I will admit I was a bit excited when I came across the entry for Lynn F. Reynolds, my 5th cousin, 2x removed, in the History and Genealogy of the American Descendants of John and Ann Chamness of London, England.

His entry appears as follows:

“2c. Oscar A. now resides at Hollywood, near Los Angeles, Cal; has a son, Lynn F., who is a writer and director for the great film companies at Hollywood, n.f.d.”

Writer and director?? Great film companies at Hollywood?!?

The Chamness genealogy was published in 1922; so any films he’d penned or directed at that point had to be of the silent variety. But surely Lynn had gone on to become a pillar of Hollywood, hobnobbing with the likes of Cecile B. DeMille, Jimmy Stewart, Shirley Temple and Katharine Hepburn. I imagined myself kneeling next to his handprints captured in cement outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, waiting for some nice lady to snap my picture. She had never heard of him but I would explain how Lynn and I were related. She’d be somewhat impressed but would keep it to herself. Later I would go to eBay and bid on vintage prints of the iconic movies he’d directed or written. They would become conversation pieces in my home.

Please, please, please be famous!

Yes and no. In 1927, he got into an argument with his 2nd wife, the silent film actress, Kathleen O’Connor. The argument got personal and then physical according to witnesses who were party guests of the Reynolds. She hurled an ashtray at him and he responded by giving her two black eyes. In the heat of the moment, he held his wife and guests at gunpoint. Instead of shooting them, however, he turned the gun on himself and ended the magnificent career I had dreamed up for him.

Drats.

As a writer and director of silent films, he was quite prolific. His film credits include:

• Hey! Hey! Cowboy
• The Big Town Round-Up
• The Romance of Billy Goat Hill

Not exactly the iconic films I was hoping to find.

Kenfolk: Utlauts
Relation: 5th cousin, 2x removed
Common ancestors: John and Ann (Jones) Chamness, my 7th great grandparents and Lynn’s 5th

References:
S.F. Film Man Beats Wife, Kills Self. (1927, February 25). Oakland Tribune, p. 1.
Henson, Z. (ed.) (1922). History and Genealogy of the American Descendants of John and Ann Chamness of London, England. n. p., p. 89.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0721840/