Draft:James Brill

James A. Brill
Born	James Abram Brill (1891-01-22)January 22, 1891 Buena Vista, Ohio, U.S.
Died	April 24, 1989(1989-04-24) (aged 98) Terrell, Texas, U.S.
Occupations	Artist, musician, teacher, film narrator
Known for	Narration of educational films produced by ERPI Classroom Films and Encyclopædia Britannica Films
Spouse(s)	Elsie Constantine Gladis Dix
Children	2

James Abram Brill (January 22, 1891 – April 24, 1989) was an American artist, musician, teacher, and narrator of educational films. He was associated with Electrical Research Products Inc. (ERPI) Classroom Films and its successor, Encyclopædia Britannica Films, during the development of the American educational-film industry in the 1930s and 1940s. His measured, "fatherly" narration became closely associated with ERPI's classroom films.

Brill was the narrator of a number of early educational films, including Adventures of Bunny Rabbit (1937), Conservation of Natural Resources (1937), Gloucester Fishermen (1938), and From Democracy to Despotism (1946). Contemporary and retrospective histories of Encyclopædia Britannica Films identify Brill as a prominent voice of the company's early classroom-film program.

Because several people named James Brill were involved in film production, later film credits under the name "James Brill" should not automatically be attributed to Brill without additional biographical evidence.

Early life and education

James Abram Brill was born on January 22, 1891, in Buena Vista, Scioto County, Ohio, to Henry Elmore Brill and Cynthia Jane Gordon. He was one of several children in the Brill family.

Brill attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1916. He subsequently developed interests and professional abilities in music and art. A later history of Encyclopædia Britannica Films described Brill as an accomplished musician and artist who had taught both subjects at different grade levels. The same history recalled that he had worked as a teacher with educator Arnspiger in Drumright, Oklahoma, before entering educational-film work.

Career

Teaching, art and music

Before becoming associated with educational films, Brill worked in education and was active as a musician and artist. His artistic abilities became useful when ERPI began producing films designed specifically for classroom instruction.

According to a history of Encyclopædia Britannica Films, Brill initially became involved with ERPI through plans for educational films about music and the symphony orchestra. His responsibilities subsequently expanded beyond music-related subjects as his artistic and presentation skills became useful throughout the company's production program.

ERPI Classroom Films

Brill became associated with Electrical Research Products Inc. (ERPI), an AT&T subsidiary that developed a major program of 16 mm classroom films. ERPI's educational-film operation subsequently became the foundation for the work of Encyclopædia Britannica Films.

A history of Encyclopædia Britannica Films describes Brill's voice as a hallmark of ERPI Classroom Films. It states that his even, fatherly voice was used extensively in the company's films and became recognizable to generations of teachers and students.

In 1930, Brill was involved with ERPI's early series of films concerning musical instruments, including The Brass Choir, The String Choir, The Woodwind Choir, and The Percussion Group. The surviving Encyclopædia Britannica Films catalog identifies Brill as having revised The String Choir with Peter W. Dykema.

Film narration

One of Brill's best-known early assignments was Adventures of Bunny Rabbit, an ERPI classroom film released in 1937. The film used footage of a family of rabbits and narration directed toward young children. Historical accounts of Encyclopædia Britannica Films credit the film's appeal in part to Brill's narration and describe teachers using the film as an instructional aid.

Brill also narrated Conservation of Natural Resources (1937), an ERPI educational film concerning the management and use of natural resources. The film opens with Brill's narration and is identified by the Orphan Film Symposium as an ERPI Classroom Film.

In 1938, Brill narrated Gloucester Fishermen, an ERPI film about the fishing industry in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The film was produced with backing from Clark University.

Brill's association with educational films continued into the postwar period. In 1946, he narrated and appeared before the camera in From Democracy to Despotism, an Encyclopædia Britannica Films production made in collaboration with political scientist Harold D. Lasswell of Yale University. Surviving copies of the film identify Brill's narration, and contemporary descriptions of the film show him presenting portions of the material on camera.

In 1947, Brill was credited as narrator of A Day at the Fair, an Encyclopædia Britannica Films short about a family attending a local agricultural fair. The surviving IMDb record identifies James Brill as the uncredited narrator.

Documented film credits

The following films have evidence connecting a narrator named James Brill with Brill's known ERPI/Encyclopædia Britannica Films career:

The film The String Choir, originally produced by ERPI in 1931, also credits James Brill in connection with a revision made with Peter W. Dykema in 1938. This surviving catalog entry establishes Brill's involvement with the production but does not, by itself, establish that he narrated the film.

Later credits and identity confusion

A number of databases list additional films credited simply to "James Brill," including films released after 1950. These include Care of the Skin, Junior Rodeo Daredevils, Drug Addiction, Care of the Hair and Nails, The Living City, and The Truck Farmer.

These credits should be treated cautiously. A separate James Brill, born in 1881 in West Virginia and who died in 1959 in Maryland, is represented in existing film databases. Consequently, a film credit appearing only under the name "James Brill" does not establish that it belongs to James Abram Brill (1891–1989).

This distinction is particularly important for The Living City (1953), which has been attributed to a James Brill as narrator. There is currently insufficient evidence to establish that the narrator of that film was James Abram Brill.

Personal life

Brill married Elsie M. Constantine in 1923 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They had two sons, Willard Gordan Brill, born in 1924, and James Abram Brill Jr., born in 1930.

The family lived in New York during the 1930s and 1940s. Brill was recorded as living in Yonkers, New York, in the 1930 and 1940 censuses. A 1950 census record places him in Evanston, Illinois.

Genealogical records subsequently place Brill in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1952. The available record establishes his residence there in that year but does not provide a precise date for his move from Illinois to Oklahoma.

Elsie Brill died in 1964. Brill married Gladis Oma Dix on April 3, 1966, in Kaufman, Texas.

Death

James Abram Brill died on April 24, 1989, in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas, at the age of 98.

Filmography

Narrator

• Adventures of Bunny Rabbit (1937) — narrator
• Conservation of Natural Resources (1937) — narrator
• Gloucester Fishermen (1938) — narrator
• From Democracy to Despotism (1946) — narrator and on-camera presenter
• A Day at the Fair (1947) — narrator

Other film work

• The String Choir (1931; revised 1938) — revision credited to James Brill and Peter W. Dykema