Brevities of the Business — John W. Grey (1914) 🇺🇸
He’s the tall, gray man of the film industry. He has a fondness for very light gray suits in the spring-time and very dark gray ones in the fall. Right now, he wears gray-topped shoes and his favorite tie of the month is a gray one, diagonally dashed with red. His eyes are gray though his hair promises never to be, as it is decidedly blond. His name is — John W. Grey.
The gray Grey man’s haunt is the office of the advertising manager of the Mutual Film Corporation. He conducts business along pleasant lines and never misses an opportunity to laugh or to make his caller laugh.
Greater New York was the birth-place of John Grey. He attended public schools, then a college in Philadelphia and then Columbia University. For eight years after he left college he specialized in automobile advertising. R. H. Cochrane, after a satisfying acquaintance with Mr. Grey introduced him into the Universal and until four months ago Mr. Grey’s card read “Advertising Manager. — Universal Film Manufacturing Company.” As the man who is known as “the first to apply merchandising to motion pictures,” he declares his aim not to be “to elevate the industry,” but merely to merchandize what it has to offer.
On the Universal’s The Trey o’ Hearts, and Lucille Love series, he issued gratuitously advertising booklets to all theaters that used this service. On the “Runaway June” series which is calling particular attention to the Mutual output right now. he is issuing a fifteen-weeks advertising campaign to any theater in the United States which is using this service. He is twenty-nine years old, is married and lives in New Rochelle, N. Y., at Pepperday Inn, in which he is financially interested.
He is a member of the Wykgyl Country Club at New Rochelle, of the Republican Club, New York and the Screen Club, His hobby is golf and his chief attribute, good-nature.
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George Kleine’s rapidly growing business has made it necessary to open a Philadelphia office. Mr. John J. Rotchford has been appointed branch manager in that city with offices at 1309 Vine St.
Ford Sterling, known the world over as one of the foremost eccentric comedians, is ill in Los Angeles with typhoid-pneumonia. The latter part of last week his life was despaired of, but he passed through the crisis safely and is now on the road to recovery.
Mr. Thomas H. Ince, managing director of the Kay Bee, Broncho and Domino studios, wishes to announce to screen playwrights that he is not buying any outside scenarios at the present time, as his needs are supplied for by his salaried forces.
John E. Brennan, the former Kalem comedian, has joined the Sterling brand of Universal films.
William Garwood, under the direction of Lucius Henderson and supported by Violet Mersereau, is working on his first Universal picture, On Dangerous Ground.
Collection: Motography Magazine, 19 December 1914
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Them Cussed Printers.
Just by way of showing that we knew better, we’re printing over again the portraits of John W. Grey and James W. Castle, whom the printer got all balled up in our last week’s issue.
Due to the strange fact that both boys are attached to the initials J. W. the mistake is perhaps excusable, but if it wasn’t for that fact we should certainly slay our make-up man in cold blood.
However, fellers, if you’ll forgive us for the mistake this time, we’ll promise it will never occur again and take pleasure now in setting you right with the public.
Folks, permit us to again introduce J. W. Grey and J. W. Castle, with the right names under the right fellers this time.
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Collection: Motography Magazine, 26 December 1914
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