Fred Fishback

{{short description|Film director}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Fred Fishback | image = Fred Hibbard & Edith Roberts - Aug 1919 EH.jpg | caption = Fred Fishback (left) and Edith Roberts in 1919 | birth_name = Moscu Fischback | birth_date = {{Birth date|1894|01|18}} | birth_place = Bucharest, Romania | death_date = {{Death date and age|1925|01|06|1894|01|18}} | death_place = Los Angeles, U.S. | other_names = Fred Hibbard | occupation = {{hlist|Director|actor|screenwriter|producer}} | years_active = 1912–1925 | spouse = Ethel Lynne (married 1919–1925)<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|563}} }}

'''Fred C. Fishback''' (born '''Moscu Fischback'''; January 18, 1894{{spnd}}January 6, 1925) was a film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer of the silent era. Following the 1921 scandal surrounding Roscoe Arbuckle, in which he was involved, Fishback worked mostly under the pseudonym '''Fred Hibbard'''.

==Biography== Fred Fishback was born Moscu Fischback (sometimes spelled Fischbach) on January 18, 1894, in Bucharest, Romania.<ref>[https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q557-Y9ZM Fred (Moscu) Fischbach Or Fishbach, United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940.]</ref> He immigrated to the United States around 1900, and made his motion picture debut with Thomas H. Ince in 1912.<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|563}} As Freddy Fischbach, he became a cameraman at Mack Sennett's Keystone studio, where he worked with comedy star Roscoe Arbuckle. Sennett promoted Fischbach to director, with his surname Americanized to Fred Fishback.

Anyone with Keystone credentials was welcomed by lesser comedy studios, and Fishback secured a job directing comedy shorts for Universal Pictures, many of them featuring former Keystone and Hal Roach bit player Lige Conley.

Both Arbuckle and Fishback were hired to direct at Educational Pictures. Fishback, reunited with Lige Conley, helped to develop Conley into a comedy star in a lengthy series of slapstick short subjects. Fishback also directed one of Educational's leading comedians, Lloyd Hamilton. Fishback died at the age of 30 of cancer;<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|563}} his last films were released posthumously.

==Select filmography== ===Actor=== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1914 | ''Love and Bullets'' | Henchman | <ref name="Walker">{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Brent E. |date=2010 |title=Mack Sennett's Fun Factory |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-0-7864-7711-1}}</ref>{{Rp|297}} |- | 1914 | ''Laughing Gas'' | Bearded Patient | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|297}} |- | 1914 | ''Tillie's Punctured Romance'' | Tall Servant | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|460}} |- | 1914 | ''Killing Horace'' | Painter | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|301}} |- | 1914 | ''Those Love Pangs'' | Vivian's Boyfriend | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|302}} |- | 1914 | ''Gentlemen of Nerve'' | Spectator Behind Fence, Spectator in Bleachers | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|303}} |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|The|Home Breakers|nolink=1}}'' | Lead Cop | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|309}} |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|A|Bird's a Bird|nolink=1}}'' | Raffle Ticket Taker | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|310}} |- | 1915 | ''That Little Band of Gold'' | Audience Member Near Box | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|312}} |- | 1915 | ''Droppington's Devilish Deed'' | The Heavy Man | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|314}} |- | 1915 | ''Do-Re-Me-Boom!'' | Cop | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|316}} |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|A|Hash House Fraud|nolink=1}}'' | Free-Eater Hit with Plate | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|319}} |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|The|Cannon Ball|nolink=1}}'' | Tall Henchman | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|319}} |- | 1915 | ''Only a Messenger Boy'' | Man with Booze | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|321}} |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|A|Janitors Wife's Temptation|nolink=1}}'' | Waiter in Booth Hall | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|323}} |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|The|Hunt|nolink=1}}'' | Prisoner Who Escapes with Ford | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|325}} |}

