The Other Side of the Door (1916) and For a Woman's Honor (1919). He was married to Hattie. He died on 19 May 1942 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Edith Stein was born on 12 October 1891 in Breslau, Silesia, Germany [now Wroclaw, Dolnoslaskie, Poland]. She was a writer, known for Television Theater (1953). She died on 9 August 1942 in Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, Oswiecim, Malopolskie, Poland.
- Bruce Sidney was born on 12 October 1889 in Kent, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Girls Can Play (1937) and Two-Fisted Gentleman (1936). He died on 18 October 1942 in Hollywood, California, USA.
- Betty Chester was born on 12 October 1895 in Torquay, Devon, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Musgrave Ritual (1922), Be Mine Tonight (1932) and The Co-Optimists (1929). She died on 11 January 1943 in Lisbon, Portugal.
- Additional Crew
- Producer
George Noffka was born on 12 October 1886 in New York, USA. He was a producer, known for The Magician (1926), Mare Nostrum (1926) and The Arab (1924). He died on 19 May 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Miller is a U.S. Navy mess attendant and cook who earned the Navy Cross during World War 2. He is best known for his heroic actions aboard the battleship West Virginia during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. During the attack, he helped several sailors who were wounded, and he shot down several Japanese planes while manning an anti-aircraft gun for which he hadn't received formal instruction. The resulting publicity for Miller actions in the Black press made him an iconic emblem in the fight for civil rights for Black Americans. He was killed while serving aboard the escort carrier Liscome Bay when it was sunk by a Japanese submarine during the Battle of Makin in the Gilbert Islands. In January 19, 2020, the Navy announced that a Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier, CVN-81, scheduled to be commissioned in 2032 would be named after Miller.
- Ede Gyenis was born on 12 October 1880 in Szakcs, Austria- Hungary [now Hungary]. He was an actor, known for Szép Ilonka (1921), Lavina (1921) and A papucshös (1938). He died on 25 February 1944 in Csopak, Hungary.
- Hans Georg Klamroth was born on 12 October 1898 in Halberstadt, Germany. He died on 26 August 1944 in Plötzensee, Berlin, Germany.
- Maurice Donnay was born on 12 October 1859 in Paris, France. Maurice was a writer, known for Paraître (1917), L'altro pericolo (1920) and Oiseaux de passage (1925). Maurice died on 31 March 1945 in Paris, France.
- Harry Liedtke was born on 12 October 1882 in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany [now Kaliningrad, Russia]. He was an actor, known for Die Konkurrenz platzt (1929), Der Mann ohne Namen - 1. Der Millionendieb (1921) and Die Liebe einer Königin (1923). He was married to Käthe Dorsch, Ernestine Emaline Johanne Proft, Christa Tordy and Hanne Schutt. He died on 28 April 1945 in Bad Saarow, Brandenburg, Germany.
- Fumimaro Konoe was born on 12 October 1891 in Tokyo, Japan. He died on 16 December 1945 in Tokyo, Japan.
- Director
V.C. Desai was born on 12 October 1913 in Bombay, Bombay Presidency, British India. He was a director, known for Nirdosh (1942), Sadhana (1939) and Sri Thyagaraja (1937). He was married to Nalini Jaywant. He died on 25 January 1946 in Baroda, Bombay Presidency, British India.- Alf James was born on 12 October 1867 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for The Thrill Hunter (1933), Give Us This Night (1936) and Elmer and Elsie (1934). He died on 9 October 1946 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Actor
- Writer
- Director
Victor Potel was born in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1889. His first film was in 1910, for Essanay Film Manufacturing Company in Chicago. Potel worked for Essanay in most of the Broncho Billy series, as well as playing a character called "Slippery Slim" in almost 80 movies as well as Universal Pictures' "Snakeville" series. He moved to Universal in 1928 to make Melody of Love (1928) and worked steadily, playing small and sometimes uncredited bit parts, primarily comic roles due to his height and awkward look. Potel also wrote and directed. In 1935 he provided continuity and dialogue for several films. He became part of Preston Sturges' stock of character actors, appearing in nine films written and directed by Sturges. Potel work until his death on 8 March 1947, just after finishing playing "Barfly" in Relentless (1948).- Edward Alexander "Aleister" Crowley was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, philosopher, professional writer, and self-proclaimed prophet. In his youth, Crowley joined the occult organization Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1887-1903), where he received much of his training in theurgy and ceremonial magic. In 1904, Crowley established his own religion: Thelema (Greek for "the will"). He had supposedly received a divine revelation from an angel. Crowley believed that humans should strive to overcome both their desires and their socially-instilled inhibitions in order to find out the true purpose of their respective lives. Several of Crowley's religious ideas went on to influence Wicca, the practice of chaos magick, Satanism, and Scientology.
