Augustus Carney(1870-1920)

Irish-born silent comedy star with extensive vaudeville experience. Appeared in Essanay shorts from 1910 with Victor Potel, as 'Hank and Lank'. He was featured on his own the following year as 'Alkali Ike', in his own 'Snakeville' comedy series. His resulting popularity led to excessive wage demands, which were not met by Essanay, nor by his next employer Universal. He quit, or was fired, in 1914 and only lasted another year or so, until his total disappearance from the screen.

[In 1914, on doing comedy for films] Yes, of course, I like comedy, but the comedy work in the pictures is hard. It's extraordinary how the public is on to any inconsistencies in this work. It was hard enough to make it convincing in the old regular business [the stage], but in front of the camera, conditions make it more exacting than ever.