Charles Eyton

Charles Eyton (24 June 1871 – 2 July 1941) was an actor-producer who became general manager of Famous Players-Lasky Corporation (a Paramount Pictures subsidiary) during the silent film era.

Charles Eyton
Eyton in 1921
Born(1871-06-24)24 June 1871
New Zealand
Died2 July 1941(1941-07-02) (aged 70)
Hollywood, California, U.S.
OccupationProducer
Spouse(s)Anna S. Cole (m.1900–div.1901)
Bessie Eyton (m.1908–div.1915)
Kathlyn Williams (m.1916–div.1931)
RelativesAlice Eyton (sister)
Vera Doria (sister)

Personal life

Charles F. Eyton was the son of Henry and Eleanor Eyton.[1] His sisters were singer/actress Vera Doria[2] and writer Alice Eyton,[3] who died of burns in 1929 after her masquerade costume was accidentally set alight.[4]

In 1900 Charles Eyton married Anna S. Cole.[5] They were divorced in May 1901.[6]

On 3 September 1908, Charles Eyton married actress Bessie Harrison, who would henceforth use the professional name Bessie Eyton.[7] They were divorced on 16 March 1915.[8]

He became a United States citizen in December 1915.[9]

On 2 June 1916, Charles Eyton married actress Kathlyn Williams. It was her third marriage.[10] They were divorced in 1931 on the grounds of incompatibility, with Williams not seeking any payments from Eyton.[11]

He died of pneumonia in Hollywood on 2 July 1941.[12]

Career

After establishing his reputation as a lightweight wrestler, in 1889 Eyton sailed from Australia to the United States,[13] where he participated in a series of wrestling matches.[14] In 1900, he came to Los Angeles and became assistant manager of the Burbank Theater and an officer of the Los Angeles Athletic Club.[15] He also worked as a boxing referee for over a decade, and was featured on a cigarette sports trading card in 1910.[16] The championship bouts refereed by Charles Eyton included:

Year Class Boxers
1906 heavyweight Tommy Burns vs. Marvin Hart[17]
1911 lightweight Ad Wolgast vs. George Memsic[18]
1912 featherweight Johnny Kilbane vs. Abe Attell[19]
1913 heavyweight Jess Willard vs. John "Bull" Young (fatal fight)[20]

In 1914, Frank Garbutt created the Oliver Morosco Photoplay Company, named after Oliver Morosco. Charles Eyton was appointed to supervise the company's productions[21] and also the productions of Bosworth, Inc., which were produced in the same studio at 201 N. Occidental, in Los Angeles. Bosworth, Inc. soon folded and was replaced by Pallas Pictures. In 1916, Morosco and Pallas became part of Famous Players-Lasky, and Charles Eyton remained manager of the Morosco studio. In 1919, Eyton became manager of the larger Famous Players-Lasky studio at Sunset and Vine in Hollywood.[22]

In 1925, he was appointed to be in charge of Paramount productions abroad.[23] He resigned from Paramount in 1926.[24]

William Taylor's murder

Charles Eyton was one of the first people to arrive on the scene of the murder of film director William Desmond Taylor, and was said to have been the person to have discovered that Taylor was shot when he attempted to raise the body.[25] Eyton was interviewed by police, ostensibly in relation to means of locating the deceased's missing butler, and Eyton denied knowing about letters apparently missing from Taylor's house.[26]

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References
  1. "Mrs. Nightingale Dead", Los Angeles Times, 29 March 1913
  2. "Vera Doria Latest Film Recruit". Moving Picture World. 25 (3): 489. 17 July 1915. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  3. "AUSTRALIANS ABROAD". Sunday Times. 18 July 1909. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  4. "ALICE EYTON BURNED TO DEATH AT PARTY". Rochester Evening Journal. 4 November 1929. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  5. "Marriage Licenses", Los Angeles Herald, 4 January 1900, retrieved 16 December 2013
  6. "Court Briefs", Los Angeles Herald, 22 May 1901, retrieved 16 December 2013
  7. "Incompatibility", Los Angeles Times, 7 January 1915
  8. "Say Bessie Eyton's To Marry Local Auto Man", Los Angeles Times, 25 July 1916
  9. "Charlie Eyton One of Big Citizenship Class", Los Angeles Times, 23 December 1915
  10. Golden, Eve (2001). Golden Images: 41 Essays on Silent Film Stars. McFarland. p. 229. ISBN 9780786483549.
  11. "Kathlyn Williams is Granted Divorce". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 28 January 1931. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  12. "Eyton, Screen Pioneer, Dies", Los Angeles Times, 3 July 1942
  13. "Off to America", Sydney Evening News, 2 September 1889
  14. "Eyton's Record", Helena Independent, Helena, Montana, 18 April 1892, retrieved 15 December 2013
  15. "Charles Eyton", Los Angeles Herald, 12 July 1908
  16. "Chas. Eyton (Referee)". Mecca Cigarettes. 1910. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  17. "Champion Hart Loses His Title", Los Angeles Herald, 24 February 1906, retrieved 17 December 2013
  18. "Wolgast Tightens his hold on the Lightweight Honors", Los Angeles Times, 18 March 1911
  19. "Abe Attell loses to John Kilbane", New York Times, 23 February 1912
  20. "Jess Willard and Others are Called to Trial", San Francisco Call, 30 August 1913, retrieved 17 December 2013
  21. Birchard, Robert (2004). Cecil B. DeMille's Hollywood. USA: University Press of Kentucky. p. 430. ISBN 9780813123240.
  22. "Lasky Promotions", Variety, p. 65, 5 September 1919, retrieved 5 December 2013
  23. "PARAMOUNT PRODUCTION". Sunday Times. Perth. 6 December 1925. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  24. "Eyton Quits", The Film Daily, p. 1, 10 August 1926, retrieved 5 December 2013
  25. "MURDERED A FEW MINUTES AFTER MABEL NORMAND LEFT HIM". The Mirror. 12 June 1937. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  26. "PRESS FILM STAR FOR TAYLOR CLUE" (PDF). New York Times. 7 February 1922. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
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