In 1875, Crowley was born in Royal Leamington Spa, Warwickshire to a wealthy family. His father was the retired engineer Edward Crowley (1829-1887), who was 46-years-old at the time of Crowley's birth. Edward had grown wealthy due to being the partial owner of a successful brewery. Cowley's mother was Emily Bertha Bishop (1848-1917), a member of a somewhat prominent family whose members lived in both Devonshire and Somerset.
Crowley's parents were converts of the Plymouth Brethren, a Christian fundamentalist movement whose members believed that the Bible is the only authority for church doctrine and practice. Crowley received his early education at an evangelical boarding school located in Hastings. He was then send to the Ebor preparatory school in Cambridge. The boy grew to hate the abusive Reverend Henry d'Arcy Champney, who inflicted sadistic punishments on his students. Crowley eventually dropped out of this school, due to health problems. The boy had developed albuminuria, a urine disease.
By the time he was 12, Crowley was skeptical about Christianity and its teachings. Years of bible study had resulted in Crowley realizing and memorizing the inconsistencies in the Bible. He eagerly pointed these to his religious teachers. In his teen years, Crowley largely rejected Christian morality. He felt the need to satisfy his sexual urges, and did not view this need as immoral. He received college lessons in chemistry, and started writing poetry as a hobby. In his early 20s, Crowley was also a chess enthusiast, and an increasingly skilled mountaineer. In 1894, Crowley joined the Scottish Mountaineering Club. In 1895, Crowley climbed the peaks of five mountains in the Bernese Alps.
By 1895, Crowley started using his nickname "Aleister" as his legal name. From 1895 to 1898, Crowley attended Trinity College, Cambridge. He studied primarily philosophy and literature. He was the president of the local chess club, and briefly considered pursuing a career as a professional chess player. In 1896, Crowley had his first sexual experience with another man while vacationing in Stockholm, Sweden. He would later embrace his bisexuality. He had sexual sexual relationships with various men while living in Cambridge, though such activities were illegal in Victorian England. In 1897, Crowley started a romantic relationship with the on-stage female impersonator (drag queen) Herbert Charles Pollitt (1871-1942). They eventually broke up because Pollitt refused to join his boyfriend in his studies of mysticism and occultism. Crowley later wrote several texts concerning his lifelong regrets about ending his relationship with Pollitt.
In 1898, Crowley dropped out of Cambridge. He maintained excellent grades, but he lost interest in actually pursuing a degree. Also in 1898, Crowley published two volumes of his poems. Shortly after leaving Cambridge, the novice occultist Crowley started hanging out with members of the occultist organization Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1887-1903). He was formally initiated into the organization in November 1898. His initiation ritual was performed by the organization's de facto leader, Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers (1854 -1918). Crowley grew to consider Mathers to be an ineffectual leader.
In the late 1890s, Crowley received training in ceremonial magic by more experienced members of the Golden Dawn. He was fascinated with the ritual use of drugs. He rose through the organization's ranks, but was soon refused entry into the group's inner Second Order. The openly bisexual and libertine Crowley was disliked by several conservative members of the organization. Crowley had started a feud with a fellow member, the Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). Yeats' friends resented Crowley.
