Directing
Gilbert M. Anderson
Born in 1880, ‘Broncho Billy’ Anderson is considered the first western film star. He played three film roles in “The Great Train Robbery” and then began to write, direct and act in his own films. After co-founding the Essanay Studios in 1907 with George Kirk Spoor, Anderson appeared in some 300 short films. But it was his 148 western shorts playing cowboy Bronco Billy that made him a star. He retired for the first time in 1916 but made a few comebacks, including producing movies into the 1950s for his company, Progressive Pictures. He received an honorary Oscar in 1958 as a “motion picture pioneer.” Anderson came out of retirement one more time for a cameo in 1965’s “The Bounty Hunter.” He died at age of 90 1971.
Titles
Hollywood
1980
The Great Train Robbery
1903
The Champion
1915
His Regeneration
1915
The Bounty Killer
1965
Alkali Ike Bests Broncho Billy
1912
The Western: A Lost TV Special
1958
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
1961
Broncho Billy's Mexican Wife
1912
Golden Saddles, Silver Spurs
2000
Broncho Billy and the Vigilante
1915
Outwitting Papa
1911
The Movies March On
1939
The Bachelor's Burglar
1915
Broncho Billy's Narrow Escape
1912
Broncho Billy's Leap
1914
Broncho Billy's Christmas Dinner
1911
Broncho Billy's Gratitude
1912
Broncho Billy's Punishment
1914
Broncho Billy's Jealousy
1914
Broncho Billy's Promise
1912
A Story of Montana
1912
Broncho Billy's Brother
1915
Charlie Chaplin: The Long Year at Essanay
2017
The Reward for Broncho Billy
1912
A Pal's Oath
1911
An Outlaw's Sacrifice
1910
Broncho Billy and the Western Girls
1913
Snakeville's New Doctor
1914
A Gambler of the West
1910
The Doctor's Duty
1913
The Good-for-Nothing
1914
Ingomar of the Hills
1915
The Corporation and the Ranch Girl
1911
Broncho Billy and the Greaser
1914
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
1905