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A. D. Kean

Dates active:

1949

Gender:

Male

Films:

Fox Hunting in Canada (1949)


Profession:

Journalist, photographer, horse trainer

Biographical Notes:

Arthur David Kean (1882-1961), widely known as "Cowboy" Kean, was the first British Columbian to make a living as a filmmaker and to make a feature film. After working out of doors, and competing in and organizing rodeos, he took up filmmaking in his early thirties. He was active professionally, mostly in Vancouver, ca. 1913-1927. In the years 1924-1927 he produced, directed, and photographed Policing the Plains, an eight-reel 35 mm feature docudrama on the history of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. The picture premiered in Toronto in December 1927, but was not a financial success. Kean moved to Toronto permanently, where he made another career as a journalist and broadcaster. He published numerous news items and feature stories in the Toronto Daily Star and Star Weekly, and his radio talks and plays were heard on CFRB and the CBC. At age 67, as a footnote to his professional career in motion pictures, he made one 16mm non-commercial film, Fox Hunting in Canada (1949).

Bibliographic Resources:

Dennis J. Duffy and David Mattison. “A.D. Kean, Canada’s Cowboy Movie-Maker.” The Beaver, February-March 1989, 28-41.