D.W. Griffith at The Biograph Company

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While the Griffith company of leading ladies seemed to be a revolving door business, there is a far greater degree of stability among the character actors and actresses who remain in the background of the story.

One of the most durable of these permanent fixtures in Griffith productions is KATE BRUCE. After she began her career with Griffith, she never again had to go looking for work.

The size of the part never mattered to Kate Bruce, as long as she could be in the company of Griffith's productions.

By nature she was very quiet and calm, shy and withdrawn, she never had much to say.

She specialized in the mother roles as well as others that were cast for a sweet and gentle person.

Nothing seems to be known about Kate Bruce's background, such as where she was born or how she began her career at Biograph, but she was there before Griffith began and served as a motherly guardian for many of the girls.

On screen and off, her face exhibited all the characteristics of "soul”.

Many actors and actresses came and went, staying only long enough to have appeared in but a few Griffith productions.

If needed in a scene, they serve as background extras. Actresses such as KATE BRUCE, DOROTHY WEST and DOROTHY BERNARD along with actors such as HARRY CAREY, JAMES KIRKWOOD, WILFRED LUCAS and CHRISTY CABANNE.

Griffith did not realize as of yet that he was teaching the fundamentals of moving pictures to MACK SENNETT, who had been hired just two months before Griffith to work as handyman/actor for Wallace McCutcheon.

Mack Sennett was an Irishman from Canada who was only twenty-six when he turned towards acting and away from his previous work as a boilermaker.

For Sennett, moving pictures represented the perfect place to plan for a future, one that would take advantage of his own intelligence. One very important character trait he shared with Griffith was a supreme ego that drove him on to creative goals.

When Sennett wasn't running errands for McCutcheon, he could be found near Griffith, watching him at work.

Something about Griffith and his method captured Sennett's fancy. Soon he advanced to serve as an extra in the backgrounds of Griffith's shows, and by talking his way into Griffith's attention, he ultimately achieved leading parts from the Master.

Sennett's orientations are towards comedy, which Griffith has foresworn in favor of his specialty, the drama.

Sennett spoke endlessly about funny policemen in improbable situations; Griffith and Biograph concurred in finding little humor in smearing the dignity of the forces of law & order.

Sennett was not to be discouraged, however, and he was soon to talk his way into sharing the direction of comedies with Frank Powell for Biograph after Griffith requested that he do only dramatic productions.