"Keystone Cop" Comic Actor Ford Sterling 1939 Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Ford Sterling (November 3, 1883 – October 13, 1939) was an American comedian and actor best known for his work with Keystone Studios. One of the 'Big 4' he was the original chief of the Keystone Cops.

Biography

Born George Franklin Stich in La Crosse, Wisconsin, he began his career in silent films in 1911 with Biograph Studios. When director Mack Sennett left to set up Keystone Studios, Sterling followed him. There, he performed as 'Chief Teeheezel' in the Keystone Cops series of slapstick comedies in a successful career that spanned twenty-five years.

Making a smooth transition to talking films, Ford Sterling made the last of his more than two hundred and seventy film appearances in 1936. He died in 1939 of a heart attack (following long standing diabetes) in Los Angeles, California and is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ford Sterling has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6612 Hollywood Blvd.

Selected filmography

Safe in Jail (1913) 
Murphy's I.O.U. (1913) 
His Chum the Baron (1913) 
That Ragtime Band (1913) 
The Foreman of the Jury (1913) 
The Gangsters (1913) 
Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life (1913) 
The Waiters' Picnic (1913) 
Peeping Pete (1913) 
A Bandit (1913) 
For the Love of Mabel (1913) 
Love and Courage (1913) 
Professor Bean's Removal (1913) 
The Riot (1913) 
Mabel's Dramatic Career (1913) 
The Faithful Taxicab (1913) 
When Dreams Come True (1913) 
Two Old Tars (1913) 
The Speed Kings (1913) 
Fatty at San Diego (1913) 
Wine (1913) 
A Ride for a Bride (1913) 
Fatty's Flirtation (1913) 
Some Nerve (1913) 
Cohen Saves the Flag (1913) 
A Game of Pool (1913) 
A Misplaced Foot (1914) 
In the Clutches of the Gang (1914) 
A Robust Romeo (1914) 
Between Showers (1914) 
Tango Tangles (1914) 
That Minstrel Man (1914) 
The Sea Nymphs (1914) 
Hogan's Romance Upset (1915) 
That Little Band of Gold (1915) 
Court House Crooks (1915) 
Fatty and the Broadway Stars (1915) 
The Day of Faith (1923) 
Hollywood (1923) cameo 
Wild Oranges (1924) 
He Who Gets Slapped (1924) 
Stage Struck (1925) 
The American Venus (1926) 
Miss Brewster's Millions (1926) 
Good and Naughty (1926) 
Mantrap (1926) 
The Show Off (1926) 
Stranded in Paris (1926) 
Casey at the Bat (1927) 
For the Love of Mike (1927) 
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928) 
Sally (1929) 
Show Girl in Hollywood (1930) 
Spring Is Here (1930) 
Bride of the Regiment (1930) 
Alice in Wonderland (1933) 
Keystone Hotel (short subject) (1935) 
Black Sheep (1935) 
The Headline Woman (1935) 
Behind the Green Lights (1935)

References

Notes

Bibliography

Wendy Warwick White, Ford Sterling - His Life and Films (McFarland and Company, 2007) ISBN 0-7864-2587-3 
Simon Louvish, Keystone: The Life and Clowns of Mack Sennett (Faber and Faber, 2005) ISBN 0-571-21100-3