William V. Ranous

American actor and director

William V. Ranous
Born	(1857-03-12)March 12, 1857 New York State
Died	April 1, 1915(1915-04-01) (aged 58) Santa Monica, California
Occupation(s)	Actor, film director
Years active	1907–1915
Spouse(s)	Doris Thompson Inez Marcel

William V. Ranous (March 12, 1857 – April 1, 1915) was an American silent film actor and director and Shakespearean stage actor.

Biography

William V. Ranous was born in New York State on March 12, 1857.^{[citation needed]} He married writer and translator Dora Knowlton on May 28, 1881;^[1] he later married actress Inez Marcel.

Ranous appeared in 54 films between 1907 and 1915. He also directed 28 films between 1907 and 1913. He was the first director at Vitagraph Studios^[2] and also directed Hiawatha (1909), the first film produced by Carl Laemmle's Independent Moving Pictures Company.^[3] On Broadway, Ranous appeared in Quo Vadis (1900) and Romeo and Juliet (1903).^[4]

He died in Santa Monica on April 1, 1915.^[5]

Selected filmography

Macbeth (1908)
Skinner's Finish (1908)
Les Misérables (1909)

References

^ Woman's Who's Who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada. American Commonwealth Company. 1914. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
^ "Photo caption". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. August 21, 1927. p. 126. Retrieved April 2, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hiawatha (1909)". AFI Catalog. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
^ "William V. Ranous". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
^ "Died". Greenfield Gazette and Courier. April 10, 1915. p. 12. Retrieved March 3, 2020 – via NewspaperArchive.