
Wilfred Lucas
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1871-01-29
Day of Death
1940-12-13 (69 years old)
Place of Birth
Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
Wilfred 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.
Known For
Acting
(1968)
The Best of Laurel and Hardy
as The Warden (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1941)
(1940)
Santa Fe Trail
as Weiner (uncredited)
(1940)
Women Without Names
as Roomer
(1940)
Waterloo Bridge
as Elderly Huntsman at Estate Dance (uncredited)
(1940)
Virginia City
as Southerner (uncredited)
(1940)
Legion of the Lawless
as East Ivestown Leader (uncredited)
(1940)
Women in Hiding
as Policeman (uncredited)
(1940)
Brother Orchid
as Brother MacDonald
(1940)
Edison, the Man
as Broker
(1940)
A Dispatch from Reuters
as Board Member (uncredited)
(1940)
Triple Justice
as Constable Herb at Tule Mesa
(1940)
The Fighting 69th
as Eye Doctor (uncredited)
(1940)
A Chump at Oxford
as Dean Williams
(1940)
They Drive by Night
as Bailiff (uncredited)
(1940)
Tear Gas Squad
as Policeman
(1939)
Dodge City
as Bartender (uncredited)
(1939)
Each Dawn I Die
as Bailiff (uncredited)
(1939)
The Marshal Of Mesa City
as Marshal Andy Thompson (uncredited)
(1939)
Women in the Wind
as Burbank Offical (uncredited)
(1939)
Raffles
as Bobby
(1939)
Four Wives
as Stationmaster (uncredited)
(1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Pompous Man (uncredited)
(1939)
The Day the Bookies Wept
as Bill, Man Outside Racetrack (uncredited)
(1939)
Nick Carter, Master Detective
as Police Detective Randall
(1939)
Almost a Gentleman
as Dog Show Director
(1939)
Zenobia
as Undetermined Role
(1938)
The Declaration of Independence
as John Dickinson (uncredited)
(1938)
The Daredevil Drivers
as Race Judge
(1938)
The Baroness and the Butler
as Member of Parliament
(1938)
Safety in Numbers
as Councilman
(1938)
Four Daughters
as Doctor (uncredited)
(1938)
A Man to Remember
as Man at Hospital Dedication (uncredited)
(1938)
Breakdowns of 1938
as Race Judge (archive footage) (uncredited)
(1938)
Night Spot
as Police Lieutenant
(1938)
Brother Rat
as Ballfield Doctor
(1938)
Over the Wall
as Cell Block Keeper
(1938)
Freshman Year
as Professor Ullrich
(1938)
Down on the Farm
as Wheeler
(1937)
Marked Woman
as Jury Foreman #1 (uncredited)
(1937)
We Who Are About to Die
as Prison Yard Captain (uncredited)
(1937)
Idol of the Crowds
as Doctor (uncredited)
(1937)
Missing Witnesses
as Judge in Wagner Case (uncredited)
(1937)
Criminal Lawyer
as Brandon's Assistant
(1937)
Black Legion
as Bailiff (uncredited)
(1937)
Hot Water
as Customer in Drugstore (uncredited)
(1937)
Prairie Thunder
as Nate Temple
(1937)
(1937)
Navy Blue and Gold
as Ship's Captain (uncredited)
(1937)
The Man Without a Country
as Lincoln's Secretary (uncredited)
(1937)
Mile a Minute Love
as Drexel
(1937)
Varsity Show
as Police Commissioner (uncredited)
(1937)
Varsity Show
as Police Commissioner
(1937)
Talent Scout
