Joseph Henabery

• Name — Joseph Henabery • Born — 15 January 1888 • Birthplace — Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. • Died — 18 February 1976 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Occupation — * Actor • screenwriter • director • Years Active — 1916-1948 • Spouse — Lillian Nolan (1924-1976) (his death) • Children — 2 • Known for — Playing Abraham Lincoln in The Birth of a Nation

Henabery was born in Omaha and raised in Los Angeles. He began acting as an amateur in California. Before he worked in films, Henabery worked for the San Pedro, Los Angeles, Salt Lake Railroad. When he was 25 years old, he became an extra for Universal Pictures.

Henabery's acting career began in The Joke on Yellentown (1914). From 1914 to 1917 he appeared in seventeen films, including his portrayal of Lincoln in The Birth of a Nation. Henabery also worked as a second-unit director on Griffith's Intolerance (1916), and supervised the filming of at least one extended sequence that appeared in the film. Henabery also acted as Admiral de Coligny in the Renaissance French portion of the film depicting the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Throughout the rest of his career, he worked as a director. From the mid-1920s, and after professional disagreements with both Louis B. Mayer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Adolph Zukor at Paramount Pictures, Henabery found employment as a director for smaller Hollywood studios. In 1931 he joined the Vitaphone studio in New York City, where he directed dozens of short subjects for the next 10 years. Most of them were musicals and comedies, featuring a host of popular singers in 20-minute sketches. Henabery remained with Vitaphone until the New York studio closed in 1940. Henabery made documentaries and training films as a member of the Army Signal Corps.

Although Henabery's impersonation of Lincoln was a masterpiece of facial makeup, the 6 ft Henabery was three inches shorter than the 6 ft Lincoln. Kevin Brownlow's book The Parade's Gone By (1968) contains a photo of Henabery in costume and makeup as Lincoln, seated in a chair with planks placed on the floor under Henabery's feet so that his knees are raised several inches; this effect (with the planks kept off-camera in the movie) made Henabery's legs appear longer than they actually were.

Henabery and his wife, Lilian, had a daughter and a son. Henabery died on February 18, 1976, aged 88, at the Motion Picture Country House in Los Angeles, California.

• Title — Year — Notes • Say! Young Fellow — 1918 — director and scenarist • Mr. Fix-It — 1918 — co-screenplay • His Majesty The American — 1919 — Story and direction • Life of the Party — 1920 • Love Madness — 1920 • Brewster's Millions — 1921 • Traveling Salesman — 1921 • Don't Call Me Little Girl — 1921 • Moonlight and Honeysuckle — 1921 • Her Winning Way — 1921 • Making a Man — 1922 • The Stranger — 1924 • A Sainted Devil — 1924 • Cobra — 1925 • Meet the Prince — 1926 • Play Safe — 1927 • Sailors' Wives — 1928 • United States Smith — 1928 • Red Hot Speed — 1929 • The Quitter — 1929 • Double or Nothing — 1936 — Short

The Race War (1915) with Bessie Buskirk • Title — Year — Role — Notes • The Birth of a Nation — 1915 — Abraham Lincoln • The Spell of the Poppy — 1915 — John Hale • The Penitentes — 1915 — Minor Role — Uncredited • Intolerance — 1916 — L'amiral de Coligny / Defendant — (final film role)