Acton Davies

Biography

St-Jean’s, Québec, 1870: a winter cradle for Acton Davies, the restless storyteller who would trade snow-capped steeples for the flicker of nickelodeon lights. Within a handful of years he was scripting the era’s serial sensations—first The Active Life of Dolly of the Dailies in 1914, then the mischievous Tillie’s Tomato Surprise the following spring—each reel crackling with his brisk, urbane wit. Chicago claimed him next, promising wider stages; instead, on 12 June 1916, the city became his final set.