Thomas Lincoln Tally
Thomas Lincoln Tally | |
|---|---|
 Thomas L. Tally, 1935 | |
| Born | Thomas Lincoln Tally July 6, 1861 |
| Died | November 24, 1945 (aged 84) |
| Resting place | Inglewood, California |
| Occupation(s) | Motion picture theater proprietor, film producer |
| Spouse | Mary Ann (Seymour) Tally |
| Children | Seymour Tally |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Jackson Tally Amanda Melvina Ryan Tally |
Thomas Lincoln Tally (July 6, 1861 – November 24, 1945) was an early motion picture theater proprietor. In 1916, Moving Picture World wrote that Tally was "the pioneer exhibitor of Los Angeles and one of the pioneers of [the United States]."[1] He was also credited with coining the term moving picture.[2]
Early life
[edit]Thomas Lincoln Tally was born in Goliad, Texas on July 6, 1861 to cattle rancher[2] Thomas Jackson Tally and Amanda Melvina Ryan Tally. He was the fourth or fifth of nine siblings.[3]
Before Tally's involvement in motion pictures, he worked as a cowboy, typesetter, and hardware salesman.[2]
Motion pictures
[edit]Tally's career in motion pictures began when he obtained rights for Edison phonograph sales in Texas.[2] In 1895[2] or April 1897,[1] he opened a phonograph and kinetoscope parlor at 311 South Spring Street in downtown Los Angeles, the first of its kind on the Pacific coast. Admission was $0.10 ($3.78 in 2024). Tally moved to his second location at First and Spring in 1898.[1]
Tally opened Tally's Electric Theater, likely the world's first permanent theatre specifically designed for movies,[4] in Los Angeles, California on April 17, 1902.[5][6] In 1903, The Great Train Robbery was so successful in this theater than Tally sold the theater in order to travel with and exhibit the film.[7]
Tally became associated with Broadway Theatre in March 1905 and by 1906, he had bought it, renamed it Tally's New Broadway, and used it to screen movies. Tally claimed that this theater was where "the first craze on motion pictures started and people used to be lined up for a block or more to get into the theater." Tally owned the theater until 1909 and in 1916, Moving Picture World called this theater "the first real motion picture theater in Los Angeles."[1][8]
Tally opened Tally's Broadway on May 2, 1910.[9] With this theater, Tally became the first person ever to have an organ installed in a movie theater[10] and he also built the United States's and possibly world's first disappearing orchestra pit.[11] In 1912, Tally used this theater to become the first proprietor to show color film in Los Angeles[2] and in 1915, this theater's organ was said to be the largest theater organ in the world.[12]
Tally co-founded First National Pictures with James Dixon Williams in 1917,[5][13] Tally's idea being that a conglomerate of theaters could buy or produce and distribute its own films.[14] Through First National Pictures, Tally was the first person to sign Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford to movie contracts, both of which were the first and second million-dollar deals in film history.[2][15] By 1919, the organization had 5,000 independent theater owners as members.[16][17] The organization produced and/or distributed hundred of films, including The Kid, The Sea Hawk, The Lost World, and others.[18]
In 1919, Tally bought Kinema Theatre for approx. $650,000 ($11.8 million in 2024) and renamed it Tally's Kinema Theatre.[19]
List of theaters owned by Tally
[edit]- Projection parlor at 311 South Spring Street, Los Angeles (1895 or April 1897—1898)[1][2]
- Theater at First and Main, Los Angeles (1898—unknown)[1]
- Tally's Electric (1902—1903)[5][7]
- Tally's New Broadway (1905—1909)[1][8]
- Tally's Broadway (1910—1920s or earlier)[9]
- Tally's Kinema (1919—early 1920s)[19][20]
Personal life and death
[edit]Tally married Mary Ann Seymour (1858 – 1950) in Aransas, Texas on May 18, 1885 and in 1889, she gave birth to their only child Seymour (1889 – 1976).[3][21]
Tally died in Beverly Hills on November 24, 1945. He was buried in Inglewood.[3][22]
Lawsuits
[edit]See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g "Los Angeles, Studio Center, Has Pioneering Exhibitors". Moving Picture World. 29: 416. July 15, 1916.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Thomas L. Tally, Film Pioneer, Dies. Producer First Signed Mary Pickford, Chaplin. A Founder of First National Pictures". New York Times. November 25, 1945.
- ^ a b c "Thomas Lincoln Tally". FamilySearch. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ Roe, Ken. "Glockner's Automatic Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
- ^ a b c Schumach, Murray (April 17, 1962). "First Film House is Victim of Time; Used Clothing Store Stands on Its Unmarked Site". New York Times.
- ^ McDowell, Erin (May 26, 2020). "The rise and fall of movie theaters — and how the coronavirus pandemic might change them". Business Insider.
- ^ a b Seiler, Robert M.; Seiler, Tamara P. (June 2008). "Manitoba History: Movie Exhibition in Manitoba: The Case of J. A. Schuberg". Manitoba Historical Society.
- ^ a b Olsson, Jan (2008). Los Angeles Before Hollywood: Journalism and American Film Culture, 1905-1915. National Library of Sweden. p. 121. ISBN 9789188468062.
- ^ a b "Early Los Angeles Historical Buildings (1900 - 1925)". Water and Power Associates. p. 3. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ "Tally Camera Contender For Honors". International Photographer. February 1932.
- ^ "Advertising For Exhibitors". Moving Picture World. 14 (1): 238. July 3, 1915.
- ^ "Tally's Feature House". Moving Picture World. 25 (1): 263. July 3, 1915.
- ^ "Celebrating July 2 – What If...; 10 Days That Changed History". New York Times. July 2, 2006.
- ^ "Collection Guide for First National Pictures". Online Archive of California. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
- ^ Zukor, Adolph (1954). The Public Is Never Wrong. London: Cassell and Co. Ltd London. p. 139.
- ^ "New Incorporations". New York Times. November 18, 1919. p. 25.
- ^ "Picture Plays and People". New York Times. February 1, 1920. p. XX4.
- ^ "AFI Catalog". American Film Institute. Retrieved June 24, 2025.
- ^ a b "Buys Kinema Theater". Unknown newspaper, possibly Los Angeles Times. 1919.
- ^ Gabel, William. "Fox Criterion Theatre". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved June 19, 2025.
- ^ California Death Index; Seymour Tally; May 27, 1976; Los Angeles; August 29, 1889; Texas
- ^ "Movie Pioneer Dies". San Bernardino Daily Sun. Vol. 52. November 24, 1945. p. 2.