George Pearson

Who was George Pearson?

George Pearson was a pioneering English film director, producer and screenwriter, mainly in the silent film era. He was born in London.

The only son of George Pearson, a silk tie cutter, George Pearson's first profession after Culham College, near Oxford was teaching. He excelled in this role, becoming a headmaster by 1902 at the age of 26. His major post was at Staples Rd School Loughton Essex, on which there is a blue plaque. He was originally drawn to film making as an educational aid. In 1913 Pearson entered the film industry, initially as a script writer.

Pearson worked for Gaumont and later joined the Colonial Film Unit, remaining in employment until the age of 81. Though little of his work is known to have survived, Pearson is credited with pioneering the use of the moving camera shot.

In 1951, he was awarded the OBE. Pearson married Edith Stacey in 1901. They had two sons and two daughters. One daughter, Winifred, worked as a film editor. He died in Great Malvern, Worcestershire in 1973, aged nearly 98, outliving Winifred and his elder son, Malcolm, a surgeon. In 1957, his autobiography, Flashback, was published.