Motion-Picture Pioneer. The cinema's first great artist, he invented the fantasy film and was the father of motion-picture special effects. His most famous film, "A Trip to the Moon" (1902), still delights viewers with its quaint charm and humor, more than a century after it was first shown. Méliès' influence on moviemaking around the world has been considerable. Born in Paris, the son of a wealthy footwear manufacturer, he was a professional magician who in the late 1880's won fame for his inventive stagecraft and flamboyant showmanship. Fascinated with all forms of illusion, Méliès attended, in December 1895, the premiere exhibition of the Lumiere brothers' cinematographe at the Grand Café in Paris. This occasion marked the first time motion-pictures were projected onto a screen for an audience, rather than viewed individually through a peepshow device. Méliès begged the Lumieres to sell him a camera, but they refused. Undaunted, he went to England, where he purchased a Bioscope projector from another pioneer, Robert W. Paul, and proceeded to build his own camera based on the Bioscope's design. At first he filmed street scenes to incorporate into his magic shows, but was soon devoting himself to films full-time. He launched a production company, Star Films, and in 1897 constructed Europe's first movie studio, in Montreuil. Unlike Thomas Edison and the Lumieres, Méliès, with his theatrical background, quickly grasped that the cinema could be used as a storytelling medium. Within a year he went from brief documentary shots and faked newsreel footage to producing fairy tales and fables ("The Grasshopper and the Ant" in 1897, "Cinderella" in 1899) and literary adaptations ("Pygmalion" and "The Damnation of Faust", both 1898). And with his magician's imagination and technical ingenuity he was able to expand the movies' visual vocabulary. Méliès is credited with introducing stop-motion photography, time-lapse photography, double and multiple exposures, and miniature work; these innovations remained some of the basic tools of special effects (not to mention animation) until very recently, when they were supplanted by computer-generated imagery. He was also the first filmmaker to utilize indoor lighting, indoor camera movement, production sketches and storyboards. In "The One-Man Band" (1900), Méliès appeared as seven different people in the same frame, a feat of movie magic that wasn't topped until Buster Keaton's "The Playhouse" (1921). "A Trip to the Moon" was the culmination of all Méliès' discoveries. The rest of his (sadly short) career was spent refining his techniques. His later films, almost all under 15 minutes in length, include "Gulliver's Travels" (1902), "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" (1902), "Faust in Hell" (1903), "Impossible Voyage" (1904), "A Thousand and One Nights" (1905), "The Legend of Rip Van Winkle" (1905), "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1907), and "The Conquest of the Pole" (1912). Méliès wrote, produced, directed, designed, sometimes photographed and often acted in these one-reelers. For a decade his product enjoyed enormous popularity abroad, especially in the United States, where prints were widely pirated and illegally shown. To protect his interests Méliès formed an American branch of Star Films in 1903 and in 1909 he joined the Motion Picture Patents Company, a trust formed by Edison to monopolize American Cinema. Inevitably, though, the novelty of his little trick films wore off. While his competitors were using the world for their stage, Méliès refused to leave the artificial confines of his studio and his work began to appear claustrophobic and dated. In 1911 he had to borrow heavily from the Pathe company, now his distributors, to continue production; two years later Pathe foreclosed on Star Films, putting Méliès out of business. He never made another film. Méliès converted his studio into a variety theatre where he performed his old magic tricks, but in 1923 he went bankrupt and had to liquidate his remaining assets. Tragically, his film negatives were sold for their silver content, which is why out of the estimated 560 movies he produced only a fraction survive. By the late 1920's, when the French Surrealists rediscovered his genius, Méliès was running a little toy and candy kiosk at the Montparnasse railway station. In 1931 the French government awarded him the Legion of Honor and the following year he was given a rent-free apartment, where he lived out his days in a semblance of comfort. D. W. Griffith said of Méliès, "I owe him everything," and Charlie Chaplin called him "the alchemist of light."
