Alfred John "Alf" Goulding (January 26, 1885 â€" April 25, 1972) was
an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film director
and screenwriter. He directed 182 films between 1917 and 1959 and is
credited with having Harold Lloyd wear his trademark glasses.He was
born on January 26, 1885 in Melbourne, Australia to Francis Thomas
Goulding (1860-1940) and Margaret Davies Walsh. He was the youngest
brother of the opera singer Elsa Goulding.As children, he and his
brother and sister performed with Pollard’s Lilliputian Opera
Company, a popular Australian juvenile opera company that travelled
Australasia, the Orient and North America extensively. By 1900 he was
regularly singled out in reviews as one of the Company’s most
entertaining performers: "Master Alf. Goulding came in for a lion's
share of applause, and he certainly won it fairly in his comic
pieces." By 1907, Goulding was stage managing for the company. He
arrived with the Pollard troupe in the US in 1908. According to Brent
Walker, Goulding then travelled to Britain where he worked on stage
with Stan Laurel, for several years, after which he returned to the
US. By 1911 he was performing on stage in North America and directing
his own stage shows, sometimes in collaboration with former Pollard
performers Daphne Pollard and Harry "Snub" Pollard.
an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film director
and screenwriter. He directed 182 films between 1917 and 1959 and is
credited with having Harold Lloyd wear his trademark glasses.He was
born on January 26, 1885 in Melbourne, Australia to Francis Thomas
Goulding (1860-1940) and Margaret Davies Walsh. He was the youngest
brother of the opera singer Elsa Goulding.As children, he and his
brother and sister performed with Pollard’s Lilliputian Opera
Company, a popular Australian juvenile opera company that travelled
Australasia, the Orient and North America extensively. By 1900 he was
regularly singled out in reviews as one of the Company’s most
entertaining performers: "Master Alf. Goulding came in for a lion's
share of applause, and he certainly won it fairly in his comic
pieces." By 1907, Goulding was stage managing for the company. He
arrived with the Pollard troupe in the US in 1908. According to Brent
Walker, Goulding then travelled to Britain where he worked on stage
with Stan Laurel, for several years, after which he returned to the
US. By 1911 he was performing on stage in North America and directing
his own stage shows, sometimes in collaboration with former Pollard
performers Daphne Pollard and Harry "Snub" Pollard.
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