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