Allan Dwan (
April 3,
1885 –
December 28,
1981) was a pioneering
Canadian-born American
motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada, his family moved to the
United States when he was eleven years of age. At university, he trained as an engineer and began working for a lighting company in
Chicago. However, he had a strong interest in the fledgling motion picture industry and when
Essanay Studios offered him the opportunity to become a scriptwriter, he took the job. At that time, some of the
East Coast movie makers began to spend winters in
California where the climate allowed them to continue productions requiring warm weather. Soon, a number of movie companies worked there year-round and, in 1911, Dwan began working part time in
Hollywood. While still in New York, in
1917 he was the founding president of the East Coast chapter of the
Motion Picture Directors Association.
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