William N. Selig on AllMovie

American film pioneer William N. Selig was the first producer to build a studio in Hollywood, CA. A former magician and owner of a successful minstrel show, Selig became interested in film after seeing the Edison Kinetoscope demonstrated in Dallas in 1895. The following year, Selig decided to enter the industry himself by creating a projection device. When he couldn't, he simply had technicians copy the Lumière Cinématographe. He added a couple of changes and called it the Selig Standard Camera. He also devised the Selig Polyscope projector. Later in 1896, he rented a downtown Chicago loft, set up the Selig Polyscope Company and became a filmmaker. Though the Motion Picture Patents Company tried to shut him down, Selig and his films prevailed. They became especially popular in 1909 when the enterprising Selig re-created a successful lion hunt by President Theodore Roosevelt who was on African safari at the time. Interestingly, Selig made the film before Roosevelt had actually killed a lion. As soon as Selig received word that the President had slain one, he released his film, Hunting Big Game in Africa, and had a major hit. Thereafter billing himself as Colonel Selig, the producer bought an entire African menagerie and began making exotic jungle movies, complete with authentic location footage. To make The Count of Monte Cristo (1909), Selig went to the Southern California coast and set up a studio in an area called Edendale that has since become part of Hollywood. Selig was one of the first producers to make feature-length films and also created the first American serial film, The Adventures of Kathlyn. He also had an animated series of "Seligettes." It was through Selig's company that cowboy superstar Tom Mix got his start. Unfortunately, stiff competition forced Selig to close down his production company in 1918. Four years later, he retired.