Russell Merritt was part of the generation of scholars who built academic film studies in the United States. He began his pioneering work in early cinema research almost a decade before the famous FIAF Brighton conference, completing his PhD thesis entitled The Impact of D. W. Griffith Motion Pictures from 1908—1914 on Contemporary American Culture in 1970, published by Arno Press in 1974. Many other studies on Griffith followed over the years, among which his numerous contributions to the Giornate del cinema muto’s twelve volume Griffith Project (British Film Institute, 1999—2008). His “Nickelodeon Theaters 1905—1914: Building an Audience for the Movies” in Tino Balio’s 1976 anthology The American Film Industry was a study in New Cinema History avant la lettre.
Together with J. B. Kaufman he wrote two books on early Disney for the Giornate del cinema muto, Walt in Wonderland: The Silent Films of Walt Disney (1992) und Walt Disney’s Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series (2006). He contributed to the festival’s program in various ways and received the Pordenone Jean-Mitry-Award 2018 for his film historical achievements.
Russell was a man of many interests and very knowledgeable in literature, music, and the arts. Sherlock Holmes held a special place in his heart. He and Rob Byrne had Richard Oswald’s 1929 Der Hund von Baskerville restored, which was shown both at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and in Pordenone in 2018. At this point Russell had been a fervent Holmesian for more than sixty years since joining the Baker Street Irregulars in 1957 as their youngest member ever. He was immensely proud to have been the first American to be invited to come to London and give a keynote lecture at the 2015 Annual Sherlock Holmes Dinner at the House of Commons, even though this meant he had to wear a tux.
It is difficult to imagine coming to Pordenone and not have gelato with Russell. He will be missed very much by all his friends and colleagues, and our thoughts are with his wife Karen.
—Frank Kessler