Director of the Keystone Cops silent comedies and recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 1937.
He was inspired to pursue opera after watching a vaudeville show.
His film Wrestling Swordfish won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1932.
He was born the son of Irish Catholic immigrant farmers. His father was a blacksmith.
He and Hal Roach both won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 1932. Roach won for The Music Box.
