Editing D. W. Griffith (section)

==Early life==
[[File:GriffithDW.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Griffith circa 1907]]
Griffith was born on January 22, 1875,<ref name=dennisbio /> on a farm in [[Oldham County, Kentucky]], the son of Jacob Wark "Roaring Jake" Griffith,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gildasattic.com/dwgriffith.html|title=D.W. Griffith (1875–1948)|access-date=December 3, 2016}}</ref> a [[Confederate States Army|Confederate Army]] colonel in the [[American Civil War]] who was elected as a Kentucky state legislator, and Mary Perkins (née Oglesby).<ref name=dennisbio>{{cite book|first=Dennis|last=Kenneth|chapter=Griffith, David Wark|title=The Encyclopedia of Louisville|editor-last=Kleber|editor-first=John E.|location=Lexington, Ky.|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|date=2001|isbn=9780813121000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7EeBgAAQBAJ|page=359}}</ref> Griffith was raised as a [[Methodist]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Blizek|first=William L.|title=The Continuum Companion to Religion and Film|date=2009|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-0-8264-9991-2|page=126}}</ref> and he attended a one-room schoolhouse, where he was taught by his older sister Mattie. His father died when he was 10, and the family struggled with poverty.

When Griffith was 14, his mother abandoned the farm and moved the family to [[Louisville, Kentucky]]; there she opened a boarding house, which was unsuccessful. Griffith then left high school to help support the family, taking a job in a dry goods store and later in a bookstore. He began his creative career as an actor in touring companies. Meanwhile, he was learning how to become a playwright, but he had little success. Only one of his plays was accepted for a performance.<ref name="DWPlay">{{cite web|url=https://spartacus-educational.com/USAgriffith.htm|title=D.W. Griffith|publisher=Spartacus-Educational.com|access-date=February 27, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605080400/http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAgriffith.htm|archive-date=June 5, 2011|df=mdy}}</ref> He traveled to [[New York City]] in 1907 in an attempt to sell a script to [[Edison Studios]] producer [[Edwin Porter]];<ref name="DWPlay"/> although Porter rejected the script, he gave Griffith an acting part in ''[[Rescued from an Eagle's Nest]]'' instead.<ref name="DWPlay"/> As a result of this experience, Griffith decided to try his luck as an actor, and he appeared in many films as an extra.<ref name="DWG">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pickford/peopleevents/p_griffith.html|title=American Experience &#124; Mary Pickford|publisher=[[PBS|Public Broadcasting Service]]|access-date=June 5, 2011}}</ref>
{{clear left}}