Wilfred Lucas
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.
Known for
Waterloo Bridge
Elderly Huntsman at Estate Dance (uncredited)
Frisco Kid
First Policeman (uncredited)
Marked Woman
Jury Foreman #1 (uncredited)
Virginia City
Southerner (uncredited)
Cleopatra
Roman Greeting Antony (uncredited)
Madam Satan
Roman Senator
Four Daughters
Doctor (uncredited)
Dodge City
Bartender (uncredited)
The Massacre
Stephen
Beloved Enemy
Doctor (Uncredited)
Les Misérables
Onlooker
Macbeth
Macduff
Dishonored
Stranded
Pat, a Welfare Worker (uncredited)
Four Wives
Stationmaster (uncredited)
High Tension
Businessman
Midnight Mary
Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited)
Brother Orchid
Brother MacDonald
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
Extra (uncredited)
Stormy
Mack's Horse Trainer (uncredited)
Varsity Show
Police Commissioner (uncredited)
Varsity Show
Police Commissioner
Criminal Lawyer
Brandon's Assistant
Chatterbox
Himself (uncredited)
Hot Water
Customer in Drugstore (uncredited)
Midnight Blunders
Professor Edwin Millstone (uncredited)
Modern Times
Juvenile Officer
California Mail
Sheriff
The Sorrows of Satan
Minister (uncredited)
Night Spot
Police Lieutenant
Devil and the Deep
Court Martial Judge (uncredited)
Vagabond Lady
Dock Official (uncredited)
Prairie Thunder
Nate Temple
Homicide Squad
Brother Rat
Ballfield Doctor
Lightning Romance
Richard Wade
Raffles
Bobby
Triple Justice
Constable Herb at Tule Mesa
Pardon Us
Warden
The Sphinx
Prosecuting Attorney
Empty Holsters
John Ware
A Man to Remember
Man at Hospital Dedication (uncredited)
The Three Musketeers
El Shaitan
The Mayor of Hell
Bill (uncredited)
Air Fright
Mr. Lucas, Airline Superintendent
Brute Force
Brute Force
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Pompous Man (uncredited)
The Arizonian
Townsman with Mayor
Angkor
Wilfred Lucas, game hunter
Each Dawn I Die
Bailiff (uncredited)
A Dispatch from Reuters
Board Member (uncredited)
The White Angel
Raglan Staff Officer (uncredited)
Graft
Candidate Louis
His Trust
George
What Every Woman Wants
Horace Lennon
A Chump at Oxford
Dean Williams
Riders of the Purple Sage
Oldring
Cross-Examination
Judge Hollister
The Return of Chandu
Capt. Wilson [Chs. 4-12]
Edison, the Man
Broker
The Day the Bookies Wept
Bill, Man Outside Racetrack (uncredited)
Women Without Names
Roomer
The Baroness and the Butler
Member of Parliament
Zenobia
Undetermined Role
The Man Without a Country
Lincoln's Secretary (uncredited)
A Temporary Truce
An Indian (uncredited)
The Marshal Of Mesa City
Marshal Andy Thompson (uncredited)
The Midnight Patrol
Navy Blue and Gold
Ship's Captain (uncredited)
Human Cargo
Police Chief
Upperworld
Boat Captain (uncredited)
The Bad Lands
Col. Owen
Mary Stevens, M.D.
Andrews' Lawyer Barry (uncredited)
Nick Carter, Master Detective
Police Detective Randall
Women in the Wind
Burbank Offical (uncredited)
What Price Hollywood?
Bill the Replacement Director (uncredited)
Love Time
Dignitary (uncredited)
The Preview Murder Mystery
Director (Uncredited)
The Devil Horse
Whitney [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Breakdowns of 1938
Race Judge (archive footage) (uncredited)
Legion of the Lawless
East Ivestown Leader (uncredited)
Rich Man's Folly
One Night of Love
Metropolitan Operagoer
Give Me Liberty
His Excellency Permitting Henry's Arrest (uncredited)
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall
Earl of Rutland
The Intruder
Mr. Wayne
Hands Up!
John Houston
The Devil-Doll
Off-Screen Voice (voice / uncredited)
Heroes of the Street
Chandu on the Magic Island
Capt. Walker
The Kentucky Derby
Capt. Wolff
Red Noses
Mr. Lucas
The Honor of Thieves
Acquitted
John Carter
Rip Roaring Riley
Chief Martin
The Lily and the Rose
Jack Van Norman
Those Who Dance
Big Ben Benson
The Daredevil Drivers
Race Judge
Jazzmania
Julius Furman
Gentleman Burglar
Baffles
Over the Wall
Cell Block Keeper
Careless Lady
Ship's Purser
A Pueblo Legend
The Indian Girl's Great Brother
The Rocky Road
I Cover the Waterfront
Randall
Hello Sister
Dr. Saltus
A Strange Meeting
Missing Witnesses
Judge in Wagner Case (uncredited)
The Declaration of Independence
John Dickinson (uncredited)
Almost a Gentleman
Dog Show Director
Lucky Larrigan
John Larrigan
Shrimps for a Day
Mr. Wade
What Shall We Do with Our Old?
Violent Jailbird
Women in Hiding
Policeman (uncredited)
The Lonedale Operator
The Fireman
Under Burning Skies
Joe
The Hushed Hour
Robert Appleton Jr.
The Mask of Lopez
Richard O'Neil
Young Donovan's Kid
Duryea
Soldiers of Fortune
President Alvarez
Love on a Bet
Man at Hutchinson's Meeting
The Big Cage
Bob Mills
Apples to You!
