1910: PNE Carpenter Becomes Horror Legend

A young English actor named William Pratt arrived in Vancouver, got work as a carpenter helping to build what became the PNE. Later he moved to Hollywood and changed his name to Boris Karloff.

1909: Boxer Would Later Hit the Big Screen

World heavyweight boxing champ Jack Johnson fought a six-round exhibition bout in Vancouver with boxer Victor McLaglen, who would later become an Oscar-winning movie actor. This was Jackson's first bout after winning the crown.

McLaglen starred in over 120 movies including the 1935 film The Informer which earned him an Academy award.

Spouse Margaret Pumphrey (1948 - 7 November 1959) (his death) Suzanne M. Brueggeman (1943 - 1948) (divorced) Enid Lamont (1919 - 1942) (her death)

Trivia

Father of film director Andrew V. McLaglen.

Brother of actor Clifford McLaglen.

Brother of actor Cyril McLaglen.

Brother of actor Kenneth McLaglen

Brother of actor and sculptor Arthur McLaglen.

Father-in-law of actress Veda Ann Borg.

Daughter Sheila McLaglen born 1920.

Interred in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, USA.

Grandfather of Mary McLaglen.

Brother of actor Leopold McLaglen.

As a carnival boxer, if anyone could stay in the ring with him for one round and not be knocked down, they won a box of cigars.

He was quoted as saying:

"Acting never appealed to me, and I was dabbling in it solely as a means of making money. I rather felt that the grease paint business was somewhat beneath a man who was once a reasonably useful boxer."

Complete bio here...

1902: Audiences Watch Mount Pelee Eruption

• In 1902 movie goers in Vancouver were informed they could see THE ERUPTION OF MOUNT PELEE—BY ELECTRICITY at the Electric Theatre on Cordova Street. (This was a reconstruction, in a studio, of the actual 1902 Mount Pelee disaster. The film makers used a table-top model with flour bursting out of it.)

1969: A Banner Year For Film In BC

Film production began here in earnest, with Robert Altman's That Cold Day in the Park. In director Altman's first Vancouver feature, a lonely, delusional spinster (Sandy Dennis) picks up a young drifter (Michael Burns) in Kitsilano's Tatlow Park. Another major production: Robert Rafelson's Five Easy Pieces with Jack Nicholson and Karen Black.
Other movies made locally this year included (comments are by Michael Walsh):
Great Coups of History
Written and directed by Ron Darcus, this told the story of a single mom (Delphine Harvey) who reminisces about a life spent trading on her female charms, while her teenaged daughter (Janie Cassie) struggles with her own budding sexuality.
The Mad Room
Directed by Bernard Girard, this was a remake of 1941's Ladies in Retirement, the story of a lady's companion (Stella Stevens) whose teenaged siblings are suspects in the murder of her employer (Shelley Winters).
The Plastic Mile (aka The Finishing Touch and She's a Woman). Directed by Morrie Ruvinsky. The story of an unhinged director (Jace Vander Veen) who raped his leading lady (Pia Shandel) during the making of his magnum opus, this controversial “art movie” added new sex scenes to each successive version.