Arthur Housman

Arthur Housman (October 10, 1889 – April 8, 1942) was an American actor in films during both the silent film era and the Golden Age of Hollywood. Career Arthur Housman was one of the first screen comedians known to the public by name, and one of the first to be part of a movie comedy team. He was a slapstick comic and light leading man for the pioneer Edison studio in New York. In 1913-14 the Edison company cast Housman opposite character actor William Wadsworth as the comedy team "Waddy and Arty." As a member of Edison's stock company, Housman participated in Edison's experimental production of talking pictures. Edison had engineered a way to synchronize dialogue and music (via phonograph records) with the visual action on film, and produced such novelties as Musical Blacksmiths (a male chorus) and Nursery Favorites. Housman appeared in several reels, including The Edison Minstrels (as the interlocutor making the spoken announcements) and Jack's Joke.