12 Facts About Allan Dwan

Allan Dwan studied engineering at the University of Notre Dame and then worked for a lighting company in Chicago.

Allan Dwan 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.

Soon, a number of movie companies worked there year-round, and in 1911, Allan Dwan began working part-time in Hollywood.

Allan Dwan started his directing career by accident in 1911, when he was sent by his employers to California, in order to locate a company that had vanished.

Allan Dwan managed to track the company down, and learned that they were waiting for the film's director to return from a binge.

Allan Dwan wired back to his employers in Chicago, informing them of the situation, and suggested that they disband the company.

Allan Dwan operated Flying A Studios in La Mesa, California, from August 1911 to July 1912.

Allan Dwan directed Gloria Swanson in eight feature films, and one short film made in the short-lived sound-on-film process Phonofilm.

Allan Dwan helped launch the career of two other successful Hollywood directors, Victor Fleming, who went on to direct The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind, and Marshall Neilan, who became an actor, director, writer and producer.

Over a long career spanning almost 50 years, Allan Dwan directed 125 motion pictures, some of which were highly acclaimed, such as the 1949 box office hit, Sands of Iwo Jima.

Allan Dwan died in Los Angeles at the age of 96, and is interred in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California.

Allan Dwan has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6263 Hollywood Boulevard.