as Director of Screen Test (uncredited)
(1937)
She Loved a Fireman
as Fire Tug Captain
(1937)
Land Beyond the Law
as Jim Blake (uncredited)
(1937)
Empty Holsters
as John Ware
(1937)
The Westland Case
as Gun Dealer
(1937)
Blazing Sixes
as Sheriff Tom
(1936)
Modern Times
as Juvenile Officer
(1936)
Beloved Enemy
as Doctor (Uncredited)
(1936)
Midnight Blunders
as Professor Edwin Millstone (uncredited)
(1936)
High Tension
as Businessman
(1936)
Give Me Liberty
as His Excellency Permitting Henry's Arrest (uncredited)
(1936)
The White Angel
as Raglan Staff Officer (uncredited)
(1936)
The Preview Murder Mystery
as Director (Uncredited)
(1936)
Chatterbox
as Himself (uncredited)
(1936)
The Prisoner of Shark Island
as Testifying Colonel (uncredited)
(1936)
The Devil-Doll
as Off-Screen Voice (voice / uncredited)
(1936)
Human Cargo
as Police Chief
(1936)
California Mail
as Sheriff
(1936)
Love on a Bet
as Man at Hutchinson's Meeting
(1936)
The Country Doctor
as Proprietor (uncredited)
(1935)
Les Misérables
as Onlooker
(1935)
Stormy
as Mack's Horse Trainer (uncredited)
(1935)
Frisco Kid
as First Policeman (uncredited)
(1935)
Chandu on the Magic Island
as Capt. Walker
(1935)
Rip Roaring Riley
as Chief Martin
(1935)
Angkor
as Wilfred Lucas, game hunter
(1935)
Stranded
as Pat, a Welfare Worker (uncredited)
(1935)
Show Them No Mercy!
as Druggist (uncredited)
(1935)
The Arizonian
as Townsman with Mayor
(1935)
Naughty Marietta
as Announcer (uncredited)
(1935)
Kind Lady
as First Scotland Yard Man (uncredited)
(1935)
Vagabond Lady
as Dock Official (uncredited)
(1934)
Love Time
as Dignitary (uncredited)
(1934)
The Return of Chandu
as Capt. Wilson [Chs. 4-12]
(1934)
Cleopatra
as Roman Greeting Antony (uncredited)
(1934)
The Moth
as John Gale
(1934)
One Night of Love
as Metropolitan Operagoer
(1934)
Shrimps for a Day
as Mr. Wade
(1934)
Upperworld
as Boat Captain (uncredited)
(1934)
Apples to You!
as Chairman of the Board
(1934)
The Dragon Murder Case
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
(1933)
I Cover the Waterfront
as Randall
(1933)
Mary Stevens, M.D.
as Andrews' Lawyer Barry (uncredited)
(1933)
The Mayor of Hell
as Bill (uncredited)
(1933)
(1933)
The Intruder
as Mr. Wayne
(1933)
The House on 56th Street
as Prosecuting Attorney (uncredited)
(1933)
Midnight Mary
as Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited)
(1933)
The Sphinx
as Prosecuting Attorney
(1933)
The Three Musketeers
as El Shaitan
(1933)
Racetrack
as Mr. Ryan
(1933)
The Big Cage
as Bob Mills
(1933)
Air Fright
as Mr. Lucas, Airline Superintendent
(1933)
(1933)
Strange People
as John Davis
(1933)
Phantom Thunderbolt
as Eaton - Railroad President
(1932)
The Secrets of Wu Sin
as Pharmacist
(1932)
Red Noses
as Mr. Lucas
(1932)
Devil and the Deep
as Court Martial Judge (uncredited)
(1932)
Cross-Examination
as Judge Hollister
(1932)
The Devil Horse
as Whitney [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
(1932)
What Price Hollywood?
