Gus Meins
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(November 2018) |
Gus Meins | |
|---|---|
 From a 1925 magazine | |
| Born | Gustave Peter Ludwig Luley March 6, 1893 Frankfurt,Germany |
| Died | August 1, 1940(aged 47) |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1922-1940 |
Gus Meins(March 6, 1893 – August 1, 1940), bornGustave Peter Ludwig Luley,was an Americanfilm director.He was born inFrankfurt,Germany.
Career
[edit]Meins started out in the ‘teens as a cartoonist for theLos Angeles Evening Heraldbefore becoming a comedy writer for Fox Film in 1919.[1]
In the 1920s, Meins directed a number ofsilentshort subjectsfilmseries forUniversal Pictures,including theBuster Browncomedies.[2]He is best known as senior director ofHal Roach'sOur Gangcomedies from 1934 to 1936, and also as director ofLaurel and Hardy'sBabes in Toyland(1934).[1]His assistant director was a youngGordon Douglas,who became senior director in 1936 when Meins leftOur Gangfor other directing jobs at Roach. Meins left Roach in 1937 over creative differences.
Death
[edit]In the summer of 1940, Meins faced prosecution on "morals charges", having been accused of sex offenses against six youths. The director swore his innocence but stated that the case would ruin his career, regardless of the outcome. He left home on the night of Thursday, August 1 telling his son, Douglas: "You probably won't see me again."
Meins was found dead in his car on August 4, reportedly having committed suicide by inhalingcarbon monoxidedays earlier.[3]Bizarrely, the circumstances of his death in a car from suffocation were reminiscent of the demise five years earlier of comedianThelma Todd,whom he had frequently directed.
He was interred atGrand View Memorial Park CemeteryinGlendale, California.[4]
He was generally remembered as 'a cheerful, convivial gentleman'.[1]His son Douglas Meins (1918–1987) appeared in at least seven Republic and Warner films in the late 1930s and early 1940s; he then served in the U.S. Army Corps during World War II.
Selected filmography
[edit]Feature films:
- Babes in Toyland(1934), starringLaurel and Hardy
- His Exciting Night(1939)
- The Covered Trailer(1939)
ZaSu Pitts/Thelma Toddshorts:
- Sneak Easily(1933)
- Asleep in the Feet(1933)
- Maids à la Mode(1933)
- One Track Minds(1933)
Thelma Todd/Patsy Kellyshorts:
- Beauty and the Bus(1933)
- Backs to Nature(1933)
- Air Fright(1933)
- Babes in the Goods(1934)
- Soup and Fish(1934)
- Maid in Hollywood(1934)
- I'll Be Suing You(1934)
- Three Chumps Ahead(1934)
- One-Horse Farmers(1934)
- Done In Oil(1934)
- An All-American Toothache(1936)
- Hill-Tillies(1936)
Our Gangshorts:
- Second Childhood(1936)
- The Lucky Corner(1936)
- Our Gang Follies of 1936(1935)
- Little Sinner(1935)
- Little Papa(1935)
- Sprucin' Up(1935)
- Teacher's Beau(1935)
- Beginner's Luck(1935)
- Anniversary Trouble(1935)
- Shrimps for a Day(1934)
- Mama's Little Pirate(1934)
- Mike Fright(1934)
- Honky Donkey(1934)
- The First Round-Up(1934)
- For Pete's Sake!(1934)
- Hi'-Neighbor!(1934)
References
[edit]- ^abc"Gus Meins".Rotten Tomatoes.Fandango.Retrieved28 November2018.
- ^"Most Popular" Buster Brown Series "Titles".Internet Movie Database.IMDB.com.Retrieved28 November2018.
- ^"Movie Director Named In Morals Case Suicide".Reading Eagle.Reading, California. AP. August 5, 1940. p. 15.RetrievedSeptember 11,2011.
- ^Wilson, Scott (2016).Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons.Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. p. 508.ISBN9780786479924.
External links
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