Fayette Chamber honors Hollywood legend Edwin S. Porter
Innovative filmmaker and Connellsville native Edwin S. Porter was honored Friday with a ceremonial marker by the Fayette Chamber of Commerce as part of the county无毛视频檚 Hometown Legends initiative.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 an opportunity for the county to honor those folks that were born here, lived here and went on to do some really amazing things,无毛视频� said chamber Executive Director Muriel Nuttall.
Residents and elected officials gathered in the Edwin S. Porter Theatre at the Connellsville Area Community Center to pay homage to one of the most influential filmmakers of all time.
Best known for the silent film 1903 无毛视频淭he Great Train Robbery,无毛视频� Porter is often credited for revolutionizing the film industry by incorporating techniques such as dramatic editing, crosscutting and filming on location. Academy Award winner and American filmmaker Martin Scorsese even credited Porter无毛视频檚 film 无毛视频淭he Great Train Robbery无毛视频� as being a major influence on his classic 1990 film 无毛视频淕oodfellas.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 the exact same story,无毛视频� Scorsese said in a 2013 interview.
Frank Jacobyansky of Connellsville, one of the lead organizers for Porter Silent Film Festival, said Porter无毛视频檚 impact on film fundamentally shaped the ways movies are made.
无毛视频淗e was the first great filmmaker, there无毛视频檚 just no two ways about it,无毛视频� Jacobyansky said. 无毛视频淎dmittedly he was great because he was at the beginning of the industry, and he could do things that really haven无毛视频檛 been thought of before.无毛视频�
Porter was born in Connersville in 1870, described by historians as a 无毛视频渘atural tinker,无毛视频� the Fayette-county native developed a keen interest in technology based around electricity, and by the age of 21 he received a U.S. patent for a lamp regulator.
After an economic depression in 1893, Porter served in the Navy as an electrician before eventually working for Thomas Edison and eventually becoming in charge of Edison无毛视频檚 motion picture production studio.
Courtney Francis of Connellsville, who was in attendance for the unveiling of the marker said she was impressed by the kind of life a fellow 无毛视频淐onnellsviller无毛视频� led and the effect he无毛视频檚 had on movies, even today.
无毛视频淭his is just a great opportunity for people who still live here to see that someone great, like Edwin Porter, can come from a small town,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淵ou don无毛视频檛 have to be from a big fabulous city to become an important person.无毛视频�
Echoing Francis无毛视频� sentiment, Nuttall said one of the main primary reasons the chamber decided to recognize 无毛视频淗ometown Legends无毛视频� was to help inspire the next generation of Fayette County.
无毛视频淔ayette County can get kind of a bad rap,无毛视频� Nuttall said. 无毛视频淎nd this initiative is a way to show our young people that great people have come from Fayette County and have gone on to do some amazing things.无毛视频�
Porter is the second person to be recognized through the Hometown Legends program. Ernie Davis, of Footedale, the first Black Heisman Trophy winner was honored in 2023. The Hometown Legends signage honoring Porter was placed outside of the community center.
As for whether Porter无毛视频檚 films stand up to today无毛视频檚 multi-million dollar blockbusters, Jacobyansky said there无毛视频檚 magic in the silent century-old films.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 part of our cultural heritage,无毛视频� Jacobyansky said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 like listening to Beethoven无毛视频檚 sympathy. It无毛视频檚 nice knowing our culture can produce something as beautiful as (his movies.) These are really works of art.无毛视频