as Bill the Replacement Director (uncredited)
(1932)
The Dark Horse
as Debate Chairman
(1932)
Big City Blues
as Policeman (uncredited)
(1932)
The Unwritten Law
as Captain Kane
(1932)
(1932)
You Said a Mouthful
as Official (uncredited)
(1932)
The Tabasco Kid
as Sheriff's Deputy
(1932)
Call Her Savage
as Child Welfare Official (Uncredited)
(1932)
Careless Lady
as Ship's Purser
(1932)
Free Wheeling
as The Specialist
(1932)
Lucky Larrigan
as John Larrigan
(1932)
(1932)
Sister to Judas
as Mike O'Flanagan
(1931)
Stranger in Town
as J.P. Walker
(1931)
(1931)
(1931)
Millie
as Millie's Elderly Escort (uncredited)
(1931)
The Age for Love
as Undetermined Role
(1931)
Pardon Us
as Warden
(1931)
The Phantom
as Dist. Atty. John Hampton
(1931)
Graft
as Candidate Louis
(1931)
(1931)
Big Ears
as Doctor
(1931)
Young Donovan's Kid
as Duryea
(1931)
House of Mystery
as Sheriff Franklin
(1931)
Men Call It Love
as Sam Ellery (uncredited)
(1931)
Convicted
as Capt. Hammond
(1931)
The Galloping Ghost
as Sportscaster
(1930)
The Arizona Kid
as Manager
(1930)
Looser Than Loose
as Mr. Gillstrom, Charley's Boss
(1930)
Madam Satan
as Roman Senator
(1930)
(1930)
Those Who Dance
as Big Ben Benson
(1930)
Hello Sister
as Dr. Saltus
(1930)
Cock o' the Walk
as Señor Vallejo
(1927)
Burnt Fingers
as Lord Cumberly
(1926)
The Sorrows of Satan
as Minister (uncredited)
(1926)
Her Sacrifice
as Edwin Ramsey
(1925)
Riders of the Purple Sage
as Oldring
(1925)
The Bad Lands
as Col. Owen
(1925)
Cyclone Cavalier
as Hugh Clayton
(1925)
A Broadway Butterfly
as Stage Manager
(1925)
As No Man Has Loved
as Maj. Bissell
(1925)
How Baxter Butted In
as R.S. Falk
(1924)
North of Nevada
as C. Hanaford
(1924)
Daughters of Pleasure
as Mark Hadley
(1924)
The Price She Paid
as James Presbury
(1924)
Lightning Romance
as Richard Wade
(1924)
Racing for Life
as Hudford
(1924)
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall
as Earl of Rutland
(1924)
Passion's Pathway
as Richard Stanton
(1924)
Valley of Hate
as Old Jim Darley
(1924)
The Valley of Hate
as Old Jim Darley
(1924)
The Fighting Sap
as Charles Richmond
(1923)
The Greatest Menace
as Charles W. Wright
(1923)
Jazzmania
as Julius Furman
(1923)
The Girl of the Golden West
as Ashby
(1923)
Trilby
as The Laird
(1922)
The Kentucky Derby
as Capt. Wolff
(1922)
(1922)
Across the Dead-Line
as Aaron Kidder
(1922)
Flesh and Blood
as The Policeman
(1922)
Paid Back
as Ship Captain
(1921)
One a Minute
as Prosecutor (uncredited)
(1921)
The Beautiful Liar
as Gaston Allegretti
(1921)
Through The Back Door
as Elton Reeves
(1921)
The Fighting Breed
as John MacDonald
(1920)
The Man from Kangaroo
as Red Jack Braggan
(1919)
The Hushed Hour
as Robert Appleton Jr.
(1919)
A Woman of Pleasure
as Sir John Thornbull
(1919)
What Every Woman Wants
as Horace Lennon
(1919)
Soldiers of Fortune
as President Alvarez
(1917)
Souls Triumphant
as Robert Powers
(1917)
Hands Up!