A schism eventually started within the Golden Dawn, between Mathers' supporters and the members who disliked Mathers' autocratic policies. Crowley chose to support Mathers, and tried to take over one of the organization's temples in the name of Mathers. The dispute resulted in a court case between the rival factions of the Golden Dawn, over ownership of the temple. Mathers lost the court case, and Crowley started being treated as a pariah by members of the winning faction.
In 1900, Crowley decided to migrate to Mexico. He settled in Mexico City, where he experimented with the Enochian invocations of the famed occultist and alchemist John Dee (1527-1608/1609). His mountaineering activities led him to reach the top of several Mexican mountains, such as Iztaccihuatl, Popocatepetl, and Colima. After leaving Mexico, Crowley started traveling the world in search of new experiences. He visited California, Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, and France. Crowley took part in a failed mountaineering expedition that attempted to reach the peak of K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth. The expedition reached an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,100 meters). They abandon the attempt to reach the peak, as Crowley and several other expedition members were suffering from malaria.
In August 1903, Crowley married Rose Edith Kelly (1874-1932), the sister of one of his close friends. It was a marriage of convenience, not love. Rose wanted to escape an arranged marriage, and was fleeing from domineering family members. Her brother viewed the marriage as a personal betrayal by Crowley. The couple took an extended honeymoon. In February 1904, the couple settled in Cairo Egypt. Crowley started invoking ancient Egyptian deities in magical ceremonies. He also took the opportunity to study Islamic mysticism.
In early April 1904, Crowley started listening to the disembodied voice of the angel Aiwass. It supposedly delivered to Crowley messages from the god Horus, concerning a new age for humanity. Crowley recorded his divine revelations in "The Book of the Law", the first publication of Thelema. The disembodied voice supposedly also requested a number of difficult tasks from Crowley, who simply chose to ignore them as unreasonable demands.
In 1905, Crowley returned to his private estate in Scotland, for the first time in several years. He renounced his former mentor Mathers, as Crowley was convinced that the old man was conspiring against him. Crowley established his own printing company, the "Society for the Propagation of Religious Truth". He chose the name to mock a Christian charity organization, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (1698-). The primary purpose of the company was the promotion of Crowley's literary works. By this point, Crowley was relatively famous as a poet. Several of his poems were favorably received by critics, but they never sold well.
Crowley soon resumed world traveling. He led a failed mountaineering expedition to climb the mountain Kanchenjunga in Nepal. Crowley faced a mutiny over his reckless behavior during the expedition. He returned to India, then made an extended tour of Southern China. He also visited Hanoi in Vietnam. He worked on a new ritual while in China, invoking his Holy Guardian Angel. He proceeded to travel through Japan and Canada, and visited New York City in a failed effort to secure funding for a new mountaineering expedition.
Crowley's return to the United Kingdom came with a nasty surprise for him. He learned that his first-born daughter Lilith Crowley had died of typhoid fever during his absence. He also realized that his wife Rose was struggling with alcoholism, and that she was probably not fit to be a parent. His own health was failing at the time, and he underwent a series of surgical operations.
In 1907, Crowley started regularly using hashish in his magic rituals. In 1909, he published an essay concerning the mystical aspects of hashish use. He published several books concerning the occult during the late 1900s. The family fortune which he had inherited was running out at the time, and he tried to secure additional funds. At one point, Crowley was hired by George Montagu Bennett, the Earl of Tankerville, to protect him from evil witchcraft. Crowley realized that Tankerville was a cocaine-addict suffering from paranoia, so Crowley just improvised a drug rehabilitation project for his employer.
In 1908, Crowley realized that horror short stories were selling much better than poetry. So he published a series of his own horror stories. He also became a regular writer for a weekly magazine, the so-called "Vanity Fair" (1868-1914). In 1909, Crowley established his own magazine, "The Equinox" (1909-1998). The magazine specialized in texts about occultism and magick, but also regularly published poetry, prose fiction, and biographies.
