Fred Fishback
Fred C. Fishback was a film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer of the silent era. Following the 1921 scandal surrounding Roscoe Arbuckle, in which he was involved, Fishback worked mostly under the pseudonym Fred Hibbard.
Biography
Fred Fishback was born Moscu Fischback on January 18, 1894, in Bucharest, Romania. He immigrated to the United States around 1900, and made his motion picture debut with Thomas H. Ince in 1912. As Freddy Fischbach, he became a cameraman at Mack Sennett's Keystone studio, where he worked with comedy star Roscoe Arbuckle. Sennett promoted Fischbach to director, with his surname Americanized to Fred Fishback.Anyone with Keystone credentials was welcomed by lesser comedy studios, and Fishback secured a job directing comedy shorts for Universal Pictures, many of them featuring former Keystone and Hal Roach bit player Lige Conley.
In 1921, Fishback was involved in the famous sex scandal surrounding his friend Roscoe Arbuckle. Arbuckle hosted a party in San Francisco that got out of hand, and Fishback was a member of Arbuckle's coterie. Both Arbuckle and Fishback had to change their professional names to keep working as the notoriety subsided. Performer Arbuckle became director William Goodrich, and Fishback adopted the pseudonym Fred Hibbard.
Both Arbuckle and Fishback were hired to direct at Educational Pictures. Fishback, reunited with Lige Conley, helped to develop Conley into a comedy star in a lengthy series of slapstick short subjects. Fishback also directed one of Educational's leading comedians, Lloyd Hamilton. Fishback died at the age of 30 of cancer; his last films were released posthumously.
Select filmography
Actor
Director
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1915 | ' | Assistant director |
| 1915 | ' | Assistant director |
| 1915 | Droppington's Devilish Deed | Assistant director |
| 1915 | Do-Re-Me-Boom! | Assistant director |
| 1915 | ' | Assistant director |
| 1915 | ' | Assistant director |
| 1916 | ' | |
| 1916 | His Auto Ruination | |
| 1916 | By Stork Delivery | |
| 1916 | His Bitter Pill | |
| 1916 | Ambrose's Cup of Woe | |
| 1916 | Madcap Ambrose | |
| 1916 | Ambrose's Rapid Rise | |
| 1916 | Safety First Ambrose | |
| 1917 | His Naughty Thought | |
| 1917 | Cactus Nell | |
| 1917 | Lost, a Cook | |
| 1917 | Roping Her Romeo | |
| 1917 | ' | |
| 1918 | Beware of Boarders! | |
| 1918 | Here Come the Girls | |
| 1919 | Money Talks | |
| 1919 | ' | |
| 1920 | His Master's Breath | Also screenwriter |
| 1920 | ' | Also screenwriter |
| 1920 | Naughty Lions and Wild Men | Also screenwriter |
| 1920 | Over the Transom | Also screenwriter |
| 1920 | Loose Lions and Fast Lovers | Also screenwriter |
| 1920 | ' | Also screenwriter |
| 1920 | My Dog Pal | Also screenwriter |
| 1920 | My Salomy Lions | Also screenwriter |
| 1921 | ' | Also screenwriter |
| 1921 | ' | Also screenwriter |
| 1921 | Playmates | Also screenwriter |
| 1921 | Alfalfa Love | Also screenwriter |
| 1921 | Society Dogs | Also screenwriter |
| 1921 | ' | Also screenwriter |
| 1921 | Brownie's Little Venus | Also screenwriter |
| 1922 | Circus Clowns | As Fred Hibbard; also screenwriter |
| 1922 | The Straphanger | Director and screenwriter |
| 1923 | Uncle Sam | As Fred Hibbard |
| 1924 | My Friend | As Fred Hibbard |
| 1924 | Air Pockets | As Fred Hibbard |
| 1924 | Killing Time | As Fred Hibbard |
| 1924 | Going East | As Fred Hibbard |
| 1924 | Jonah Jones | As Fred Hibbard |
| 1924 | Crushed | As Fred Hibbard |
| 1925 | Hooked | As Fred Hibbard Also screenwriter; released posthumously |
| 1925 | Half a Hero | As Fred Hibbard Also screenwriter; released posthumously |