Stuart Holmes

Stuart Holmes
Motion Picture News, November 8, 1919
Born	Joseph Liebchen (1884-03-10)March 10, 1884 Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died	December 29, 1971(1971-12-29) (aged 87) Hollywood, California, USA

Joseph Liebchen (March 10, 1884, Chicago, Illinois – December 29, 1971, Hollywood, California) was an American actor whose career spanned seven decades, appearing in almost 450 films between 1909 and 1964. He is sometimes credited as Stewart Holmes.

Close-Up Holmes

Motion Picture News, November 8, 1919

In these days when every motion picture alternates from "long shots" to "close-ups" so smoothly and so frequently that we are almost unconscious of the changes, most of us have forgotten that there was ever a time when the entire film was run off without a single more intimate glimpse of the players than could be obtained in full length position. What! Cut the characters in half and show only their faces? Ridiculous!

And then just about the time that Griffith decided to attempt this very peculiarity, a "close-up *' that was unavoidable saved a job for Stuart Holmes. We were chatting in his dressing room, between scenes in "The Isle of Jewels," while he attempted to put the finishing touches on the white marble bust of his mother that has evidently been occupying most of his spare time for many past hours. The dull, gray atmosphere outside seemed to reflect an uneventful, quiet feeling, and it was easy to turn the conversation into reminiscent trails, which often prove more interesting than any other. So it happened this time.

"I had just received notice that my services would no longer be needed," Mr. Holmes continued, referring to the expiration of his first film contract nearly twelve years ago, "and I went in to watch the last scenes in which I appeared run off. One of those scenes had been taken on the lawn of a fine, old estate, in the midst of some rather dense shrubbery. In fact, there were so many bushes in the way that it had been impossible to get the camera far enough away to take the regulation full length picture. Consequently, the first 'close-up' that any of us had ever seen, was flashed across the screen. A little later my director told me that my work had created such favorable comment in the home office that I might consider my notice withdrawn, and when the rest of the company heard the story, they gave me the nickname of 'Close-Up Holmes.' Of course some people said the background was out of focus, and thought of a lot of other objections, but the close-up remained popular."^[1]

Selected filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stuart Holmes.

• Stuart Holmes at the Internet Movie Database
• Stuart Holmes at Find a Grave
• Stuart Holmes portrait