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.
Acted in 250
1940s
- 1941
- 1940
A Dispatch from Reuters
Board Member (uncredited)
Triple Justice
Constable Herb at Tule Mesa
Women in Hiding
Policeman (uncredited)
Brother Orchid
Brother MacDonald
Edison, the Man
Broker
Tear Gas Squad
Policeman
Women Without Names
Roomer
Legion of the Lawless
East Ivestown Leader (uncredited)
1930s
- 1939
Four Wives
Stationmaster (uncredited)
Nick Carter, Master Detective
Police Detective Randall
Raffles
Bobby
The Marshal Of Mesa City
Marshal Andy Thompson (uncredited)
The Day the Bookies Wept
Bill, Man Outside Racetrack (uncredited)
Women in the Wind
Burbank Offical (uncredited)
Almost a Gentleman
Dog Show Director
- 1938
Breakdowns of 1938
Race Judge (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Declaration of Independence
John Dickinson (uncredited)
Brother Rat
Ballfield Doctor
A Man to Remember
Man at Hospital Dedication (uncredited)
Down on the Farm
Wheeler
Freshman Year
Professor Ullrich
Four Daughters
Doctor (uncredited)
Safety in Numbers
Councilman
Over the Wall
Cell Block Keeper
Night Spot
Police Lieutenant
The Daredevil Drivers
Race Judge
- 1937
She Loved a Fireman
Fire Tug Captain
Missing Witnesses
Judge in Wagner Case (uncredited)
The Man Without a Country
Lincoln's Secretary (uncredited)
Navy Blue and Gold
Ship's Captain (uncredited)
The Westland Case
Gun Dealer
Idol of the Crowds
Doctor (uncredited)
Hot Water
Customer in Drugstore (uncredited)
Prairie Thunder
Nate Temple
Varsity Show
Police Commissioner (uncredited), Police Commissioner
Talent Scout
Director of Screen Test (uncredited)
Empty Holsters
John Ware
Blazing Sixes
Sheriff Tom
Mile a Minute Love
Drexel
Land Beyond the Law
Jim Blake (uncredited)
Criminal Lawyer
Brandon's Assistant
We Who Are About to Die
Prison Yard Captain (uncredited)
- 1936
Give Me Liberty
His Excellency Permitting Henry's Arrest (uncredited)
Midnight Blunders
Professor Edwin Millstone (uncredited)
California Mail
Sheriff
High Tension
Businessman
The White Angel
Raglan Staff Officer (uncredited)
Human Cargo
Police Chief
The Country Doctor
Proprietor (uncredited)
Love on a Bet
Man at Hutchinson's Meeting
The Preview Murder Mystery
Director (Uncredited)
- 1935
Kind Lady
First Scotland Yard Man (uncredited)
Show Them No Mercy!
Druggist (uncredited)
Rip Roaring Riley
Chief Martin
Stormy
Mack's Horse Trainer (uncredited)
Stranded
Pat, a Welfare Worker (uncredited)
The Arizonian
Townsman with Mayor
Vagabond Lady
Dock Official (uncredited)
Les Misérables
Onlooker
Angkor
Wilfred Lucas, game hunter
Chandu on the Magic Island
Capt. Walker
- 1934
Shrimps for a Day
Mr. Wade
Love Time
Dignitary (uncredited)
Cleopatra
Roman Greeting Antony (uncredited)
The Return of Chandu
Capt. Wilson [Chs. 4-12]
The Dragon Murder Case
Police Sergeant (uncredited)
One Night of Love
Metropolitan Operagoer
Upperworld
Boat Captain (uncredited)
Apples to You!
Chairman of the Board
- 1933
The House on 56th Street
Prosecuting Attorney (uncredited)
Air Fright
Mr. Lucas, Airline Superintendent
Advice to the Lovelorn
Movie
Mary Stevens, M.D.
