Larry Semon(1889-1928)

Director
Writer
Actor

Slapstick comedian known for his charming, white-painted face and clownish smile, mugged his way to being a very highly paid and popular actor. His career was marred by personal problems, and his fortune was lost to high spending. By the time he died, he'd already been hospitalized for a nervous breakdown and was penniless. He was 39 years old.

IMDbProStarmeter See rank

Awards
- 1 win

Photos31

+ 25

Known for

The Show

5.8

Short

Director

1922

The Wizard of Oz

4.9

Director

1925

Stop, Look and Listen

5.5

Director

1926

The Girl in the Limousine

6.0

Director

1924

Credits

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IMDbPro

Director

Anything for Laughs
Short
- Director (original version)
- 1951
A Simple Sap
6.1
Short
- Director
- 1928
Dummies
6.2
Short
- Director
- 1928
Oh, What a Man!
7.2
Short
- Director
- 1927
The Stunt Man
6.9
Short
- Director
- 1927
A Dozen Socks
6.5
Short
- Director (uncredited)
- 1927
The Plumber's Daughter
Short
- Director
- 1927
Pass the Dumplings
Short
- Director
- 1927
Stop, Look and Listen
5.5
- Director
- 1926
My Best Girl
- Director
- 1925
The Cloudhopper
6.6
Short
- Director
- 1925
The Dome Doctor
6.2
Short
- Director
- 1925
The Wizard of Oz
4.9
- Director
- 1925
Kid Speed
5.8
Short
- Director
- 1924
Her Boy Friend
5.8
Short
- Director
- 1924

Writer

Stop! Look and Laugh
Short
- based on the short film written by
- 1951
A Simple Sap
6.1
Short
- writer
- 1928
Dummies
6.2
Short
- writer
- 1928
Oh, What a Man!
7.2
Short
- Writer
- 1927
The Stunt Man
6.9
Short
- Writer
- 1927
Special Delivery
6.4
- Writer (uncredited)
- 1927
A Dozen Socks
6.5
Short
- scenario
- 1927
Stop, Look and Listen
5.5
- scenario
- 1926
The Cloudhopper
6.6
Short
- Writer
- 1925
The Dome Doctor
6.2
Short
- scenario
- 1925
The Wizard of Oz
4.9
- adapted by
- 1925
Kid Speed
5.8
Short
- story
- 1924
Her Boy Friend
5.8
Short
- Writer
- 1924
Trouble Brewing
6.4
Short
- story
- 1924
Horseshoes
6.6
Short
- story
- 1923

Actor

A Simple Sap
6.1
Short
- It
- 1928
Dummies
6.2
Short
- The Entertainer
- 1928
Oh, What a Man!
7.2
Short
- The Detective
- 1927
The Stunt Man
6.9
Short
- Larry
- 1927
Underworld
7.5
- 'Slippy' Lewis
- 1927
Spuds
- Spuds
- 1927
Stop, Look and Listen
5.5
- Luther Meek
- 1926
My Best Girl
- 1925
The Perfect Clown
6.2
- Bert Larry
- 1925
The Cloudhopper
6.6
Short
- Borden Rhoom
- Getz A. Bunn
- 1925
The Dome Doctor
6.2
Short
- Peter Pep
- 1925
The Wizard of Oz
4.9
- Scarecrow
- Toymaker
- Farmhand
- 1925
Kid Speed
5.8
Short
- The Speed Kid
- 1924
Her Boy Friend
5.8
Short
- Larry, the Chief's son
- 1924
The Girl in the Limousine
6.0
- Tony
- 1924

Personal details

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Alternative names
- Lawrence Semon
Height
- 5′ 7″ (1.70 m)
Born
- July 16, 1889
- West Point, Mississippi, USA
Died
- October 8, 1928
- Gracelon Ranch, near Victorville, California, USA(lobar pneumonia)
Spouses
Publicity listings
- 24 Articles

Did you know

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Trivia
In scores of short films, Semon rivaled Charles Chaplin in comic popularity during the early 1920s. He directed The Wizard of Oz (1925), one of his very few feature-length films, in which he played the Scarecrow with Oliver Hardy as the Tin Man. He married his leading lady, Dorothy Dwan, who played Dorothy, just before the film's release. Unfortunately, it was not a success and effectively killed Semon's career, which was already on the skids. He died a few years later.