Motion-Picture Pioneer. The cinema's first great artist, he invented the fantasy film and was the father of motion-picture special effects. His most famous film, "A Trip to the Moon" (1902), still delights viewers with its quaint charm and humor, more than a century after it was first shown. Méliès' influence on moviemaking around the world has been considerable. Born in Paris, the son of a wealthy footwear manufacturer, he was a professional magician who in the late 1880's won fame for his inventive stagecraft and flamboyant showmanship. Fascinated with all forms of illusion, Méliès attended, in December 1895, the premiere exhibition of the Lumiere brothers' cinematographe at the Grand Café in Paris. This occasion marked the first time motion-pictures were projected onto a screen for an audience, rather than viewed individually through a peepshow device. Méliès begged the Lumieres to sell him a camera, but they refused. Undaunted, he went to England, where he purchased a Bioscope projector from another pioneer, Robert W. Paul, and proceeded to build his own camera based on the Bioscope's design. At first he filmed street scenes to incorporate into his magic shows, but was soon devoting himself to films full-time. He launched a production company, Star Films, and in 1897 constructed Europe's first movie studio, in Montreuil. Unlike Thomas Edison and the Lumieres, Méliès, with his theatrical background, quickly grasped that the cinema could be used as a storytelling medium. Within a year he went from brief documentary shots and faked newsreel footage to producing fairy tales and fables ("The Grasshopper and the Ant" in 1897, "Cinderella" in 1899) and literary adaptations ("Pygmalion" and "The Damnation of Faust", both 1898). And with his magician's imagination and technical ingenuity he was able to expand the movies' visual vocabulary. Méliès is credited with introducing stop-motion photography, time-lapse photography, double and multiple exposures, and miniature work; these innovations remained some of the basic tools of special effects (not to mention animation) until very recently, when they were supplanted by computer-generated imagery. He was also the first filmmaker to utilize indoor lighting, indoor camera movement, production sketches and storyboards. In "The One-Man Band" (1900), Méliès appeared as seven different people in the same frame, a feat of movie magic that wasn't topped until Buster Keaton's "The Playhouse" (1921). "A Trip to the Moon" was the culmination of all Méliès' discoveries. The rest of his (sadly short) career was spent refining his techniques. His later films, almost all under 15 minutes in length, include "Gulliver's Travels" (1902), "The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" (1902), "Faust in Hell" (1903), "Impossible Voyage" (1904), "A Thousand and One Nights" (1905), "The Legend of Rip Van Winkle" (1905), "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1907), and "The Conquest of the Pole" (1912). Méliès wrote, produced, directed, designed, sometimes photographed and often acted in these one-reelers. For a decade his product enjoyed enormous popularity abroad, especially in the United States, where prints were widely pirated and illegally shown. To protect his interests Méliès formed an American branch of Star Films in 1903 and in 1909 he joined the Motion Picture Patents Company, a trust formed by Edison to monopolize American Cinema. Inevitably, though, the novelty of his little trick films wore off. While his competitors were using the world for their stage, Méliès refused to leave the artificial confines of his studio and his work began to appear claustrophobic and dated. In 1911 he had to borrow heavily from the Pathe company, now his distributors, to continue production; two years later Pathe foreclosed on Star Films, putting Méliès out of business. He never made another film. Méliès converted his studio into a variety theatre where he performed his old magic tricks, but in 1923 he went bankrupt and had to liquidate his remaining assets. Tragically, his film negatives were sold for their silver content, which is why out of the estimated 560 movies he produced only a fraction survive. By the late 1920's, when the French Surrealists rediscovered his genius, Méliès was running a little toy and candy kiosk at the Montparnasse railway station. In 1931 the French government awarded him the Legion of Honor and the following year he was given a rent-free apartment, where he lived out his days in a semblance of comfort. D. W. Griffith said of Méliès, "I owe him everything," and Charlie Chaplin called him "the alchemist of light."
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2348/georges-m%C3%A9li%C3%A8s: accessed
), memorial page for Georges Méliès (8 Dec 1861–21 Jan 1938), Find a Grave Memorial ID 2348, citing Cimetière du Père Lachaise, Paris,
City of Paris,
Île-de-France,
France;
Maintained by Find a Grave.
Add Photos for Georges Méliès
Fulfill Photo Request for Georges Méliès
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.