as John Houston
(1917)
The Judgment House
as Rudyard Byng
(1917)
A Love Sublime
as Philip
(1917)
The Co-respondent
as Richard Manning
(1917)
Jim Bludso
as Jim Bludso
(1917)
Sins of Ambition
as Andrew Maxwell
(1916)
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
as Extra (uncredited)
(1916)
Macbeth
as Macduff
(1916)
Acquitted
as John Carter
(1916)
The Wood Nymph
as Fred Arnold
(1916)
Hell-to-Pay Austin
as Hell-to-Pay Austin
(1916)
The Microscope Mystery
as Doc Arnold
(1915)
The Lily and the Rose
as Jack Van Norman
(1915)
The Spanish Jade
as Osmund Manvers
(1914)
Brute Force
as Brute Force
(1914)
Gentleman Burglar
as Baffles
(1913)
(1913)
The Widow and the Widower
as The Widower
(1913)
(1912)
The Massacre
as Stephen
(1912)
Billy's Stratagem
as Billy's Father
(1912)
A Pueblo Legend
as The Indian Girl's Great Brother
(1912)
A Sailor’s Heart
as The Sailor
(1912)
A Temporary Truce
as An Indian (uncredited)
(1912)
Under Burning Skies
as Joe
(1912)
Man's Genesis
as Bruteforce
(1912)
(1912)
Fate's Interception
as The American
(1912)
Home Folks
as The Blacksmith
(1912)
Just Like a Woman
as The Wealthy Friend
(1912)
When Kings Were the Law
as The King of Romanda
(1912)
The Transformation of Mike
as Mike
(1912)
The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch
as Minor Role (uncredited)
(1911)
The Lonedale Operator
as The Fireman
(1911)
His Trust
as George
(1911)
(1911)
The Miser's Heart
as First Crook
(1911)
(1911)
His Trust Fulfilled
as George
(1911)
The Rose of Kentucky
as The planter
(1911)
The Making of a Man
as In Second Audience
(1911)
Enoch Arden
as Enoch Arden
(1911)
(1911)
What Shall We Do with Our Old?
as Violent Jailbird
(1911)
The Long Road
as A Policeman
(1911)
The Primal Call
as The Fisherman
(1911)
A Woman Scorned
as The Doctor
(1911)
The Failure
as The Clerk
(1911)
Heart Beats of Long Ago
as The Lover
(1911)
Swords and Hearts
as Hugh Frazier
(1911)
(1911)
(1911)
Love in the Hills
as The Manley Suitor
(1911)
A Terrible Discovery
as The District Attorney
(1911)
Fisher Folks
as Steve Hardester
(1911)
(1910)
Winning Back His Love
as Frederick Wallace
(1910)
(1909)
(1909)
(1909)
(1909)
(1909)
(1908)
(1908)
(1908)
The Greaser's Gauntlet
as Jose
Crew
(1932)
Igloo
Writer
(1932)
The Unwritten Law
Director
(1926)
Her Sacrifice
Director
(1924)
Racing for Life
Screenplay, Story
(1924)
The Beautiful Sinner
Story
(1921)
The Fighting Breed
Writer, Director
(1920)
The Man from Kangaroo
Director
(1918)
The Romance of Tarzan
Scenario Writer, Director
(1918)
Morgan's Raiders
Writer, Director
(1918)
A Pair of Pink Pajamas
Director
(1917)
Jim Bludso
Director
(1917)
Hands Up!
Director, Writer
(1917)
A Love Sublime
Director, Writer
(1915)
The Spanish Jade
Director
(1914)
The Severed Hand
Director
(1914)
A Misplaced Foot
Director
(1914)
The Trey o' Hearts
Director
(1914)
A Glimpse of Los Angeles
Director
(1913)
Pirate Gold
Director
(1913)
The Speed Kings
Director
(1913)
Fatty's Day Off
Director
(1913)
A Quiet Little Wedding
Director
(1913)
The Milk We Drink
Director
(1913)
Baby Day
Director
(1912)
The Chief's Blanket
Writer
(1912)
A Sailor’s Heart
Director, Writer
(1912)
With the Enemy's Help
Director
(1912)
When Kings Were the Law
Writer
(1912)
Blind Love
Director
(1910)
Sunshine Sue
Writer