Wilfred Lucas

Also Known As: Wilfred Van Norman Lucas

Biography: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wilfred Lucas (January 30, 1871 – December 13, 1940) was a Canadian-born American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter. Wilfred Lucas made his Broadway debut in 1904, playing in both the The Blue Grass Handicap and The Superstition of Sue. Following his 1906 role in the highly successful play The Chorus Lady, he was recruited to the fledgling Biograph Studios by D. W. Griffith. At the time, the film business was still looked down upon by many members of the theatrical community. In her 1925 book titled When the Movies Were Young, Griffith's wife, actress Linda Arvidson, told the story of the early days at Biograph Studios. In it, she referred to Lucas as the "first real grand actor, democratic enough to work in Biograph movies." In 1908 Lucas made his motion picture debut in Griffith's The Greaser's Gauntlet, appearing in more than 50 of these short (usually 17 minutes) films over the next two years. In 1910 while still acting, he wrote the script for Griffith's film Sunshine Sue, which was followed by many more scripts by 1924. Lucas also began directing in 1912 with Griffith on An Outcast Among Outcasts, and directed another 44 films over the next 20 years. In early 1916 he starred as John Carter in Acquitted, about which Photoplay wrote, "No single performance in the records of active photography has surpassed his visualization of the humble book-keeper in Acquitted." Later in 1916 he appeared in D.W. Griffith's film Intolerance. Part of the group of Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, Lucas became friends and sometimes starred with Mary Pickford, Sam De Grasse, and Marie Dressler. Canadian-born director Mack Sennett hired him to both direct and act in a large number of films at his Keystone Studios. Lucas made the successful transition from silent film to sound. While working in Hollywood, in 1926 he returned to the stage, performing in several Broadway plays. He later appeared as a foil for Laurel and Hardy in their feature films Pardon Us and A Chump at Oxford. During his long career, Wilfred Lucas appeared in more than 375 films. Although for a time he was cast in leading roles, he became very successful as secondary and minor characters, making a good living in the film industry for more than three decades.

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: Norfolk, Ontario, Canada

Birthday: January 29, 1871

Deathday: December 13, 1940

Adult: No

Gender: Male

Popularity:

1.12%

Known For:

One Night of Love
Modern Times
Love Your Neighbor
Homicide Squad
Stormy
The Hushed Hour
A Broadway Butterfly
Brother Orchid
A Chump at Oxford
Heroes of the Street
Paid Back
The Long Road
A Temporary Truce
The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch
The Fighting Sap
Lightning Romance
The Super Snooper
North of Nevada
Soldiers of Fortune
Convicted
The Bad Lands
The Dragon Murder Case
The Unwritten Law
Love Time
Midnight Mary
Stockholm ”Queen of the Baltic”
Brute Force
The Dark Horse
Freshman Year
The Return of Chandu
The Mayor of Hell
The House on 56th Street
Angkor
What Every Woman Wants
Idol of the Crowds
Frisco Kid
The Girl and Her Trust
The Sea Wolf
Racing for Life
Cross-Examination
The Galloping Ghost
His Trust
Big City Blues
Varsity Show
Chandu on the Magic Island
Enoch Arden: Part II
Enoch Arden: Part I
When a Man Loves
The Transformation of Mike
The Massacre
Winning Back His Love
The Moth
Love on a Bet
His Trust Fulfilled
Mary Stevens, M.D.
The Kentucky Derby
Sister to Judas
The Three Musketeers
Criminal Lawyer
The Lily and the Rose
Cock o' the Walk
The Age for Love
A Terrible Discovery
The Devil-Doll
The Baroness and the Butler
As No Man Has Loved
Phantom Thunderbolt
House of Mystery
Macbeth
The Spanish Jade
Red Noses
Swords and Hearts
The Greatest Menace
Man's Genesis
The Taming of the Shrew
Daughters of Pleasure
The Intruder
Jim Bludso
Riders of the Purple Sage
Careless Lady
Air Fright
We Who Are About to Die
A Man to Remember
Brother Rat
Night Spot
Zenobia
Kind Lady
Beloved Enemy
The White Angel
The Primal Call
You Said a Mouthful
Dodge City
Almost a Gentleman
Women in the Wind
Navy Blue and Gold
Each Dawn I Die
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
The Daredevil Drivers
Four Wives
Raffles
Nick Carter, Master Detective
Looser Than Loose
The Marshal Of Mesa City
The Preview Murder Mystery
The Day the Bookies Wept
She Loved a Fireman
Under Burning Skies
Women in Hiding
Men Call It Love
Strange People
The Valley of Hate
Missing Witnesses
The Secrets of Wu Sin
The Country Doctor
Blazing Sixes
Varsity Show
Gentleman Burglar
A Sailor’s Heart
Empty Holsters
Those Who Dance
Rip Roaring Riley
Show Them No Mercy!
The Fighting 69th
High Tension
The Girl and the Outlaw
Legion of the Lawless
Edison, the Man
A Strange Meeting
The Devil Horse
Mile a Minute Love
I Cover the Waterfront
Santa Fe Trail
Virginia City
Triple Justice
Prairie Thunder
Flesh and Blood
Billy's Stratagem
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
The Rose of Kentucky
The Arizonian
The Arizona Kid
California Mail
Land Beyond the Law
Talent Scout
Waterloo Bridge
The Honor of Thieves
The Best of Laurel and Hardy
A Dispatch from Reuters
They Drive by Night
Women Without Names
A Woman of Pleasure
The Beautiful Liar
Heart Beats of Long Ago
His Daughter
Graft
Over the Wall
The Tabasco Kid
Midnight Blunders
Souls Triumphant
Hands Up!
A Love Sublime
Through The Back Door
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall
Free Wheeling
Shrimps for a Day
Chatterbox
Cyclone Cavalier
The Making of a Man
Her Sacrifice
The Wood Nymph
Enoch Arden
What Price Hollywood?
A Pueblo Legend
Just Like a Woman
Home Folks
Fate's Interception
Breakdowns of 1938
The Man from Kangaroo
The Westland Case
Human Cargo
Fisher Folks
Tear Gas Squad
The Sorrows of Satan
Young Donovan's Kid
Burnt Fingers
Rich Man's Folly
Jazzmania
The Phantom
Stranded
Hello Sister
Pardon Us
The Lonedale Operator
The Greaser's Gauntlet
Hot Water
Down on the Farm
Safety in Numbers
The Declaration of Independence
The Man Without a Country
The Co-respondent
The Diamond Star
The Two Paths
Sins of Ambition
A Woman Scorned
The Failure
Love in the Hills
The Fighting Breed
Stranger in Town
The Girl of the Golden West
Millie
Marked Woman
Black Legion
Valley of Hate
Trilby
Give Me Liberty
One a Minute
Naughty Marietta
Racetrack
Apples to You!
The Microscope Mystery
Call Her Savage
Acquitted
Hell-to-Pay Austin
1776, or The Hessian Renegades
The Devil's Brother
The Renunciation
A Tender-Hearted Crook
When Kings Were the Law
The Rocky Road
Four Daughters
The Big Cage
What Shall We Do with Our Old?
Dishonored
Pure Gold and Dross
Across the Dead-Line
Cleopatra
The Midnight Patrol
Lucky Larrigan
The Miser's Heart
The Sphinx
Big Ears
Les Misérables
The Widow and the Widower
Vagabond Lady
The Judgment House
How Baxter Butted In
Madam Satan
The Price She Paid