Sign in

Private company

Essanay Studios

Logo: Essanay Studios, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

American film production company

Essanay Studios, officially the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in Chicago by George Kirke Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson, originally as the Peerless Film Manufacturing Company, then as Essanay (formed by phoneticizing the founders' initials: S and A) on August 10, 1907. Essanay is probably best known today for its series of Charlie Chaplin comedies produced in 1915–1916.2 It was founded by George K. Spoor and Broncho Billy Anderson.1 It ceased to exist in 1920.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1907Founded1
  • Industryfilm production1
  • HeadquartersChicago1
  • Founded inChicago1

See how the biggest companies compare on our leaderboards

Essanay
Photo: Amerique, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons5

Essanay Studios, officially the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company, was an early American motion picture studio. The studio was founded in Chicago by George Kirke Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson, originally as the Peerless Film Manufacturing Company, then as Essanay (formed by phoneticizing the founders' initials: S and A) on August 10, 1907. Essanay is probably best known today for its series of Charlie Chaplin comedies produced in 1915–1916. In late 1916, it merged distribution with other studios and stopped issuing films in the fall of 1918. According to film historian Steve Massa, Essanay is one of the important early studios, with comedies as a particular strength. Founders Spoor and Anderson were subsequently awarded special Academy Awards for pioneering contributions to film.2

The story

Founded by Broncho Billy Anderson and George K. Spoor in 1907, in Chicago.1

Essanay was originally located at 501 Wells Street (modern numbering: 1360 N. Wells). Essanay's first film, An Awful Skate, or The Hobo on Rollers (July 1907), starring Ben Turpin (then the studio janitor), produced for only a couple hundred dollars, grossed several thousand dollars in release. The studio prospered and in 1908 moved to its more famous address at 1333–45 W. Argyle Street in Uptown, Chicago.

From Wikipedia’s article on Essanay Studios, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Leadership

Who has led Essanay Studios, and when. Pick a name to see everywhere that person has worked.

Products and brands

Essanay's productions include the first American film version of A Christmas Carol (1908) as well as the Western short The James Boys of Missouri (1908), which is notable for being the first biopic about the nineteenth-century American outlaw brothers Jesse and Frank James. The first pie-in-the-face gag on screen is believed to have hit Essanay star Ben Turpin in Mr. Flip (1909). The studio in 1916 also released the first American Sherlock Holmes film. Directed by Arthur Berthelet, it stars William Gillette in the title role. Animated comedies were produced as well by the Chicago company, including installments showcasing the small boy "Dreamy Dud" and his dog "Wag", who in the early 1900s were among the favorite cartoon characters of theater audiences.

From Wikipedia’s article on Essanay Studios, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Timeline

  1. 1920Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1907Founded Founded in Chicago1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5