Andrews' Lawyer Barry (uncredited)
Midnight Mary
Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited)
Strange People
John Davis
The Sphinx
Prosecuting Attorney
The Devil's Brother
Movie
The Big Cage
Bob Mills
The Three Musketeers
El Shaitan
Phantom Thunderbolt
Eaton - Railroad President
Racetrack
Mr. Ryan
- 1932
Sister to Judas
Mike O'Flanagan
The Secrets of Wu Sin
Pharmacist
You Said a Mouthful
Official (uncredited)
Lucky Larrigan
John Larrigan
The Unwritten Law
Captain Kane
Call Her Savage
Child Welfare Official (Uncredited)
The Devil Horse
Whitney [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
Free Wheeling
The Specialist
Big City Blues
Policeman (uncredited)
Devil and the Deep
Court Martial Judge (uncredited)
Stranger in Town
J.P. Walker
What Price Hollywood?
Bill the Replacement Director (uncredited)
The Dark Horse
Debate Chairman
The Midnight Patrol
Movie
Careless Lady
Ship's Purser
Red Noses
Mr. Lucas
Cross-Examination
Judge Hollister
The Tabasco Kid
Sheriff's Deputy
- 1931
House of Mystery
Sheriff Franklin
Rich Man's Folly
Movie
Convicted
Capt. Hammond
The Phantom
Dist. Atty. John Hampton
The Age for Love
Undetermined Role
Graft
Candidate Louis
The Galloping Ghost
Sportscaster
Big Ears
Doctor
Pardon Us
Warden
Homicide Squad
Movie
Young Donovan's Kid
Duryea
Cracked Nuts
Movie
Men Call It Love
Sam Ellery (uncredited)
Millie
Millie's Elderly Escort (uncredited)
- 1930
Just Imagine
X-10
Looser Than Loose
Mr. Gillstrom, Charley's Boss
Those Who Dance
Big Ben Benson
Cock o' the Walk
Señor Vallejo
The Arizona Kid
Manager
1920s
- 1927
- 1926
The Sorrows of Satan
Minister (uncredited)
- 1925
Cyclone Cavalier
Hugh Clayton
The Wife Who Wasn't Wanted
Judge Bledsoe
How Baxter Butted In
R.S. Falk
The Bad Lands
Col. Owen
Youth's Gamble
Harry Blaine
The Snob Buster
John Pendergast
A Broadway Butterfly
Stage Manager
Riders of the Purple Sage
Oldring
As No Man Has Loved
Maj. Bissell
- 1924
Lightning Romance
Richard Wade
The Price She Paid
James Presbury
The Fatal Mistake
Movie
Racing for Life
Hudford
Passion's Pathway
Richard Stanton
The Fighting Sap
Charles Richmond
The Valley of Hate
Old Jim Darley
Valley of Hate
Old Jim Darley
Daughters of Pleasure
Mark Hadley
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall
Earl of Rutland
North of Nevada
C. Hanaford
The Mask of Lopez
Richard O'Neil
- 1923
Trilby
The Laird
The Greatest Menace
Charles W. Wright
The Girl of the Golden West
Ashby
Can a Woman Love Twice?
Franklyn Chase
- 1922
Heroes of the Street
Movie
The Kentucky Derby
Capt. Wolff
Paid Back
Ship Captain
Flesh and Blood
The Policeman
Across the Dead-Line
Aaron Kidder
- 1921
The Beautiful Liar
Gaston Allegretti
One a Minute
Prosecutor (uncredited)
Through the Back Door
Elton Reeves
The Breaking Point
Mortimer Davidson
- 1920
The Jackeroo of Coolabong
John MacDonald
The Shadow of Lightning Ridge
Edward Mariott
The Man from Kangaroo
Red Jack Braggan
1910s
- 1919
Soldiers of Fortune
President Alvarez
A Woman of Pleasure
Sir John Thornbull
The Girl from Nowhere
Diamond Terry
The Westerners
Jim Buckley
The Hushed Hour
Robert Appleton Jr.
