Mack Sennett

Born in Richmond, Quebec[?], Sennett was a singer, dancer, clown, actor, set designer and director for Biograph, and founded Keystone in 1912 together with Adam Kessel. Many important actors were discovered by him and started their career at Keystone. Those include Charlie Chaplin, Ben Turpin, Fatty Arbuckle, Laurel and Hardy, Gloria Swanson, the Keystone Kops and many more.

The story is told that the box lunches on the Keystone lot always included a banana and that the use of the banana peels in sight gags began with this practice.

He died in Woodland Hills, California and was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

See also: Other Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood