George "Slim" Summerville was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1892, and his rustic appearance, which included a malleable mug that made people laugh even before he spoke, set him apart from the start. As a young man, Summerville ran away from home and lived a life of wandering until a chance encounter with Mack Sennett through his comedian friend Edgar Kennedy changed his path.
At the age of nineteen, Summerville broke into silent films as one of Sennett's Keystone Kops, hurling pies and becoming part of the stock company of players. He made an unbilled appearance in Keystone's first feature film, Tillie's Punctured Romance, in 1914. Summerville's gangly build, naive innocence, and distinctive features, including his potato-like nose, mournful mug, and slim, curling upper lip, helped him stand out, and he eventually branched out into his own short vehicles.
Summerville was more comfortable in rumpled clothes and overalls than in a suit and tie, and he later learned the ropes of directing, helming a string of short films for Fox and Universal studios in the 1920s. When sound films became popular, Summerville refocused on acting and made a smooth transition, standing out in a number of commercial films, including the war epic All Quiet on the Western Front, the musical film King of Jazz, the classic The Front Page, and the Shirley Temple vehicles Captain January and Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
Summerville also scored in a series of short comedies opposite Zasu Pitts and a slew of supports in Hoot Gibson westerns. He often played older characters than himself, and his slow-drawling, sleepy-eyed persona became a hallmark of his performances. Summerville's final role was in The Hoodlum Saint in 1946, and he passed away on January 5, 1946, at the age of 53, due to a stroke. He left behind a legacy as one of the screen's most reliable comedians, and was survived by his wife Eleanor and son Elliot.
