Fred Ott
Frederick P. Ott (
1860,
New Jersey –
24 October,
1936,
West Orange, New Jersey) was an employee of
Thomas Edison's laboratory in the
1890s. His likeness appears in two of the earliest surviving motion pictures –
Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (a.k.a.
Fred Ott's Sneeze) and
Fred Ott Holding a Bird – both from
1894.
In the film, Ott takes a pinch of
snuff, which causes him to
sneeze.
By virtue of having appeared in only two films, each of which features him as the sole actor, Fred Ott is uniquely significant to players of a game called the
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (
1894)
Fred Ott Holding a Bird (
1894)
*
William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, 1860-1935, production.
*
History of cinema*
Kinetoscope*
1894 in film*
Edison kinetoscopic record of a sneeze, January 7, 1894, Library of Congress*
Ott - A Modern Day Remake of Fred Ott's Sneeze at
Ironic Sans
