John Arthur Nelson

John Arthur Nelson was a director, actor, and writer.^[1] Nelson wrote, acted in, and directed more than a dozen short films in 1913 and 1914, including a series of Slim Hoover films in which he portrayed the title character. He wrote pro-labor union and anti-America Plan / open shop book The New Disciple and supervised production of the film of the same name that was based on it in 1921.^[2]

He was U.S. Film Corporation's Vice-President and headed the Nelson Film Company. In 1915, he was arrested for misappropriating stockholder funds.^[3] In 1916 he was sued for non-delivery of the film Slim and the Mummy.^[4] In 1917, he tried to establish Dominion Film Company in Victoria, Canada but officials refused to give him land for the business.^[5]

In 1920, he got funding for a labor backed film company he headed. It was to produce pro-labor union films.^[6]

He corresponded with Samuel Gompers.^[7]

Filmography

• Slim Becomes a Detective (1913)
• Slim's Last Trick (1914)
• Slim Becomes a Cook (1914)
• The New Disciple (1921), writer and film production supervisor