Del Lord

Canadian-born Del Lord first came to Hollywood as a member of Broadway-star William Collier Sr.'s entourage. Securing extra work at Mack Sennett's Keystone studio, Lord made a name for himself as driver of the Keystone Kops' paddy wagon. Though seemingly reckless, he had the unique ability of staging mammoth car chases and spectacular crashes without ever damaging the vehicles. Promoted to director, Lord turned out first-rate comedies with such Sennett stars as Ben Turpin, Billy Bevan and Andy Clyde. His modus operandi was to work backwards--that is, to film the last scene first, then figure out a logical method to build up to the climax. Occasionally wandering off the Sennett lot in the late 1920s early 1930s, he directed two Universal features, Topsy and Eva (1927) and Barnum Was Right (1929); he also directed 2-reelers for First National, Educational, and Hal Roach. When Sennett closed his studio in 1933, Lord found himself unemployed for the first time in two decades. Forced to take a job selling used cars, he was rescued by comedy producer Jules White, who invited him to join the fledgling Columbia Pictures short-subject unit as a producer and director. From 1935 to 1945, Lord turned out some of Columbia's fastest and funniest two reelers; he worked with such old pals as Andy Clyde, Buster Keaton and Charley Chase, and is credited with molding and developing the peculiar comic style of the Three Stooges. He also served as second-unit director on a handful of Columbia features, and received solo directorial credit for such "B" pictures as Trapped by Television (1936) and Kansas City Kitty (1944). Lord left Columbia in 1946 to direct features elsewhere, but returned to the fold at the personal request of producer Hugh McCollum to helm Columbia's Hugh Herbert shorts. After 1951, Del Lord lived in virtual retirement; his last known project was a 30-minute industrial short starring his former Columbia colleague Buster Keaton.