orig. Michael Sinnott

(born Jan. 17, 1880, Richmond, Que., Can.—died Nov. 5, 1960, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. film director. He performed in burlesque and vaudeville before joining the Biograph studio in 1908, and he soon was directing comedies under D.W. Griffith's tutelage. He left to form his own Keystone Co. in 1912. Considered the father of slapstick comedy in motion pictures, he produced the first U.S. feature-length comedy, Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914), and made over 1,000 comedy shorts, often featuring the wild antics of the Keystone Kops. He hired stars such as Mabel Normand, Fatty Arbuckle, and Charlie Chaplin. Important directors such as Frank Capra and George Stevens also received experience under Sennett. Sennett excelled in comic timing, improvisation, and effective editing, and he used trick camera work and high-speed and slow-motion photography to produce his famous comic chase scenes. In 1937 he received a special Academy Award.

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orig. Michael Sinnott

(born Jan. 17, 1880, Richmond, Que., Can.—died Nov. 5, 1960, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. film director. He performed in burlesque and vaudeville before joining the Biograph studio in 1908, and he soon was directing comedies under D.W. Griffith's tutelage. He left to form his own Keystone Co. in 1912. Considered the father of slapstick comedy in motion pictures, he produced the first U.S. feature-length comedy, Tillie's Punctured Romance (1914), and made over 1,000 comedy shorts, often featuring the wild antics of the Keystone Kops. He hired stars such as Mabel Normand, Fatty Arbuckle, and Charlie Chaplin. Important directors such as Frank Capra and George Stevens also received experience under Sennett. Sennett excelled in comic timing, improvisation, and effective editing, and he used trick camera work and high-speed and slow-motion photography to produce his famous comic chase scenes. In 1937 he received a special Academy Award.

Learn more about Sennett, Mack with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Sennett is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 3,244 at the 2000 census. The town is named after a public official and early settler, Daniel Sennett.

The Town of Sennett is on the eastern county line of Cayuga County and borders Auburn, New York.

History

Sennett was part of the Central New York Military Tract, land reserved for war veterans.

Daniel Sennett became, in 1795, the first settler. The Town of Sennett was formed from the Town of Brutus and the Town of Aurelius in 1827. Part of Sennett was used to contribute territory to the Town of Throop in 1859. Also Sennett contributed some of its southwest territory to the City of Auburn.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.8 square miles (74.7 km²), of which, 28.8 square miles (74.6 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.07%) is water.

The east town line is the border of Onondaga County. Sennett is in the Finger Lakes District, being near the north end of Owasco Lake and Skaneateles Lake.

New York State Route 5 and New York State Route 34 are east-west & north-south highways, which converge in the City of Auburn.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,244 people, 1,085 households, and 864 families residing in the town. The population density was 112.6 people per square mile (43.5/km²). There were 1,117 housing units at an average density of 38.8/sq mi (15.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.02% White, 2.37% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.03% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 1,085 households out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 16.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.1.

In the town the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 99.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $50,282, and the median income for a family was $57,009. Males had a median income of $37,663 versus $24,479 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,593. 4.9% of the population and 3.7% of families were below the poverty line. 6% of those under the age of 18 and 4.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Communities and locations in Sennett

• McMasters Corners -- A location on NY-34, west of Sennett village.
• Sennett (once "Fellows Corners") -- The hamlet of Sennett is located on NY-5, northeast of Auburn.
• Wicks Corners -- A hamlet by the east town line, east of Auburn.

References