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Studio City Walk of Fame Highlights: 'A Taxi Scandal'

Read about the Studio City Walk of Fame around Ventura Boulevard.

A Taxi Scandal
Tile #1 on the Studio City Walk of Fame

Production Company: Mack Sennett Comedies

Cast:  Jack Cooper, Andy Clyde, Virginia Vance, Bud Jamison, William McCall, Art Rowlands

Directed by Del Lord

A TAXI SCANDAL is commemorated in Tile #1 on the Studio City Walk of Fame. The short, silent film, produced by Mack Sennett, the father of slapstick comedy, was released on October 28, 1928.

A Taxi Scandal was part of the Taxi Driver Series, which was one of the last series of silent films produced by the Mack Sennett-Pathé Exchange Inc. between September 1928 and June 1929. The series, which staged the escapades of a dazed taxi driver, included six short films (Taxi for Two, A Taxi Scandal, Taxi Beauties, Taxi Spooks, Taxi Dolls, Caught in a Taxi) directed by Del Lord and all starring Jack Cooper as the Taxi Driver.

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ABOUT MACK SENNETT

Mack Sennett was born on January 17, 1880 in Richmond, Québec, Canada as Mikall Sinnott.

Joint founder of the Keystone studios in 1912, Mack Sennett launched the careers of Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, W. C. Fields, Bing Crosby, Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, Stan Laurel, Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery. In 1917 he left Keystone and founded the Mack Sennett Comedies Corporation which joined forces with Pathé in 1923.

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In 1926 plans for a new city in the San Fernando Valley were being developed. It began with the purchase of a 50 acre lettuce ranch at the corner of Colfax Avenue and Ventura Boulevard, along with a 300 acre ranch located at Laurel Canyon. Mack Sennett was looking for a new studio location. A deal was struck and in 1928 Mack Sennett Studios opened and the surrounding area became known as Studio City. At this time the Studio consisted of one office building, a projection room/film editing building, a film library, a two-story dressing room building attached to a large sound stage, a wardrobe building, garage, and a stage with an inground swimming pool.

In 1932, Mack Sennett was nominated for two Academy Awards and won an Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Novelty in 1932 for Wrestling Swordfish.

In 1937 the Academy presented Mack Sennett with an honorary Academy Award, "For his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen, the basic principles of which are as important today as when they were first put into practice, the Academy presents a special award to that master of fun, discoverer of stars, sympathetic, kindly, understanding comedy genius, Mack Sennett."

Mack Sennett passed away on November 5, 1960 in Woodland Hills, California at the age of 80.

For additional information, Tim Dirks of AMC Filmsite wrote an extensive 6 part series on the History of Comedy Films.

Filmed at Mack Sennett Studios, 4024 Radford Avenue in Studio City, CA, now .

For more information, please visit the SCIA website Walk of Fame pages.

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