Wilfred Lucas
Acting
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.
The Best of Laurel and Hardy
as The Warden (archive footage) (uncredited)
Age 97 (now 69)
Legion of the Lawless
as East Ivestown Leader (uncredited)
Age 68 (now 69)
Nick Carter, Master Detective
as Police Detective Randall
Age 68 (now 69)
The Marshal Of Mesa City
as Marshal Andy Thompson (uncredited)
Age 68 (now 69)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Pompous Man (uncredited)
Age 68 (now 69)
The Day the Bookies Wept
as Bill, Man Outside Racetrack (uncredited)
Age 68 (now 69)
Breakdowns of 1938
as Race Judge (archive footage) (uncredited)
Age 67 (now 69)
The Declaration of Independence
as John Dickinson (uncredited)
Age 67 (now 69)
A Man to Remember
as Man at Hospital Dedication (uncredited)
Age 67 (now 69)
The Baroness and the Butler
as Member of Parliament
Age 67 (now 69)
The Man Without a Country
as Lincoln's Secretary (uncredited)
Age 66 (now 69)
We Who Are About to Die
as Prison Yard Captain (uncredited)
Age 65 (now 69)
Give Me Liberty
as His Excellency Permitting Henry's Arrest (uncredited)
Age 65 (now 69)
Midnight Blunders
as Professor Edwin Millstone (uncredited)
Age 65 (now 69)
The Prisoner of Shark Island
as Testifying Colonel (uncredited)
Age 65 (now 69)
The Preview Murder Mystery
as Director (Uncredited)
Age 65 (now 69)
The Dragon Murder Case
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Age 63 (now 69)
The House on 56th Street
as Prosecuting Attorney (uncredited)
Age 62 (now 69)
Mary Stevens, M.D.
as Andrews' Lawyer Barry (uncredited)
Age 62 (now 69)
What Price Hollywood?
as Bill the Replacement Director (uncredited)
Age 61 (now 69)
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall
as Earl of Rutland
Age 53 (now 69)
The Shadow of Lightning Ridge
as Edward Mariott
Age 49 (now 69)
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
as Extra (uncredited)
Age 45 (now 69)
The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch
as Minor Role (uncredited)
Age 41 (now 69)
The Blind Princess and the Poet
as Princess's Father
Age 40 (now 69)
What Shall We Do with Our Old?
as Violent Jailbird
Age 40 (now 69)
Gathering insights...
Also Known As
Wilfred Van Norman Lucas
IMDB
nm0524306