Mack Sennett was born Michael Sinnott on January 17, 1880, in Danville, Quebec, Canada, to Irish immigrant farmers. He was just 17 years old when his parents relocated the family to East Berlin, Connecticut, where he took up a laborer position at American Iron Works. Two years later, they moved again, this time to Northampton, Massachusetts, and Sennett continued his work at the same iron works.
It was during this time that Sennett had the good fortune to meet Marie Dressler in 1902, which led him to pursue a career on the stage in New York City. Although he managed to secure some burlesque and chorus-boy parts, his big break came when he began acting in Biograph films in 1908. He worked with renowned directors such as D.W. Griffith and acted alongside notable stars like Mary Pickford and Mabel Normand.
By 1910, Sennett had transitioned from acting to directing, and by 1912, he co-founded the Keystone Film Company with two bookies-turned-producers, Adam Kessel and Charles Bauman. He brought Mabel Normand along with him and soon added a talented cast of actors, including Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Chester Conklin, Al St. John, Slim Summerville, Minta Durfee, and Charles Chaplin.
Under Sennett's direction, Chaplin went on to star in 35 comedies during 1914, with Sennett famously telling him, "We have no scenario--we get an idea, then follow the natural sequence of events until it leads up to a chase, which is the essence of our comedy." The Keystone Kops, Bathing Beauties, and Kid Komedies became staples of the Keystone Film Company, and in 1915, Sennett, Griffith, and Thomas H. Ince formed Triangle Films.
As the years went by, Sennett's comedy style evolved, moving from improvisational slapstick to scripted situations. He welcomed new stars like Bobby Vernon and Gloria Swanson into his fold and even formed Mack Sennett Comedies in 1917, distributing his films through Paramount and later Pathe. The company launched another star, Harry Langdon, and Sennett continued to produce successful shorts and features until his eventual return to Canada as a pauper in 1935.
Sennett's remarkable career was recognized with a special Oscar in 1937, which read, "to the master of fun, discoverer of stars... for his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen." He passed away on November 5, 1960, at the age of 80, and was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. In recognition of his contributions to the motion picture industry, Sennett was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
