Thomas H. Ince (November 16, 1880 – November 19, 1924) was an
American silent film producer,
director,
screenwriter, and
actor. Ince was known as the "Father of the
Western" and was responsible for making over 800 films. He revolutionized the motion picture industry by creating the first major Hollywood studio facility and invented
movie production by introducing the "
assembly line" system of
filmmaking. He was the first mogul to build his own film studio dubbed "Inceville" in
Palisades Highlands. Ince was also instrumental in developing the role of the producer in motion pictures. Two of his fims,
The Italian (1915), for which he wrote the
screenplay, and
Civilization (1916), which he directed, were selected for
preservation by the
National Film Registry. He later partnered with
D.W. Griffith and
Mack Sennett to form the
Triangle Motion Picture Company whose studios are the present-day site of
Sony Pictures. He then built a new studio about a mile from Triangle which is now the site of
Culver Studios. Ince's untimely death at the height of his career after he became severely ill aboard the private
yacht of media
tycoon William Randolph Hearst has caused much speculation, although the official cause of his death was heart failure.