- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAlfred Ernest Christie
- Height6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
- Al Christie began his career in 1909 with the Nestor Company. In 1912 he was put in charge of production for a series of westerns. By 1916 he had set up his own production company that produced comedy two-reelers and occasionally a full-length feature. He was the brother of producer/director Charles Christie. In 1926 Christie, along with Vera Steadman and H. Prevost, Marie Prevost's mother, was in a car accident in Florida that left Mrs. Prevost dead from a broken spine. Steadman and Christie suffered cuts and bruises.- IMDb Mini Biography By: A. Nonymous
- Born the second son to George Wiseman Christie and Mary Ann Jarvis Christie (George's second wife, his first wife was named Mary Reynolds Christie, and died prematurely) Al and his older brother Charles grew up in the household of a single mother and a half-sister, Anne, as George, a longtime military man turned police constable, died of consumption when Alfred was just a few months old. They lived on Dufferin Avenue in London Ontario Canada. After George's sudden death, Mary rented spare rooms in their home to boarders to make ends meet. Letting to day laborers and theater players was a good source of income for this Victorian single mother. Al became fascinated with the theater and left his position as a clerk in a Biscuit Manufactory to pursue his theatrical career, at the age of 20, as a stagehand and carpenter for the London (Ontario) Opera House. By the time he left the Opera House, he had attained the position of stage manager. In 1909, he began to work with David Horsley at the Nestor Film Company directing comedies and westerns in Bayonne, New Jersey, Staten Island, New York and Baltimore, Maryland. The flip of a nickel landed Christie, a small troupe of players and directors and a train car load of equipment to Hollywood; as Horsley thought Florida would be the ideal place to film under sunny skies, Christie thought California better suited to their industry and quite a bit further from the process servers that were chasing producers who were supposed to be using cameras controlled by the Motion Picture Patents Company. Heads-Florida, tails-California. Al won the toss. Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, Christie, while accompanied by a real estate agent,and an assistant, spied the Blondeau Tavern at the corner of Sunset and Gower. The Maier Brewing Company who was the lessee at the time, rented it to Christie for $30.00 a month. The following day, October 27, 1911, saw the opening of the first studio in Hollywood California. During the next few months, Christie was incredibly busy turning the tavern into a viable studio and meeting his weekly short. On January 17, 1912, Christie and his wife, Nora, welcomed their only child, Lenora "Shirley" Christie to Los Angeles. The Nestor Company eventually merged with Universal Films and by the time Universal City was built in 1915, Mr. Christie came on board as the head of the comedy department. By the middle of 1916, Christie left Universal and returned to the Sunset and Gower location which became the home of Christie Film Company, incorporating on June 15,1917 with Charles Christie (brother), Al Christie, Mary Christie (mother), Fred Porter and Kenyon Lee to serve as the Trustees for the corporation. The Christie brothers built their empire specializing in two-reel comedies, and as the industry grew, full-length features. 1918 was a difficult personal year for both of the Christie brothers. Charles lost Edna, his wife of nearly 16 years, following a surgery to repair a chronic ulcer. She died July 16, 1918. They never had any children and Charles never re-married. Meanwhile, Al wrote and/or directed titles like: Know Thy Wife, All Mixed Up, Why Husbands Flirt and Why Get A Divorce? The names of these scenarios and shorts were mirroring his own marriage. By September, when Al registered for the draft during World War I, he and Nora had split. He was living at 6680 Sunset, and she was living at the Hotel Savoy at the corner of Sixth and Grand. Shirley, their daughter, continued to live with Al and his mother in Los Angeles.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Brenda Jacobs
- SpousesFern E Crum(August 15, 1928 - ?) (divorced)Nora Carlton Leadbitter(July 27, 1909 - ?) (divorced, 1 child)
- Brother of producer Charles Christie.
- He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6771 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960.
- Born at John Street, London, Ontario, Canada. His parents were George Christie and Mary Jarvis. His father was a police constable who died of consumption on April 20, 1882 when Al was only six months old.
- Founded the Nestor Film Company (formerly the Nestor Motion Picture Company) (1909).
- He and brother Charles Christie co-founded the Christie Film Company Inc. (1916).
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