Today is the birthday of Eddie Lyons (1886-1926). Lyons started out in vaudeville and musical comedy. His first film The Villain Foiled, was co-directed by Mack Sennett and Henry Lehrman for Biograph. He stayed with Biograph for two years before going to work for Al Christie. In 1915, Christie paired him with Lee Moran and for five years the two were a very successful comedy team enacting domestic sit-com style scenarios. Lyons directed or co-directed most of his films through 1924. In the early 20s he broke up with Moran, directing his own solo vehicles at his own independent production company for Arrow Film Corporation. In 1924, he went back to being an actor for hire, appearing in three additional features before he was killed (it is said) by a burst appendix in 1926.
To learn more about comedy film history please check out my book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc, and for the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous
