Christy Cabanne
actor, director, writer
- Birth name:
- William Christy Cabanne
- Born:
- 1888-04-16, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Died:
- 1950-10-15, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Professions:
- actor, director, writer
Biography
A sailor first, Christy Cabanne left the U.S. Navy in 1908 and traded the deck for the stage, acting and directing in repertory theater until the movies lured him away. Fine Arts signed him, D. W. Griffith sharpened him, and Metro handed him a serial to write—easy proof that the ex-seaman could spin stories as fast as he shot them. He briefly captained his own outfit, then folded the shingle and became the industry’s go-to gun for hire, churning out brisk programmers for FBO, Associated Exhibitors, Tiffany, and Pathé. MGM let him through the front gate a few times, but Cabanne was happier in the back alleys of Poverty Row. A mid-1930s fling at Universal raised his pulse—and his paycheck—before the tide turned: by the 1940s he was back on the cheap, grinding out cowboy quickies, cardboard jungle epics, and horror so tame it purred for Monogram, PRC, and Screen Guild.