In 1909, Crowley divorced his wife Rose, as he was fed-up with her drinking binges. Rose was institutionalized in 1911.In November 1909, Crowley started a long journey through the deserts of Algeria. He chose to recite the Quran on a daily basis while living in the desert. At one point, Crowley offered a blood sacrifice to the demon Choronzon while still in Algeria. He returned to London in January 1910, to find that his old mentor Mather was suing him for publishing secret texts of the defunct Golden Dawn. Crowley both won the court case, and enjoyed the publicity which the case brought him. The yellow press was portraying him as a Satanist, and Crowley found it amusing to embrace various stereotypes about Satanism at the time.
In 1910, Crowley organized the Rites of Artemis, a public performance of magic and symbolism. All the performers were associates and followers of Crowley. The celebrations received favorable reviews from the press. The encouraged Crowley soon organized the Rites of Eleusis in Westminster, but this performance received mostly negative reviews. There were press reports at the time that Crowley was homosexual, but the authorities made no attempt to arrest him. Crowley devoted the next couple of years to his writing activities, completing 19 works on magic and mysticism in this period. He also continued publishing poetry and fiction.
In 1912, Crowley published the magical book "The Book of Lies", one of his best-reviewed works. Crowley found himself accused of plagiarizing the works of the German occultist Theodor Reuss (1855-1923), based on the similarities between their ideas. Crowley managed to convince Reuss that the similarities were coincidental, and befriended Reuss in the process. Crowley was then initiated in Reuss' own occult organization, the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO). With Reuss' permission, Crowley established a British branch of the organization and completely rewrote most of the organization's rituals. OTO was practicing sex magic, and Crowley liked that idea.
In 1913, Crowley served as the producer for a group of female violinists. Primarily because the group's leader was a close friend and lover of Crowley. He followed them during 6 weeks of performances in Moscow, Russia. Crowley wrote several new works while in Moscow. In January 1914, Crowley and his long-term lover Victor Neuburg settled together in a Parisian apartment. The couple experimented with sex magic rituals, which involved the use of strong drugs. At the time, Crowley regularly invoked the Roman gods Jupiter and Mercury in his new rituals. Noticing that Neuburg had started distancing himself from Crowley by the end of their vacation in Paris, Crowley had an intense argument with him and ritually cursed Neuburg.
By 1914, Crowley was nearly bankrupt. He financially depended on donation by his followers. In May 1914, he transferred the ownership of his estate in Scotland. Later that year, Crowley suffered from a bout of phlebitis. Following his recovery, he decided to migrate to the United States for financial reasons. He settled in New York City, where he became a regular writer for the American version of the magazine "Vanity Fair" (1913-1936). He continued experimenting with sex magic while living in the Big Apple.
During World War I, Crowley declared his support for the German Empire against the British Empire. His sympathies were possibly influenced by his German friends in the OTO. In 1915, Crowley was hired as a writer for the propagandist newspaper "The Fatherland", which championed German interests in the United States. Crowley left New York City for a while, going on an extended tour of Canada, Mexico, and the United States. He visited Vancouver to make contact with the local variation of the OTO. Crowley spend part of the winter of 1916 in New Orleans, which was his favorite American city. In February 1917, Crowley headed to Florida for a family reunion with a number of his evangelical Christian relatives who had settled there.
Later in 1917, Crowley returned to New York City. He struggled with unemployment, as several of the newspapers and magazines which had previously hired him had shut down. In 1918, Crowley worked on a new translation of the Taoist book "Tao Te Ching". At the time, Crowley claimed to have started experiencing past life memories. Fueled by his belief in reincarnation, Crowley proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of Pope Alexander VI/Rodrigo de Borja (1431-1503, term 1492-1503). Having more free time than usual while living in Greenwich Village, Crowley found a new hobby in painting. He exhibited several of his painting at a local literary club, and attracted some attention from the local press.