Chairman of the Board
Show Them No Mercy!
Druggist (uncredited)
The Fighting 69th
Eye Doctor (uncredited)
Mile a Minute Love
Drexel
Freshman Year
Professor Ullrich
The Age for Love
Undetermined Role
The Rose of Kentucky
The planter
They Drive by Night
Bailiff (uncredited)
The House on 56th Street
Prosecuting Attorney (uncredited)
Enoch Arden: Part II
A Woman of Pleasure
Sir John Thornbull
Stranger in Town
J.P. Walker
The Unwritten Law
Captain Kane
The Best of Laurel and Hardy
The Warden (archive footage) (uncredited)
A Love Sublime
Philip
Winning Back His Love
Frederick Wallace
The Price She Paid
James Presbury
Safety in Numbers
Councilman
Sins of Ambition
Andrew Maxwell
The Super Snooper
The Renunciation
The Miser's Heart
First Crook
The Westland Case
Gun Dealer
The Making of a Man
In Second Audience
The Greatest Menace
Charles W. Wright
The Beautiful Liar
Gaston Allegretti
The Arizona Kid
Manager
Call Her Savage
Child Welfare Official (Uncredited)
Flesh and Blood
The Policeman
The Judgment House
Rudyard Byng
The Dark Horse
Debate Chairman
Land Beyond the Law
Jim Blake (uncredited)
As No Man Has Loved
Maj. Bissell
Lawyer Man
Second Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Man's Genesis
Bruteforce
The Prisoner of Shark Island
Testifying Colonel (uncredited)
Big City Blues
Policeman (uncredited)
His Daughter
His Trust Fulfilled
George
Looser Than Loose
Mr. Gillstrom, Charley's Boss
Down on the Farm
Wheeler
The Long Road
A Policeman
A Sailor’s Heart
The Sailor
The Primal Call
The Fisherman
The Tabasco Kid
Sheriff's Deputy
Racing for Life
Hudford
Daughters of Pleasure
Mark Hadley
Just Like a Woman
The Wealthy Friend
A Terrible Discovery
The District Attorney
Naughty Marietta
Announcer (uncredited)
1776, or The Hessian Renegades
You Said a Mouthful
Official (uncredited)
The Taming of the Shrew
The Greaser's Gauntlet
Jose
Across the Dead-Line
Aaron Kidder
Free Wheeling
The Specialist
She Loved a Fireman
Fire Tug Captain
One a Minute
Prosecutor (uncredited)
The Failure
The Clerk
Her Sacrifice
Edwin Ramsey
Cock o' the Walk
Señor Vallejo
A Woman Scorned
The Doctor
The Girl and the Outlaw
Trilby
The Laird
The Devil's Brother
The Co-respondent
Richard Manning
The Wood Nymph
Fred Arnold
A Tender-Hearted Crook
Through The Back Door
Elton Reeves
Billy's Stratagem
Billy's Father
House of Mystery
Sheriff Franklin
Black Legion
Bailiff (uncredited)
Love in the Hills
The Manley Suitor
Racetrack
Mr. Ryan
The Spanish Jade
Osmund Manvers
Millie
Millie's Elderly Escort (uncredited)
The Girl of the Golden West
Ashby
Burnt Fingers
Lord Cumberly
Men Call It Love
Sam Ellery (uncredited)
The Two Paths
Valley of Hate
Old Jim Darley
How Baxter Butted In
R.S. Falk
The Sea Wolf
Idol of the Crowds
Doctor (uncredited)
Heart Beats of Long Ago
The Lover
Santa Fe Trail
Weiner (uncredited)
The Valley of Hate
Old Jim Darley
The Transformation of Mike
Mike
The Breaking Point
Mortimer Davidson
The Girls and Daddy
When Kings Were the Law
The King of Romanda
The Diamond Star
The Widow and the Widower
The Widower
When a Man Loves
A Broadway Butterfly
Stage Manager
The Galloping Ghost
Sportscaster
A Wild Girl of the Sierras
Jim Hamilton
The Dragon Murder Case
Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Passion's Pathway
Richard Stanton
Pure Gold and Dross
The Fighting Sap
Charles Richmond
Stockholm ”Queen of the Baltic”
Talent Scout
Director of Screen Test (uncredited)
We Who Are About to Die
Prison Yard Captain (uncredited)
Fate's Interception
The American
The Girl and Her Trust
Tear Gas Squad
Policeman
The Fighting Breed
John MacDonald
Phantom Thunderbolt
Eaton - Railroad President
Convicted
Capt. Hammond
The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch
Minor Role (uncredited)
The Phantom
Dist. Atty. John Hampton
Enoch Arden
Enoch Arden
Blazing Sixes
Sheriff Tom
Sister to Judas
Mike O'Flanagan
Advice to the Lovelorn
Swords and Hearts
Hugh Frazier
Strange People
John Davis
Paid Back
Ship Captain
Fisher Folks
Steve Hardester
Kind Lady
First Scotland Yard Man (uncredited)
The Moth
John Gale
The Country Doctor
Proprietor (uncredited)
The Man from Kangaroo
Red Jack Braggan
The Secrets of Wu Sin
Pharmacist
Hell-to-Pay Austin
Hell-to-Pay Austin
Cyclone Cavalier
Hugh Clayton
North of Nevada
C. Hanaford
The Microscope Mystery
Doc Arnold
Souls Triumphant
Robert Powers
Big Ears
Doctor
Enoch Arden: Part I
Jim Bludso
Jim Bludso
Home Folks
The Blacksmith