===Director=== [[File:A Movie Star (1916).webm|thumb|thumbtime=22:39|upright=1.0|Cameo by Fred Fishback (left), director of ''A Movie Star'' (1916)]] {{multiple image  | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 220  | image1 = International Sneak poster.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = Poster for ''An International Sneak'' (1917)  | image2 =Brownie-Table-1921.jpg | alt2 = | caption2 = Advertisement for short films starring Brownie the dog, including ''Playmates'' and ''Society Dogs'' (1921)  | image3 =Circus-Clowns-1922-Poster.jpg | alt3 = | caption3 = Poster for ''Circus Clowns'' (1922), with direction credited to Fred Hibbard and starring Baby Peggy. }} {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|The|Home Breakers|nolink=1}}'' | Assistant director<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|310}} |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|A|Bird's a Bird|nolink=1}}'' | Assistant director<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|312}} |- | 1915 | ''Droppington's Devilish Deed'' | Assistant director<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|314}} |- | 1915 | ''Do-Re-Me-Boom!'' | Assistant director<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|316}} |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|A|Hash House Fraud|nolink=1}}'' | Assistant director<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|319}} |- | 1915 | ''{{sortname|The|Cannon Ball|nolink=1}}'' | Assistant director<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|319}} |- | 1916 | ''{{sortname|A|Movie Star|nolink=1}}'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|326}} |- | 1916 | ''His Auto Ruination'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|327}} |- | 1916 | ''By Stork Delivery'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|329}} |- | 1916 | ''His Bitter Pill'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|332}} |- | 1916 | ''Ambrose's Cup of Woe'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|333}} |- | 1916 | ''Madcap Ambrose'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|334}} |- | 1916 | ''Ambrose's Rapid Rise'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|336}} |- | 1916 | ''Safety First Ambrose'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|337}} |- | 1917 | ''His Naughty Thought'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|339}} |- | 1917 | ''Cactus Nell'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|340}} |- | 1917 | ''Lost, a Cook'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|342}} |- | 1917 | ''Roping Her Romeo'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|349}} |- | 1917 | ''{{sortname|An|International Sneak|nolink=1}}'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|350}} |- | 1918 | ''Beware of Boarders!'' | <ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|354}} |- | 1918 | ''Here Come the Girls'' | <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/H/HereComeTheGirls1918.html |title=Here Come the Girls |website=Progressive Silent Film List |publisher=Silent Era |access-date=December 27, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141204164037/http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/H/HereComeTheGirls1918.html |archive-date=December 4, 2014 }}</ref> |- | 1919 | ''Money Talks'' | <ref>{{cite book |date=1919 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kAwDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA359 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=359 }}</ref> |- | 1919 | ''{{sortname|A|Village Venus|nolink=1}}'' | <ref>{{cite book |date=1919 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kAwDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA842 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=842 }}</ref> |- | 1920 | ''His Master's Breath'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f71237d |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227062701/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f71237d |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |title=Fred Fishback |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=December 26, 2016}}</ref> |- | 1920 | ''{{sortname|A|Baby Doll Bandit|nolink=1}}'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1920 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niMhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA79 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=79 }}</ref> |- | 1920 | ''Naughty Lions and Wild Men'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1920 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niMhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA83 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=83 }}</ref> |- | 1920 | ''Over the Transom'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1920 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niMhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA84 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=84 }}</ref> |- | 1920 | ''Loose Lions and Fast Lovers'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1920 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niMhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA162 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=162 }}</ref> |- | 1920 | ''{{sortname|A|Lion's Alliance|nolink=1}}'' | Also screenwriter<ref name="Copyright 1920">{{cite book |date=1920 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niMhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA276 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=276 }}</ref> |- | 1920 | ''My Dog Pal'' | Also screenwriter<ref name="Copyright 1920"/> |- | 1920 | ''My Salomy Lions'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1920 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=niMhAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA538 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=538 }}</ref> |- | 1921 | ''{{sortname|A|Bunch of Kisses|nolink=1}}'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1921 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PY3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA319 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=319 }}</ref> |- | 1921 | ''{{sortname|The|Dog Doctor|nolink=1}}'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1921 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PY3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA320 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=320 }}</ref> |- | 1921 | ''Playmates'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1921 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PY3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA629 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=629 }}</ref> |- | 1921 | ''Alfalfa Love'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1921 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PY3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA919 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=919 }}</ref> |- | 1921 | ''Society Dogs'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1921 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PY3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA925 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=925 }}</ref> |- | 1921 | ''{{sortname|The|Whizbang|nolink=1}}'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1921 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7PY3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA926 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=926 }}</ref> |- | 1921 | ''Brownie's Little Venus'' | Also screenwriter<ref>{{cite book |date=1921 |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h_c3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1223 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=1223 }}</ref> |- | 1922 | ''Circus Clowns'' | As Fred Hibbard; also screenwriter<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/data/C/CircusClowns1922.html |title=Circus Clowns |website=Progressive Silent Film List |publisher=Silent Era |access-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref> |- | 1922 | ''The Straphanger'' | Director and screenwriter<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013641/ |title=The Straphanger |publisher=Century Film |date=January 11, 1922 |access-date=February 15, 2019}}</ref> |- | 1923 | ''Uncle Sam'' | As Fred Hibbard<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|305}} |- | 1924 | ''My Friend'' | As Fred Hibbard<ref name="Hamilton">{{cite book |last=Balducci |first=Anthony |date=2009 |title=Lloyd Hamilton: Poor Boy Comedian of Silent Cinema|location=Jefferson, N.C. |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786441594 }}</ref>{{Rp|222}} |- | 1924 | ''Air Pockets'' | As Fred Hibbard<ref name="Walker"/>{{Rp|563}} |- | 1924 | ''Killing Time'' | As Fred Hibbard<ref name="Hamilton"/>{{Rp|223}} |- | 1924 | ''Going East'' | As Fred Hibbard<ref name="Hamilton"/>{{Rp|223}} |- | 1924 | ''Jonah Jones'' | As Fred Hibbard<ref name="Hamilton"/>{{Rp|224}} |- | 1924 | ''Crushed'' | As Fred Hibbard<ref name="Hamilton"/>{{Rp|224}} |- | 1925 | ''Hooked'' | As Fred Hibbard<br />Also screenwriter; released posthumously<ref name="Hamilton"/>{{Rp|224–225}} |- | 1925 | ''Half a Hero'' | As Fred Hibbard<br />Also screenwriter; released posthumously<ref name="Hamilton"/>{{Rp|225}} |}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Fred Fishback}} *{{IMDb name|id=0382476|name=Fred Hibbard}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fishback, Fred}} Category:1894 births Category:1925 deaths Category:Deaths from lung cancer in California Category:Romanian emigrants to the United States Category:Film directors from Los Angeles Category:American male screenwriters Category:Film producers from California Category:20th-century American male writers Category:20th-century American screenwriters