In 1919, the impoverished Crowley moved back to London. The local press labeled a traitor for his Germanophile tendencies. He was suffering from asthma attacks at the time. An English doctor prescribed a supposedly miraculous drug for Crowley, which promised to cure his asthma. The drug was actually heroine, and was highly addictive. Crowley developed a drug addiction. In January 1920, Crowley moved to the Parisian apartment of his lover Leah Hirsig. While there, he started efforts to establish a new organization, the Abbey of Thelema. He named it after a fictional organization which had appeared in the works of Francois Rabelais (c. 1483-1553).
In April 1920, Crowley settled in Sicily with a number of his supporters and their families. They established the Abbey of Thelema. They established daily rituals for the sun god Ra. Crowley offered a libertine education for the children of his followers, and allowed them to witness sex magic rituals. The organization soon attracted new followers, but Crowley's drug addiction was increasingly out of control. In 1922, Crowley published the autobiographical novel "Diary of a Drug Fiend". The British press criticized it for supposedly promoting the use of drugs.
In 1923, Crowley was at the center of an international scandal. A young Thelemite follower died from a liver infection, after drinking polluted water. His widow published stories of the unsanitary conditions in the Abbey, and of self-harm rituals which Crowley had created for his followers. The international press published scathing stories for Crowley. Benito Mussolini, the fascist Prime Minister of Italy (1883-1945, term 1922-1943) decided to deport Crowley in April 1923. The Abbey was not officially targeted by the fascist government, but it soon collapsed due to its lack of leadership. There was no way to attract more followers of Crowley to Sicily without using Crowley's physical presence as a tool for recruitment.
In self-exile in Tunis during much of 1923, Crowley started working on his autobiography, "The Confessions of Aleister Crowley". In January 1924, Crowley moved back to France in preparation for a series of nasal operations. For the next few years, Crowley spend part of each year in Tunis and part of each year in France. He wrote a few significant works at the time, though some of his personal relationships deteriorated.
In the mid-1920s, Crowley declared himself to be the new leader of the OTO, following the death of Reuss. His right to leadership was questioned by other candidate leaders,. The OTO soon split itself to several rival factions, each proclaiming itself to be the true continuation of the original organization. In 1928, Crowley was deported from France. Due to Crowley's past loyalty to the German Empire, the French authorities worried that he may be a German agent.
In 1929, Crowley moved back to the United Kingdom. He secured a book deal with Mandrake Press, which agreed to publish his autobiography and several works of prose fiction. The Great Depression negatively affected Crowley. In November 1930, Mandrake went into liquidation. Crowley was left with no regular published for his works, and no regular source of income. Crowley spend part of the year 1930 in Berlin, Germany, where his expressionistic paintings were displayed in a gallery. His works gained favorable press reviews, but few of them were actually sold. Painting was not a profitable occupation for Crowley.
In January 1932, Crowley started socializing with German communists and other far left figures in Berlin, despite having never previously expressed any interest in their ideologies. Some of his biographers suspect that Crowley was merely acting as a spy for British intelligence at this time. Later that year, he returned to London for another nasal surgery. In desperate need of money, Crowley launched a series of court cases for libel against his perceived enemies. The litigation proved more expensive than he expected, and he was declared bankrupt in February 1935. The bankruptcy case revealed that Crowley's expenses over the past few years had far exceeded his income.
In 1936, Crowley published "The Equinox of the Gods". It was his first new book in half a decade, and sold unusually well. Crowley also managed to secure funding from the Agape Lodge, a Californian splinter faction of the OTO. His benefactor was the Lodge's de facto leader, the rocket engineer Jack Parsons (1914-1952). Crowley was concerned at the time about the disestablishment of the German faction of the OTO, whose members faced persecution by the Nazi Party. Several of Crowley's German friends had been arrested, and others had fled the country.
During World War II, Crowley was closely associated with the British intelligence community. His biographers are uncertain whether he was working as a British agent, or merely assisting actual agents. Among Crowley's close associates during the War were two fellow British writers who were working as intelligence agents: Roald Dahl (1916-1990) and Ian Fleming (1908-1964). Crowley supposedly helped create a new war slogan for the BBC, called "V for Victory". His asthma attacks worsened during the war, in part because the medication he needed was unavailable. He was briefly hospitalized in Torquay. Among Crowley's last published works was a wartime book about the concept of human rights.