What Every Woman Wants
Horace Lennon
- 1917
The Judgment House
Rudyard Byng
The Co-respondent
Richard Manning
Sins of Ambition
Andrew Maxwell
The Food Gamblers
Henry Havens
Souls Triumphant
Robert Powers
Hands Up!
John Houston
A Love Sublime
Philip
- 1916
The Microscope Mystery
Doc Arnold
A Wild Girl of the Sierras
Jim Hamilton
Macbeth
Macduff
The Wood Nymph
Fred Arnold
- 1915
The Lily and the Rose
Jack Van Norman
- 1914
Brute Force
Brute Force
- 1912
The Massacre
Stephen
A Sailor’s Heart
The Sailor
A Pueblo Legend
The Indian Girl's Great Brother
Man's Genesis
Bruteforce
A Temporary Truce
An Indian (uncredited)
Home Folks
The Blacksmith
Fate's Interception
The American
The Girl and Her Trust
Movie
The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch
Minor Role (uncredited)
Under Burning Skies
Joe
Billy's Stratagem
Billy's Father
The Transformation of Mike
Mike
- 1911
A Terrible Discovery
The District Attorney
The Failure
The Clerk
A Woman Scorned
The Doctor
The Miser's Heart
First Crook
The Long Road
A Policeman
The Making of a Man
In Second Audience
Swords and Hearts
Hugh Frazier
The Rose of Kentucky
The planter
The Indian Brothers
The Indian Chief's Brother
Fighting Blood
Movie
The Primal Call
The Fisherman
Enoch Arden: Part II
Enoch Arden
Enoch Arden
Enoch Arden
Enoch Arden: Part I
Movie
Madame Rex
Movie
The Lonedale Operator
The Fireman
His Daughter
Movie
Fisher Folks
Steve Hardester
What Shall We Do with Our Old?
Violent Jailbird
His Trust Fulfilled
George
His Trust
George
When a Man Loves
Movie
The Two Paths
Nellie's Husband
- 1910
Winning Back His Love
Frederick Wallace
The Rocky Road
Movie
1900s
- 1909
1776, or The Hessian Renegades
Movie
A Strange Meeting
Movie
The Girls and Daddy
Movie
- 1908
The Taming of the Shrew
Movie
The Girl and the Outlaw
Movie
The Greaser's Gauntlet
Jose
Directed 19
1930s
- 1932
The Unwritten Law
Director
1920s
- 1920
The Jackeroo of Coolabong
Director
The Shadow of Lightning Ridge
Director
The Man from Kangaroo
Director
1910s
- 1919
The Girl from Nowhere
Director
- 1918
The Testing of Mildred Vane
Director
A Pair of Pink Pajamas
Director
The Romance of Tarzan
Director
The Return of Mary
Director
The Red, Red Heart
Director
Morgan's Raiders
Director
- 1917
Hands Up!
Director
A Love Sublime
Director
- 1914
The Trey o' Hearts
Director
- 1913
The Speed Kings
Director
Fatty's Day Off
Director
- 1912
A Sailor’s Heart
Director
Blind Love
Director
With the Enemy's Help
Director
Wrote 13
1930s
- 1932
Igloo
Writer
1920s
- 1924
Women First
Story
The Fatal Mistake
Story
Racing for Life
Screenplay, Story
- 1920
The Shadow of Lightning Ridge
Story
1910s
- 1919
The Girl from Nowhere
Story
- 1918
The Romance of Tarzan
Scenario Writer
Morgan's Raiders
Writer
- 1917
Hands Up!
Writer
A Love Sublime
Writer
- 1912
A Sailor’s Heart
Writer
The Chief's Blanket
Writer
- 1910
Sunshine Sue
Writer
Appearances1
1930s
- 1936
Chatterbox
Himself (uncredited)