Wilfred Van Norman Lucas (January 30, 1871 – December 13, 1940) was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter.
Early life Lucas was born in Norfolk County, Ontario on January 30, 1871,Norman Wilfred Lucas January 31, 1871 - Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1913US Passport Application July 17, 1917 (Wilfred Lucas) most likely in the township of Townsend where at the time his father served as a Wesleyan Methodist minister. He was the youngest of three sons to be raised by Daniel Lucas and the former E. Adeline Reynolds,1871 Canadian Census Records in Townsend and later Montreal, Quebec.1881 Canadian Census Records Lucas attended the High School of Montreal and McGill UniversityWilfred Lucas - Motion Picture Studio Directories, 1919 and 1921 (Ancestry.com) before immigrating to the United States in the late 1880s. His early career there was that of a baritone singer performing at church functions and at small venues.Musical Affairs - Sunday Herald, ( Syracuse, New York) October 03, 1897 pg. 10
Career
Lucas eventually made a name for himself performing in light and grand opera in America and abroad. He made his Broadway debut on April 4, 1904, at the Savoy Theater playing in both the curtain raiser "The Blue Grass Handicap" and The Superstition of Sue in which he played Sue's brother, Percy Flage. Following his 1906 role in the highly successful play The Chorus Lady,Wilfred Lucas – Internet Broadway Database Lucas 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."When the Movies were Young - By Linda A. Griffith, Linda Arvidso 1925 pg. 82
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".Photoplay vol. 9 December 1915 pg. 104
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.
Wilfred 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, The Devil's Brother 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.
Personal life On October 10, 1898, Lucas, by then a member of a stock company headed by actor James Durkin, wed fellow cast member Louise Perine at Elmira, New York.Stage Gossip - San Antonio Light - November 13, 1898 pg. 7 The couple went on to have two sons, Wilfred "Irving" Lucas, Kirke LaShelle Lucas, and one daughter, Alice Van Norman Lucas, before their divorce sometime before 1910. Five years after he married Louise, Lucas became an American citizen at a ceremony held in San Bernardino, California.
While working at Biograph Studios, Wilfred Lucas met and ultimately married actress/screenwriter Bess Meredyth (1890–1969) with whom he had a son. John Meredyth Lucas (1919–2002) became a successful writer and director including a number of episodes of Mannix and Star Trek. John Lucas wrote about his sometimes strained relationship with his father after his parents divorced in his book Eighty Odd Years in Hollywood: Memoir of a Career in Film and Television (2004)"Eighty Odd Years in Hollywood: Memoir of a Career in Film and Television" (2004) John Meredyth Lucas pg.30-32
Death Wilfred Lucas died on December 13, 1940, in Los Angeles and was previously inurned in the private vault at the Chapel of the Pines Crematory.'Wilfred Lucas', in Hartford Courant dated December 15, 1940 (Obituary)
In 2023, the group of fans arranged to have Lucas' cremains were removed from non-public vaultage in the basement of the crematory to a publicly accessible niche in the chapel columbarium.
Selected filmography
The Greaser's Gauntlet (1908, Short) - Jose The Girl and the Outlaw (1908, Short) Ingomar, the Barbarian (1908, Short) The Vaquero's Vow (1908, Short) The Honor of Thieves (1909, Short) The Rocky Road (1910, short) Fisher Folks (1911) Heart Beats of Long Ago (1911) The Lonedale Operator (1911) The Indian Brothers (1911) The Miser's Heart (1911) The Transformation of Mike (1912) Under Burning Skies (1912) The Girl and Her Trust (1912, Short) - Jack, Railroad Express Agent Just Like a Woman (1912, Short) The Sands of Dee (1912, Short) Gold Is Not All (1913) The Speed Kings (1913, Short) The Spanish Jade (1915) - Osmund Manvers The Lily and the Rose (1915) - Jack Van Norman The Wood Nymph (1916) - Fred Arnold Acquitted (1916) - John Carter Macbeth (1916) - Macduff A Wild Girl of the Sierras (1916) - Jim Hamilton Hell-to-Pay Austin (1916) - Hell-to-Pay Austin Intolerance (1916) - Extra (uncredited) The Rummy (1916) - The Rummy The Microscope Mystery (1916) - Doc Arnold Jim Bludso (1917) - Jim Bludso A Love Sublime (1917) - Philip Hands Up! (1917) - John Houston Souls Triumphant (1917) - Robert Powers Her Excellency, the Governor (1917) - James Barclay The Food Gamblers (1917) - Henry Havens Sins of Ambition (1917) - Andrew Maxwell The Co-Respondent (1917) - Richard Manning The Judgment House (1917) - Rudyard Byng What Every Woman Wants (1919) - Horace Lennon The Hushed Hour (1919) - Robert Appleton Jr. The Westerners (1919) - Jim Buckley The Girl from Nowhere (1919) - Diamond Terry A Woman of Pleasure (1919) - Sir John Thornbull Soldiers of Fortune (1919) - President Alvarez The Return of Mary (1919) The Man from Kangaroo (1920) - Red Jack Braggan The Jackeroo of Coolabong (1920) - John MacDonald The Breaking Point (1921) - Mortimer Davidson Through the Back Door (1921) - Elton Reeves One a Minute (1921) - Prosecutor (uncredited) The Fighting Breed (1921) - John MacDonald The Shadow of Lightning Ridge (1921) - Edward Mariott The Beautiful Liar (1921) - Gaston Allegretti Across the Deadline (1922) - Aaron Kidder The Barnstormer (1922) - Leading Man Flesh and Blood (1922) - The Policeman Paid Back (1922) - Ship Captain The Kentucky Derby (1922) - Capt. Wolff Barriers of Folly (1922) - Wallace Clifton Heroes of the Street (1922) Jazzmania (1923) - Julius Furman Can a Woman Love Twice? (1923) - Franklyn Chase The Girl of the Golden West (1923) - Ashby The Greatest Menace (1923) - Charles W. Wright Trilby (1923) - The Laird Why Women Remarry (1923) - Mr. Compton Innocence (1923) - Collingwood The Mask of Lopez (1924) - Richard O'Neil North of Nevada (1924) - C. Hanaford Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall (1924) - Earl of Rutland Daughters of Pleasure (1924) - Mark Hadley The Valley of Hate (1924) - Old Jim Darley The Fighting Sap (1924) - Charles Richmond Girls Men Forget (1924) - Michael Shayne Passion's Pathway (1924) - Richard Stanton Cornered (1924) - Updike A Fight for Honor (1924) - Tom Grady Racing for Life (1924) - Hudford The Fatal Mistake (1924) Women First (1924) The Price She Paid (1924) - James Presbury Lightning Romance (1924) - Richard Wade On Probation (1924) - Detective Reilly The Beautiful Sinner (1924, writer) Easy Money (1925) As No Man Has Loved (1925) - Maj. Bissell Riders of the Purple Sage (1925) - Oldring A Broadway Butterfly (1925) - Stage Manager The Snob Buster (1925) - John Pendergast How Baxter Butted In (1925) - R.S. Falk Youth's Gamble (1925) - Harry Blaine The Bad Lands (1925) - Col. Owen The Wife Who Wasn't Wanted (1925) - Judge Bledsoe Was It Bigamy? (1925) - Attorney Cyclone Cavalier (1925) - Hugh Clayton Her Sacrifice (1926) - Edwin Ramsey The Sorrows of Satan (1926) - Minister (uncredited) The Nest (1927) - Howard Hardy Burnt Fingers (1927) - Lord Cumberly Hello Sister (1930) - Dr. Saltus Cock o' the Walk (1930) - Señor Vallejo Those Who Dance (1930) - Big Ben Benson The Arizona Kid (1930) - Manager Madam Satan (1930) - Roman Senator (uncredited) Just Imagine (1930) - X-10 Millie (1931) - Millie's Elderly Escort (uncredited) Dishonored (1931) - Gen. Dymov (uncredited) Men Call It Love (1931) - Sam Ellery (uncredited) Cracked Nuts (1931) - Minister (uncredited) Young Donovan's Kid (1931) - Duryea Politics (1931) - Edgar - a Husband (uncredited) The Homicide Squad (1931) Caught (1931) - Cavalryman (uncredited) Pardon Us (1931) - Warden The Galloping Ghost (1931, Serial) - Sportscaster [Chs. 1, 12] Graft (1931) - Candidate Louis (uncredited) The Age for Love (1931) - Minor Role (uncredited) The Phantom (1931) - Dist. Atty. John Hampton Convicted (1931) - Capt. Hammond Rich Man's Folly (1931) His Woman (1931) - (uncredited) Cross-Examination (1932) - Judge William J. Hollister Careless Lady (1932) - Ship's Purser (uncredited) The Midnight Patrol (1932) The Silver Lining (1932) - Yacht Captain (uncredited) The Tenderfoot(1932) - Patterson (uncredited) Week-End Marriage (1932) - Mr. Jackson (uncredited) The Dark Horse (1932) - Debate Chairman (uncredited) What Price Hollywood? (1932) - Bill - Replacement Director (uncredited) Stranger in Town (1932) - J.P. Walker (uncredited) Devil and the Deep (1932) - Court Martial Judge (uncredited) Two Against the World (1932) - Jury Foreman (uncredited) Big City Blues (1932) - Policeman (uncredited) The Devil Horse (1932, Serial) - Whitney [Ch. 1] (uncredited) You Said a Mouthful (1932) - Official (uncredited) Call Her Savage (1932) - Child Welfare Official (uncredited) No More Orchids (1932) - Banker (uncredited) The Unwritten Law (1932) - Captain Kane The Sign of the Cross (1932) - (uncredited) Silver Dollar (1932) - Political Crony (uncredited) Lucky Larrigan (1932) - John Larrigan The Secrets of Wu Sin (1932) - Pharmacist (uncredited) Lawyer Man (1932) - Second Jury Foreman (uncredited) Sister to Judas (1932) - Mike O'Flanagan Phantom Thunderbolt (1933) - Eaton - Railroad President The Intruder (1933) - Mr. Wayne The Three Musketeers (1933, Serial) - El Shaitan (uncredited) The Big Cage (1933) - Bob Mills The Devil's Brother (1933) - Alessandro I Cover the Waterfront (1933) - Randall The Sphinx (1933) - Prosecuting Attorney (uncredited) Strange People (1933) - John Davis The Mayor of Hell (1933) - Bill (uncredited) Midnight Mary (1933) - Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited) Her Bodyguard (1933) - Doorman (uncredited) Mary Stevens, M.D. (1933) - Barry - Andrews' Lawyer (uncredited) Notorious But Nice (1933) - Judge Turn Back the Clock (1933) - 1921 Spokesman (uncredited) Day of Reckoning (1933) - Guard From Headquarters (1933) - Intake Officer (uncredited) Blood Money (1933) - Prison Guard (uncredited) Advice to the Lovelorn (1933) - Reporter (uncredited) The House on 56th Street (1933) - Prosecuting Attorney (uncredited) Gallant Lady (1933) - Phelps - the Butler (uncredited) The Moth (1934) - John Gale The House of Rothschild (1934) - Page (uncredited)