On December 1, 1947, Crowley died due to chronic bronchitis, aggravated by pleurisy. He was 72-years-old at the time of his death. Despite Crowley maintaining several friendly and professional contacts during the last years of his life, only about a dozen people bothered to attend his funeral. His body was cremated, and his ashes were delivered to the next leader of the OTO, Karl Gemer. Gemer was living at the time in exile in the United States. Gemer buried Crowley's ashes in a garden located in Hampton, New Jersey. Crowley remains one of the most famous and influential occultists of his era, thought the nature of his legacy remains a controversial topic. - Actor
- Soundtrack
Carl Hagman was born on 12 October 1890 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden. He was an actor, known for For Her Sake (1930), 65, 66, and Me (1936) and Robinson i Roslagen (1948). He was married to Emy Hagman. He died on 7 February 1949 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.- Anna-Lisa Lindzén was born on 12 October 1888. She was an actress, known for Alexander den Store (1917) and Den förgyllda lergöken (1924). She died on 3 June 1949.
- Additional Crew
- Director
- Writer
Arthur Berthelet was born on 12 October 1879 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He was a director and writer, known for The Misleading Lady (1916), Vultures of Society (1916) and Pants (1917). He died on 16 September 1949 in Vista, California, USA.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Chris Smith was born on 12 October 1879 in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. He is known for Beaches (1988), The Defiant Ones (1958) and That's My Boy (1951). He died on 4 October 1949 in New York City, New York, USA.- Ted Wray was born on 12 October 1908 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for Double Cross (1941). He was married to Louise Armstrong. He died on 26 January 1950 in Big Bear Lake, California, USA.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Axel Strøm was born on 12 October 1866. He was an actor and director, known for Dorian Grays Portræt (1910), Den døde Rotte (1910) and The Heir to Skjoldborg (1914). He died on 12 April 1950.- Steve Conway was born on 12 October 1920 in Bethnal Green, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Girl on the Pier (1953). He was married to Lilian Doris Butcher. He died on 19 April 1952 in London, England, UK.
- Born in St Brides Wentlooge (now in Gwent), Wales, UK, where he was brought up as a strict Congregationalist and a Welsh speaker. He started his working life as an apprentice draper in Newport, Wales, and was drawn to an acting career after seeing "It's Never Too Late to Mend" at the Old Victoria Hall, Newport. Started career as a stage actor in South Wales. His first engagement was at a chapel in Cardiff, giving readings from Shakespeare. In 1890 he met a touring group on a train and was persuaded to step in for a sick actor; this was his first professional engagement. He opened on 28 August 1890 in "The Grip Of Iron" at the Theatre Royal, Bristol, gaining experience in the provinces. He made his London debut at the Shakespeare Theatre Clapham on 19 July 1897. Changed his name to Lyn when working in London, as the English could not spell or pronounce his real Christian name, Llewellyn. He starred in stage, screen and radio productions, and he toured in the U.S., India, Burma, and Japan, sharing stages with John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, and Anthony Quayle. He specialised in playing villains: The sinister hypnotist Svengali, Conan Doyle's Prof. Moriarty, and Bill Sikes in "Oliver Twist" were some of his roles. His last stage appearance was as Abu Hassan in "Chu Chin Chow" in the West End in 1941 when he was 74 years old, and when he was nearly 80 he played Owain Glyndwr in Shakespeare's Henry VII for the BBC 3rd Programme. He died in 1952 after a long illness. There is a memorial to him in the Chapel House Inn (a public house) in his home town of St Brides Wentlooge (the inn was owned by his uncle), the plaque having been moved from its original place in his old school when the school closed.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dick Botiller was born on 12 October 1896 in Ventura, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Radio Patrol (1937), The Secret Code (1942) and Scouts to the Rescue (1939). He died on 24 March 1953 in Ridgecrest, California, USA.