Fred Fishback

Fred C. Fishback (born Moscu Fischback; January 18, 1894 – January 6, 1925) was a film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer of the silent era. Following the 1921 scandal surrounding Roscoe Arbuckle, in which he was involved, Fishback worked mostly under the pseudonym Fred Hibbard.

Fred Fishback
Fred Fishback (left) and Edith Roberts in 1919
Born	Moscu Fischback (1894-01-18)January 18, 1894 Bucharest, Romania
Died	January 6, 1925(1925-01-06) (aged 30) Los Angeles, U.S.
Other names	Fred Hibbard
Occupations	Director actor screenwriter producer
Years active	1912–1925
Spouse	Ethel Lynne (married 1919–1925)[1]: 563

Biography

Fred Fishback was born Moscu Fischback (sometimes spelled Fischbach) on January 18, 1894, in Bucharest, Romania.^[2] He immigrated to the United States around 1900, and made his motion picture debut with Thomas H. Ince in 1912.^[1]: 563 As Freddy Fischbach, he became a cameraman at Mack Sennett's Keystone studio, where he worked with comedy star Roscoe Arbuckle. Sennett promoted Fischbach to director, with his surname Americanized to Fred Fishback.

Anyone with Keystone credentials was welcomed by lesser comedy studios, and Fishback secured a job directing comedy shorts for Universal Pictures, many of them featuring former Keystone and Hal Roach bit player Lige Conley.

Both Arbuckle and Fishback were hired to direct at Educational Pictures. Fishback, reunited with Lige Conley, helped to develop Conley into a comedy star in a lengthy series of slapstick short subjects. Fishback also directed one of Educational's leading comedians, Lloyd Hamilton. Fishback died at the age of 30 of cancer;^[1]: 563 his last films were released posthumously.

Select filmography

Actor

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1914	Love and Bullets	Henchman	[1]: 297
1914	Laughing Gas	Bearded Patient	[1]: 297
1914	Tillie's Punctured Romance	Tall Servant	[1]: 460
1914	Killing Horace	Painter	[1]: 301
1914	Those Love Pangs	Vivian's Boyfriend	[1]: 302
1914	Gentlemen of Nerve	Spectator Behind Fence, Spectator in Bleachers	[1]: 303
1915	The Home Breakers	Lead Cop	[1]: 309
1915	A Bird's a Bird	Raffle Ticket Taker	[1]: 310
1915	That Little Band of Gold	Audience Member Near Box	[1]: 312
1915	Droppington's Devilish Deed	The Heavy Man	[1]: 314
1915	Do-Re-Me-Boom!	Cop	[1]: 316
1915	A Hash House Fraud	Free-Eater Hit with Plate	[1]: 319
1915	The Cannon Ball	Tall Henchman	[1]: 319
1915	Only a Messenger Boy	Man with Booze	[1]: 321
1915	A Janitors Wife's Temptation	Waiter in Booth Hall	[1]: 323
1915	The Hunt	Prisoner Who Escapes with Ford	[1]: 325

Director

Cameo by Fred Fishback (left), director of A Movie Star (1916)

Poster for An International Sneak (1917)

Advertisement for short films starring Brownie the dog, including Playmates and Society Dogs (1921)

Poster for Circus Clowns (1922), with direction credited to Fred Hibbard and starring Baby Peggy.

Year	Title	Notes
1915	The Home Breakers	Assistant director[1]: 310
1915	A Bird's a Bird	Assistant director[1]: 312
1915	Droppington's Devilish Deed	Assistant director[1]: 314
1915	Do-Re-Me-Boom!	Assistant director[1]: 316
1915	A Hash House Fraud	Assistant director[1]: 319
1915	The Cannon Ball	Assistant director[1]: 319
1916	A Movie Star	[1]: 326
1916	His Auto Ruination	[1]: 327
1916	By Stork Delivery	[1]: 329
1916	His Bitter Pill	[1]: 332
1916	Ambrose's Cup of Woe	[1]: 333
1916	Madcap Ambrose	[1]: 334
1916	Ambrose's Rapid Rise	[1]: 336
1916	Safety First Ambrose	[1]: 337
1917	His Naughty Thought	[1]: 339
1917	Cactus Nell	[1]: 340
1917	Lost, a Cook	[1]: 342
1917	Roping Her Romeo	[1]: 349
1917	An International Sneak	[1]: 350
1918	Beware of Boarders!	[1]: 354
1918	Here Come the Girls	[3]
1919	Money Talks	[4]
1919	A Village Venus	[5]
1920	His Master's Breath	Also screenwriter[6]
1920	A Baby Doll Bandit	Also screenwriter[7]
1920	Naughty Lions and Wild Men	Also screenwriter[8]
1920	Over the Transom	Also screenwriter[9]
1920	Loose Lions and Fast Lovers	Also screenwriter[10]
1920	A Lion's Alliance	Also screenwriter[11]
1920	My Dog Pal	Also screenwriter[11]
1920	My Salomy Lions	Also screenwriter[12]
1921	A Bunch of Kisses	Also screenwriter[13]
1921	The Dog Doctor	Also screenwriter[14]
1921	Playmates	Also screenwriter[15]
1921	Alfalfa Love	Also screenwriter[16]
1921	Society Dogs	Also screenwriter[17]
1921	The Whizbang	Also screenwriter[18]
1921	Brownie's Little Venus	Also screenwriter[19]
1922	Circus Clowns	As Fred Hibbard; also screenwriter[20]
1922	The Straphanger	Director and screenwriter[21]
1923	Uncle Sam	As Fred Hibbard[1]: 305
1924	My Friend	As Fred Hibbard[22]: 222
1924	Air Pockets	As Fred Hibbard[1]: 563
1924	Killing Time	As Fred Hibbard[22]: 223
1924	Going East	As Fred Hibbard[22]: 223
1924	Jonah Jones	As Fred Hibbard[22]: 224
1924	Crushed	As Fred Hibbard[22]: 224
1925	Hooked	As Fred Hibbard Also screenwriter; released posthumously[22]: 224–225
1925	Half a Hero	As Fred Hibbard Also screenwriter; released posthumously[22]: 225