Friends, relatives, and employees were used, such as the case in Vitagraph's production, Burglar on the Roof (1899.) There were many factors that delayed the cinematic star system. Employees moved from company to company too fast to create any promotion, and until 1909 a large amount of filming was done from a distance and audiences could not truly see a face on the screen. And also there was also the decision for production companies not promote their stars.
When film narrative became more complex with time, the necessity for actors became apparent, and producers looked to famous stage actors for their skills. Although these actors were staring in these films their names were deliberately concealed from the movie going public. "According to some film scholars, the studio's policy of anonymity was designed to control their employees."" (Kent, 16) The men who were in charge of these early production companies were afraid, and with good reason, that their lead actors would demand a higher salary once they knew what they were worth. Instead of top billing, they were known by their company affiliation - The Biograph Girl, or The Vitagraph Girl' were common names. But the attempts to brand- name the movies this way was short lived, significantly because of a man named Carl Laemmle. .
Carl Laemmle was the studio head of IMP (who went on to head Universal Studios,) and he had a clever promotional idea. Laemmle signed a girl named Florence Lawrence in 1910, for a much higher wage she was previously earning at Biograph, and she was one of the most widely known actresses at the time because she had stared in important films like Resurrection and The Mended Lute, (both 1909.) Soon after she signed with him, he spread the news that she had died - "But as soon as the story of Miss Lawrence's demise had hit the headlines, Laemmle mounted a lavish advertising champagne accusing his competitors of maliciously circulating the lie to discredit his new star.
