William C. Paley (1857 – 31 May 1924) was an early cameraman and film pioneer.[1] He worked with X-rays before health issues led him to switch to film projects. He built a film projector called the Kalatechnoscope. He was hired as a cameraman at Eden Musée filming a Passion Play.[2] He then worked for Thomas A. Edison, Inc. and made many films related to the U.S. war effort against Spain in Cuba. The Library of Congress lists him as William Daly Paley.[3][4] Paley traveled extensively in the U.S. making actuality films.[5]
He was part of the business partnership Paley & Steiner that sold film equipment and produced films. His nickname was Daddy.[6]
Paley's equipment was used to create a passion play that was exhibited in New York. Edison met it with a lawsuit asserting copyright infringement over his film technology.[7] The play received newspaper coverage[8] in part because of fraudulent claims it was filmed in Germany and captured the original production when it was actually a staged recreation.[7]
Paley collaborated with Journal reporter Karl Decker and filmed the funeral procession of the U.S.S. Maine and also filmed the Rough Riders in Tampa.[8]
He died on 31 May 1924.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Performing Arts Archive". www.performingartsarchive.com.
- ^ "Who's Who of Victorian Cinema". www.victorian-cinema.net.
- ^ paley, william daly. "Search results from The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures, Paley, William Daly". Library of Congress.
- ^ Robbins, Dylon Lamar (2017). "War, Modernity, and Motion in the Edison Films of 1898". Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies. 26 (3): 351–375. doi:10.1080/13569325.2017.1292222.
- ^ Abel, Richard (January 1, 1996). Silent Film. A&C Black. ISBN 9780485300765.
- ^ Clarke, Charles G. (March 28, 1989). Highlights and Shadows: The Memoirs of a Hollywood Cameraman. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810822375.
- ^ a b "The Bootleg Files: The Passion Play of Oberammergau |".
- ^ a b Pizzitola, Louis (June 28, 2002). Hearst Over Hollywood: Power, Passion, and Propaganda in the Movies. Columbia University Press. p. 62. ISBN 9780231116466 – via Internet Archive.
william c. paley edison.
- ^ Musser, Charles Edison Motion Pictures 1890-1900
