Benjamin Wilson

(b Leeds, 21 June 1721; d London, 6 June 1788). English painter, etcher and scientist. He was the 14th child of Major Wilson, a wealthy York clothier whose house was decorated by a French artist, Jacques Parmentier (d 1730). His father's business failed and Wilson moved to London, where he became a clerk and began to study painting, possibly with Thomas Hudson. In 1746 and 1748-50 he was in Dublin, where he practised successfully as a portrait painter. On his return to London he settled into Godfrey Kneller's old house in Great Queen Street and built up a lucrative portrait practice, which was probably patronized chiefly by Yorkshiremen in London. One of these, Sir John Savile, later Earl of Mexborough, may have introduced him to Edward Augustus, Duke of York (1739-67), who in 1773 appointed Wilson painter to the Board of Ordnance, though he painted little after 1769.

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• Born: Jul 07, 1876 in Corning, Iowa
• Died: Aug 25, 1930 in Glendale, California
• Occupation: Director, Actor
• Active: '20s
• Major Genres: Western
• Career Highlights: The Fighting Stallion, Notch Number One, The Desert Hawk
• First Major Screen Credit: Lightning Bryce (1919)

Biography

A sadly neglected American filmmaker, the pompously named Benjamin Franklin Wilson directed, produced, wrote and starred in innumerable low-budget serials and westerns, usually opposite blond Neva Gerber whom many mistakenly took for his wife. (Gerber, to the contrary, was at one point engaged to ill-fated director William Desmond Taylor.) The team enjoyed quite a following in the second decade of American silent films, but their popularity declined in the 1920s with the advent of younger, more athletic serial teams (especially the Allene Ray-Walter Miller combo). During his last decade in films, Wilson either sold his product outright to poverty-row company FBO or distributed his little action thrillers on a states rights basis. He wound up his career supporting Buck Jones in Shadow Ranch (1930). Wilson's death was attributed to a heart ailment. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

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