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Alf Collins
Alfred Collins (Walworth, 19 June 1866 – 20 December 1951 Clapham) was a British theatre actor who later became a silent film director and actor. His shorts include Rescued by Lifeboat (1906), The Lady Athlete; or, Jiu-Jitsu Downs the Footpads (1907), and The Dancing Girl (1908). Early films were produced with nitrate film and deteriorated in their storage tins, sometimes catching fire, so most of them are lost.
There survives approximately 45 films that have been found so far that Collins either acted in or produced, including fourteen rare Edwardian films screened in 2014 at an event called Gaumont Comes Home. This event was held on the original site of Collins's outdoor stage, of the Gaumont film studios, in Camberwell. The event included the film When Extremes Meet (1905), which is 150 feet long, with Collins dressed in Cockney costume. How Percy Won the Beauty Competition (1909) is a comic chase film set in the fields and nearby streets of his outdoor stage.
Between 1904 and 1908, Gaumont also produced a number of sound-disc films known as "Chronophones". One of these – It Was A Nice Quiet Morning (1907) – has survived and has now been synchronised with an original recording provided by local film collector Bob Geoghegan. This appears to be the only surviving British talking film made prior to World War I.
Early films were either copied or the ideas used by showmen or other film companies, so copyright was introduced. Some of these films only exist today because they were copyrighted between 1895 to 1912 with the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., or with National Archives in Kew UK. The National Archives used a single photograph of a scene from the film to copyright and the Library of Congress the whole film was copied onto photographic paper to copyright and these are known as paper prints. In 1952 they started to convert paper prints to 16 mm film. Several of Collins's films were paper prints and restored, for example, The Pickpocket (1903) 300 feet long and The Costers Wedding (1904) 250 feet long.
Collins was the eldest son of a cockney costermonger and Collins's two brothers and two sisters all tread the boards of theatres and music halls. Collins's brother Charles Collins composed music hall songs still known today, including Any Old Iron and Boiled Beef & Carrots sung by Harry Champion and Don’t Dilly Dally on the Way’ sung by Marie Lloyd and It’s No Use You Calling Hannah! sung by Kate Carney and George Collins his brother.
Collins started his theatre career at The Surrey Theatre under George Conquest as a super, the term for a non-speaking member of the crowd. Collins was then engaged at the Lyceum Theatre as a Super under the management of Henry Irving who realised Collins potential and engaged Collins as Super Master, controlling entrances, exits and general moves and behaviour of the crowd.
Collins moved to the Adelphi Theatre as a Super Master for nine years with William Terriss, until Terriss was murdered at the stage door in 1897.
Collins worked for several theatres at the same time and in 1902 Henry Irving wanted him to tour America with him. However, ‘Queen of the Coster Song' Kate Carney wanted him to appear in sketches and stage manage her productions. Collins decided to join Kate Carney an engagement that lasted 30 years.
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Alf Collins
Alfred Collins (Walworth, 19 June 1866 – 20 December 1951 Clapham) was a British theatre actor who later became a silent film director and actor. His shorts include Rescued by Lifeboat (1906), The Lady Athlete; or, Jiu-Jitsu Downs the Footpads (1907), and The Dancing Girl (1908). Early films were produced with nitrate film and deteriorated in their storage tins, sometimes catching fire, so most of them are lost.
There survives approximately 45 films that have been found so far that Collins either acted in or produced, including fourteen rare Edwardian films screened in 2014 at an event called Gaumont Comes Home. This event was held on the original site of Collins's outdoor stage, of the Gaumont film studios, in Camberwell. The event included the film When Extremes Meet (1905), which is 150 feet long, with Collins dressed in Cockney costume. How Percy Won the Beauty Competition (1909) is a comic chase film set in the fields and nearby streets of his outdoor stage.
Between 1904 and 1908, Gaumont also produced a number of sound-disc films known as "Chronophones". One of these – It Was A Nice Quiet Morning (1907) – has survived and has now been synchronised with an original recording provided by local film collector Bob Geoghegan. This appears to be the only surviving British talking film made prior to World War I.
Early films were either copied or the ideas used by showmen or other film companies, so copyright was introduced. Some of these films only exist today because they were copyrighted between 1895 to 1912 with the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., or with National Archives in Kew UK. The National Archives used a single photograph of a scene from the film to copyright and the Library of Congress the whole film was copied onto photographic paper to copyright and these are known as paper prints. In 1952 they started to convert paper prints to 16 mm film. Several of Collins's films were paper prints and restored, for example, The Pickpocket (1903) 300 feet long and The Costers Wedding (1904) 250 feet long.
Collins was the eldest son of a cockney costermonger and Collins's two brothers and two sisters all tread the boards of theatres and music halls. Collins's brother Charles Collins composed music hall songs still known today, including Any Old Iron and Boiled Beef & Carrots sung by Harry Champion and Don’t Dilly Dally on the Way’ sung by Marie Lloyd and It’s No Use You Calling Hannah! sung by Kate Carney and George Collins his brother.
Collins started his theatre career at The Surrey Theatre under George Conquest as a super, the term for a non-speaking member of the crowd. Collins was then engaged at the Lyceum Theatre as a Super under the management of Henry Irving who realised Collins potential and engaged Collins as Super Master, controlling entrances, exits and general moves and behaviour of the crowd.
Collins moved to the Adelphi Theatre as a Super Master for nine years with William Terriss, until Terriss was murdered at the stage door in 1897.
Collins worked for several theatres at the same time and in 1902 Henry Irving wanted him to tour America with him. However, ‘Queen of the Coster Song' Kate Carney wanted him to appear in sketches and stage manage her productions. Collins decided to join Kate Carney an engagement that lasted 30 years.