Marshall Neilan

Marshall Ambrose Neilan was an important pioneer motion picture actor, screenwriter, film director, and producer.

Born in San Bernardino, California, he was known by most as "Mickey." Following the death of his father, the eleven-year-old Mickey Neilan had to give up on schooling to work at whatever work he could find in order to help support his mother. As a teenager, he began acting in bit parts in live theatre, and in 1910 he got a job driving Biograph Studios executives around Los Angeles there to determine the suitability of the West Coast as a place for a permanent studio.