Harry Solter

Henry Lewis Solter (November 19, 1873 – March 2, 1920) was an American silent film actor and director.

Career Cast of When Knights Were Bold (1908), from left: Linda Arvidson, D. W. Griffith, unknown player, and Solter

Solter began his career as an actor in 1908 with Biograph Studios. That same year he met actress Florence Lawrence while making the film Romeo and Juliet for Vitagraph Studios and married on August 30 of that year. In 1909, Solter began working for Carl Laemmle's Independent Moving Pictures Co. of America (IMP) as an actor but also as a director. Over the next nine years, he directed 148 silent films.

In 1912, Solter and his wife established the Victor Studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In 1913, they sold out to Laemmle whose amalgamation of several studios created the colossal Universal Film Manufacturing Co. Solter continued to direct for the new company until 1918 when health problems emerged. With this new prosperity, Florence was able to realize a "lifelong dream", buying a estate in River Vale, New Jersey.

Death Solter died of a stroke on March 2, 1920, at the age of 46. He is interred in the Baltimore Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

Selected filmography