John Bunny(1863-1915)
- Actor
When John Bunny died the New York Times stated, "The name John Bunny
will always be linked to the movies." Little did movie fans of 1915
realize that he would be completely forgotten the next year and
completely omitted from many books on silent movies 70-80 years later.
Bunny was the ninth in a line of English sea captains and would be the
first not to follow in that profession. He attended St. James High
School in Brooklyn and worked as a grocery clerk before running away in
the late 1800s to discover the world of entertainment and appear in a
small touring minstrel show. He became involved in theater and appeared
in musical comedies such as "Old Dutch" with Hattie Williams and
Lew Fields. He also worked as a stage manager
for various stock companies. Bunny's rebellious nature took over again
and he quit the theater to become involved in the "flickers". This was
a very bold step. Not only was it a major step down for a "legitimate"
stage actor to go into the movies at that time, but Bunny took a pay
cut from $150 to $40 a week to work for Vitagraph in 1910. He made more
than 250 shorts for Vitagraph over five years and become the best known
face in the world.
Bunny always said that he did not aim to be a comedian, but with his
short, gnome-like appearance and a weight approaching the 300-pound
mark, he wound up taking advantage of these features to play comedy (he
once asked rhetorically, "How could I play Romeo with a figure like
mine?"). Bunny's co-star for the majority of his films was
Flora Finch, who contrasted with Bunny's
figure by being tall and thin. They usually appeared as Mr. & Mrs.
Bunny. Their shorts were referred to as "Bunnygraphs" and
"Bunnyfinches". They stayed away from physical comedy and dealt with
relationships, usually the man getting away with something that his
wife disagrees with.
Bunny even traveled to England to make a version of
Charles Dickens' "Pickwick
Papers". He decided to go back on the road with "John Bunny in
Funnyland", but it was not a success. Not only did the show fail, but
he was tired and ill. He talked to Vitagraph about restarting his film
career, but it was too late. The man who led an adventurous life--he
raced horses and flew airplanes--died at his home at 1416 Glenwood Road
in Brooklyn of Bright's Disease in 1915. His funeral was held at the
Elks Club House on West 43rd St. After just five years in the business,
Bunny was gone and forgotten. The news of his death was heard around
the world. He was so popular in Russia they created a series with an
impersonator using the name "Poxon" after Bunny died. Bunny had two
children, George (dec. 1958) and John (dec. 1971) Sadly, only a handful
of Bunny's films survive. The one most available is the popular
A Cure for Pokeritis (1912).
will always be linked to the movies." Little did movie fans of 1915
realize that he would be completely forgotten the next year and
completely omitted from many books on silent movies 70-80 years later.
Bunny was the ninth in a line of English sea captains and would be the
first not to follow in that profession. He attended St. James High
School in Brooklyn and worked as a grocery clerk before running away in
the late 1800s to discover the world of entertainment and appear in a
small touring minstrel show. He became involved in theater and appeared
in musical comedies such as "Old Dutch" with Hattie Williams and
Lew Fields. He also worked as a stage manager
for various stock companies. Bunny's rebellious nature took over again
and he quit the theater to become involved in the "flickers". This was
a very bold step. Not only was it a major step down for a "legitimate"
stage actor to go into the movies at that time, but Bunny took a pay
cut from $150 to $40 a week to work for Vitagraph in 1910. He made more
than 250 shorts for Vitagraph over five years and become the best known
face in the world.
Bunny always said that he did not aim to be a comedian, but with his
short, gnome-like appearance and a weight approaching the 300-pound
mark, he wound up taking advantage of these features to play comedy (he
once asked rhetorically, "How could I play Romeo with a figure like
mine?"). Bunny's co-star for the majority of his films was
Flora Finch, who contrasted with Bunny's
figure by being tall and thin. They usually appeared as Mr. & Mrs.
Bunny. Their shorts were referred to as "Bunnygraphs" and
"Bunnyfinches". They stayed away from physical comedy and dealt with
relationships, usually the man getting away with something that his
wife disagrees with.
Bunny even traveled to England to make a version of
Charles Dickens' "Pickwick
Papers". He decided to go back on the road with "John Bunny in
Funnyland", but it was not a success. Not only did the show fail, but
he was tired and ill. He talked to Vitagraph about restarting his film
career, but it was too late. The man who led an adventurous life--he
raced horses and flew airplanes--died at his home at 1416 Glenwood Road
in Brooklyn of Bright's Disease in 1915. His funeral was held at the
Elks Club House on West 43rd St. After just five years in the business,
Bunny was gone and forgotten. The news of his death was heard around
the world. He was so popular in Russia they created a series with an
impersonator using the name "Poxon" after Bunny died. Bunny had two
children, George (dec. 1958) and John (dec. 1971) Sadly, only a handful
of Bunny's films survive. The one most available is the popular
A Cure for Pokeritis (1912).