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Lawrence "Larry" Semon (February 9, 1889 – October 8, 1928) was a {{vaudeville}} and silent movie actor. He was a very well-known actor in his time, and at one point he was second only to Creator/CharlieChaplin in the silent comedy pecking order, but has been mostly forgotten today. He is perhaps most famous for directing and starring in the 1925 silent movie version of ''Film/TheWizardOfOz1925'', which was basically a [[InNameOnly typical slapstick comedy with a few Oz embellishments]], or working with both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy before they became Creator/LaurelAndHardy.

Most of the comedies he made were lowbrow StrictlyFormula affairs. According to [[http://www.classicimages.com/past_issues/view/?x=/1999/april99/semon.html Classic Images Magazine]], to create a standard Larry Semon movie, mix together:

# [[AuthorAvatar Larry Semon]].
# [[LoveInterest A heroine]] (usually Larry's current girlfriend or wife)
# [[FatBastard A fat guy]] (usually Oliver Hardy to play the villain)
# [[FatComicRelief A really fat guy]] (usually Frank Alexander, to play Larry's current girlfriend's father)
# [[ObviousStuntDouble Several stuntmen]], one to play Larry in everything but mid-close shots and close-ups, and several more to be thrown off things
# Things to throw the stuntmen off of, usually water towers, barns, silos, smokestacks, or buildings in general
# [[CoveredInGunge Gooey or messy things,]] frequently utilized to dump onto the really fat guy or the really fat guy into. Includes but is not relegated to, mud baths, wet cement, large washtubs filled with eggs, flour sacks, feather pillows, and large pots or buckets labeled in large block letters GLUE, INK, JAM, MOLASSES, etc., and filled to the brim with said items.
# Several [[TravelCool mechanical means]] of transportation, including [[CoolPlane airplanes,]] [[CoolCar motorcars,]] [[CoolTrain trains,]] and [[CoolBike motorcycles]]
# [[StuffBlowingUp Explosions,]] frequently used to destroy the things listed in numbers 6 and 8
# [[NoPlotNoProblem Plot]] (optional)
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