Robert Wade Chatterton was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His love affair with the movies began in the early 1940s when Chatterton became curator of the Memorable Films Society located in Cleveland and later in Hollywood. Eventually his career embraced work in many areas concerning film and motion pictures. During World War II Chatterton directed productions at the Canteen Playhouse where volunteers performed plays and musicals for members of the armed forces. In addition, he was director of the Hollywood Playhouse Workshop from 1945 to 1946. From 1944 through 1948 he worked as a freelance writer and actor in Hollywood.
From the late 1940s through the mid 1960s, Chatterton was involved in a variety of film-related activities. During this period he headed the Cinema Arts Society and worked at film theaters including the Old-Time Movie Theater, Nickelodeon Silent Movie Theater, Cine-Mude, and Granada Theaters. Chatterton was also a film booker for the Co-operative Theaters Chain (Los Angeles).
Beginning in the early 1960s, Chatterton produced, directed, and photographed several experimental films including: Passion in a Seaside Slum, Echoes in Venice West, The Hobo and the Circus, and The Next 60 Seconds. He also continued to work with film theaters, taught occasional courses in motion picture appreciation in the Los Angeles area, and made appearances on several television talk shows.
In 1967 Chatterton began his series of “film chats” at various universities and film societies throughout the country. A “film chat” was an informal discussion of films illustrated with clips and sequences, together with introductory comments and background information by Chatterton. Each program ran approximately two hours, with the on-film portion running about ninety minutes. These “illustrated lectures,” which included much footage from Chatterton's personal film archives, covered a variety of topics including screen personalities, film history, musicals, and silent films.
Bob Chatterton is deceased.
