Artist, Director, Writer. As a painter his first ceiling mural was in the Wisconsin State Capitol building in Madison in 1913. In 1917 he received commissions for murals at the Los Angeles Times Building and the City Hall in Burbank, California. These caught the eye of film producer Samuel Goldwyn, who hired him as a movie art director. Ballin went on to write, direct and produce more than 100 silent films, including “Baby Mine” (1917), “Bonds of Love” (1919), “Jane Eyre” (1921), and “The Shining Adventure” (1925). He also wrote several successful novels, among them “The Woman at the Door”(1925) and “Stigma” (1928). Remaining active in art, Ballin designed the commemorative medallion for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and painted the murals at the Griffith Park Observatory in 1934. He continued panting until his death and had thousands of murals to his credit. His art is displayed world wide and he is on the register of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)