Fred Gabourie
Fred Gabourie | |
|---|---|
 Gabourie - center - flanked byPhyllis HaverandBuster Keaton (Buster in front ofEddie Cline) on location forThe Balloonatic(1923) | |
| Born | Fred Gabourie September 19, 1881 Tweed, Ontario,Canada |
| Died | March 1, 1951(aged 69) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | c.1918–1951 |
Fred Gabourie(September 19, 1881 - March 1, 1951)[1]was a technical director and department head.
Gabourie was born inTweed, Ontario,Canada. He was a member of theSeneca Indian tribe.[1]He served in the Spanish–American War.[2]
He worked primarily forBuster Keaton,figuring out how to make Keaton's innovative stunts work. As one author put it, "Fred Gabourie had the most interesting job in the world: He solved problems for Buster Keaton."[3]As technical director, he was responsible for set design, construction, props management, and location scouting.[3]During this time, he designed the electric house inThe Electric House,which featured an automated staircase, library, swimming pool, and dining room.[4]He located and purchased the ship forThe Navigator.Only after Gabourie found the ship and suggested to Keaton that it would be a great prop to build a movie around did Keaton and his staff come up with a script.[5]Gabourie also worked out how to accomplish the famous stunt inSteamboat Bill, Jr.in which the front of a house (weighing two tons) falls on Keaton without harming him.[6]
Keaton and Gabourie, working with an architect, co-designed Keaton's lavish Beverly Hills mansion, eventually called the Italian Villa.[7]
Gabourie was also responsible for the ships in the silent version ofThe Sea Hawk.[1]
Gabourie went to MGM with Keaton but worked on just one picture with him (The Cameraman) before MGM promoted him to construction superintendent, a position he held until he died.[8]
Gabourie's son, Fred Gabourie Jr., played some small parts in film and on TV, but eventually became a judge.[9]
Notes
[edit]- ^abc"Fred Gabourie (I)".IMDb.RetrievedJune 15,2018.[unreliable source?]
- ^Foote 2014,p. 197.
- ^abFoote 2014,p. 182.
- ^Blesh 1966,pp. 155–156.
- ^Blesh 1966,pp. 251–252.
- ^Blesh 1966,p. 290.
- ^Sainte-Claire, Victoria."PARLOR, BEDROOM AND BATH: Inside the Italian Villa".RetrievedJune 15,2018.
- ^Meade 1995,p. 401.
- ^"Fred Gabourie (II)".IMDb.[unreliable source?]
Bibliography
[edit]Blesh, Rudi (1966).Keaton.New York: The MacMillan Company.
Foote, Lisle (2014).Buster Keaton's Crew: The Team Behind His Silent Films.McFarland & Company.
Meade, Marion (1995).Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase.HarperCollins.
Further reading
[edit]- Stephens, Michael L. (March 25, 2008).Art Directors in Cinema: A Worldwide Biographical Dictionary.McFarland. p. 112.ISBN9781476611280.
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