George Nicholls Jr. (May 5, 1897 â€" November 13, 1939), also known as
George Nichols Jr., was an American director and editor during the
1930s. Born to show business parents, and son of prolific actor and
director George Nichols, he entered the film industry at the tail end
of the silent film era, working as an editor for the Paramount Famous
Lasky Corporation. After moving to RKO Pictures in 1933, Nicholls
shortly began directing films by the end of the year. His career was
cut short when he died in a car accident while driving to the location
of his final film.Born George Alberti Nichols on May 5, 1897 in San
Francisco, his father was the American actor and director George
Nichols, and his mother was the actress Viola Alberti. While his
father was working at Biograph Studios, Nicholls made his film debut,
acting in shorts during the 1910s. In 1912, as a child actor he had
the lead in the comedy short Pa's Medicine at the Thanhouser Film
Corporation, a film directed by his father.He returned to the film
industry behind the camera in 1928, as the editor on the Paramount
film Wife Savers, directed by Ralph Ceder, and starring Wallace Beery,
Raymond Hatton, ZaSu Pitts. For the next five years he worked
primarily at Paramount as an editor. While at Paramount, he went by
George Nichols Jr. When he moved to RKO in 1933, he began using the
original spelling of his last name, and became known as George
Nicholls Jr. His first film at his new studio was Sweepings, directed
by John Cromwell. By the end of the year he was tapped to be an
associate director to Thornton Freeland on Flying Down to Rio, the
first film to team Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers. The following year
he would make his directorial debut, co-directing Finishing School
with Wanda Tuchock (who was also directing her first film).For the
remainder of the decade, he worked consistently as a director at RKO,
although occasionally loaned out to other studios such as Republic and
20th-Century. He directed several notable films, including: Anne of
Green Gables (1934), starring Anne Shirley (who took her stage name
from this point on from the character she portrayed in this film) and
Tom Brown; 1935's The Return of Peter Grimm, starring Lionel
Barrymore, Helen Mack, Edward Ellis, and Donald Meek; the 1936 sound
remake of the 1918 silent film of the same name, M'liss, starring Anne
Shirley again, this time with John Beal; and the 1939 Western, Man of
Conquest, starring Richard Dix. Nicholls directed the retakes on the
John Ford film, The Plough and the Stars in 1937.
George Nichols Jr., was an American director and editor during the
1930s. Born to show business parents, and son of prolific actor and
director George Nichols, he entered the film industry at the tail end
of the silent film era, working as an editor for the Paramount Famous
Lasky Corporation. After moving to RKO Pictures in 1933, Nicholls
shortly began directing films by the end of the year. His career was
cut short when he died in a car accident while driving to the location
of his final film.Born George Alberti Nichols on May 5, 1897 in San
Francisco, his father was the American actor and director George
Nichols, and his mother was the actress Viola Alberti. While his
father was working at Biograph Studios, Nicholls made his film debut,
acting in shorts during the 1910s. In 1912, as a child actor he had
the lead in the comedy short Pa's Medicine at the Thanhouser Film
Corporation, a film directed by his father.He returned to the film
industry behind the camera in 1928, as the editor on the Paramount
film Wife Savers, directed by Ralph Ceder, and starring Wallace Beery,
Raymond Hatton, ZaSu Pitts. For the next five years he worked
primarily at Paramount as an editor. While at Paramount, he went by
George Nichols Jr. When he moved to RKO in 1933, he began using the
original spelling of his last name, and became known as George
Nicholls Jr. His first film at his new studio was Sweepings, directed
by John Cromwell. By the end of the year he was tapped to be an
associate director to Thornton Freeland on Flying Down to Rio, the
first film to team Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers. The following year
he would make his directorial debut, co-directing Finishing School
with Wanda Tuchock (who was also directing her first film).For the
remainder of the decade, he worked consistently as a director at RKO,
although occasionally loaned out to other studios such as Republic and
20th-Century. He directed several notable films, including: Anne of
Green Gables (1934), starring Anne Shirley (who took her stage name
from this point on from the character she portrayed in this film) and
Tom Brown; 1935's The Return of Peter Grimm, starring Lionel
Barrymore, Helen Mack, Edward Ellis, and Donald Meek; the 1936 sound
remake of the 1918 silent film of the same name, M'liss, starring Anne
Shirley again, this time with John Beal; and the 1939 Western, Man of
Conquest, starring Richard Dix. Nicholls directed the retakes on the
John Ford film, The Plough and the Stars in 1937.
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