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