Thomas H. Ince

American silent film producer and director, born in 1882. A pioneer of the studio system, he built Inceville, one of the first purpose-built film studios, and developed the production-line method of filmmaking with detailed scripts and shooting schedules. He produced and directed hundreds of Westerns and dramas, and his productions included *Civilization* (1916) and *Anna Christie* (1923). He died in 1924 under controversial circumstances aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht.