Acting
Wilfred Lucas
EN cinema · 302 credits
Born
29 January 1871
Died
13 December 1940 (aged 69)
Birthplace
Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
Also known as Wilfred Van Norman Lucas
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
Filmography
The Nest
The Nest
as Howard Hardy
The Best of Laurel and Hardy
1968
The Best of Laurel and Hardy
as The Warden (archive footage) (uncredited)
Brother Orchid
as Brother MacDonald
A Chump at Oxford
as Dean Williams
Women in Hiding
as Policeman (uncredited)
The Fighting 69th
as Eye Doctor (uncredited)
Legion of the Lawless
as East Ivestown Leader (uncredited)
Edison, the Man
as Broker
Santa Fe Trail
as Weiner (uncredited)
Virginia City
as Southerner (uncredited)
Triple Justice
as Constable Herb at Tule Mesa
Waterloo Bridge
as Elderly Huntsman at Estate Dance (uncredited)
A Dispatch from Reuters
as Board Member (uncredited)
They Drive by Night
as Bailiff (uncredited)
Women Without Names
as Roomer
Tear Gas Squad
as Policeman
Zenobia
as Undetermined Role
Almost a Gentleman
as Dog Show Director
Dodge City
as Bartender (uncredited)
Women in the Wind
as Burbank Offical (uncredited)
Each Dawn I Die
as Bailiff (uncredited)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
as Pompous Man (uncredited)
Four Wives
as Stationmaster (uncredited)
Nick Carter, Master Detective
as Police Detective Randall
Raffles
as Bobby
The Marshal Of Mesa City
as Marshal Andy Thompson (uncredited)
The Day the Bookies Wept
as Bill, Man Outside Racetrack (uncredited)
Freshman Year
as Professor Ullrich
The Baroness and the Butler
as Member of Parliament
A Man to Remember
as Man at Hospital Dedication (uncredited)
Brother Rat
as Ballfield Doctor
Night Spot
as Police Lieutenant
The Daredevil Drivers
as Race Judge
Over the Wall
as Cell Block Keeper
Breakdowns of 1938
as Race Judge (archive footage) (uncredited)
Safety in Numbers
as Councilman
Down on the Farm
as Wheeler
The Declaration of Independence
as John Dickinson (uncredited)
Four Daughters
as Doctor (uncredited)
Idol of the Crowds
as Doctor (uncredited)
Varsity Show
as Police Commissioner (uncredited), as Police Commissioner
Criminal Lawyer
as Brandon's Assistant
We Who Are About to Die
as Prison Yard Captain (uncredited)
Navy Blue and Gold
as Ship's Captain (uncredited)
She Loved a Fireman
as Fire Tug Captain
Missing Witnesses
as Judge in Wagner Case (uncredited)
Blazing Sixes
as Sheriff Tom
Empty Holsters
as John Ware
Mile a Minute Love
as Drexel
Prairie Thunder
as Nate Temple
Land Beyond the Law
as Jim Blake (uncredited)
Talent Scout
as Director of Screen Test (uncredited)
The Westland Case
as Gun Dealer
Hot Water
as Customer in Drugstore (uncredited)
The Man Without a Country
as Lincoln's Secretary (uncredited)
Marked Woman
as Jury Foreman #1 (uncredited)
Black Legion
as Bailiff (uncredited)
Modern Times
as Juvenile Officer
Love on a Bet
as Man at Hutchinson's Meeting
The Devil-Doll
as Off-Screen Voice (voice / uncredited)
Beloved Enemy
as Doctor (Uncredited)
The White Angel
as Raglan Staff Officer (uncredited)
The Preview Murder Mystery
as Director (Uncredited)
The Country Doctor
as Proprietor (uncredited)
High Tension
as Businessman
California Mail
as Sheriff
Midnight Blunders
as Professor Edwin Millstone (uncredited)
Chatterbox
as Himself (uncredited)
Human Cargo
as Police Chief
Give Me Liberty
as His Excellency Permitting Henry's Arrest (uncredited)
The Prisoner of Shark Island
as Testifying Colonel (uncredited)
Stormy
as Mack's Horse Trainer (uncredited)
Angkor
as Wilfred Lucas, game hunter
Frisco Kid
as First Policeman (uncredited)
Chandu on the Magic Island
as Capt. Walker
Kind Lady
as First Scotland Yard Man (uncredited)
Rip Roaring Riley
as Chief Martin
Show Them No Mercy!
as Druggist (uncredited)
The Arizonian
as Townsman with Mayor
Stranded
as Pat, a Welfare Worker (uncredited)
Naughty Marietta
as Announcer (uncredited)
Les Misérables
as Onlooker
Vagabond Lady
as Dock Official (uncredited)
One Night of Love
as Metropolitan Operagoer
The Dragon Murder Case
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Love Time
as Dignitary (uncredited)
The Return of Chandu
as Capt. Wilson [Chs. 4-12]
The Moth
as John Gale
Shrimps for a Day
as Mr. Wade
Apples to You!
as Chairman of the Board
Cleopatra
as Roman Greeting Antony (uncredited)
Upperworld
as Boat Captain (uncredited)
Midnight Mary
as Nightclub Bouncer (uncredited)
The Mayor of Hell
as Bill (uncredited)
The House on 56th Street
as Prosecuting Attorney (uncredited)
Mary Stevens, M.D.
as Andrews' Lawyer Barry (uncredited)
The Three Musketeers
as El Shaitan
Phantom Thunderbolt
as Eaton - Railroad President
The Intruder
as Mr. Wayne
Air Fright
as Mr. Lucas, Airline Superintendent
Strange People
as John Davis
I Cover the Waterfront
as Randall
Racetrack
as Mr. Ryan
The Big Cage
as Bob Mills
The Sphinx
as Prosecuting Attorney
The Unwritten Law
as Captain Kane, Director
The Dark Horse
as Debate Chairman
Cross-Examination
as Judge Hollister
Big City Blues
as Policeman (uncredited)
Sister to Judas
as Mike O'Flanagan
Red Noses
as Mr. Lucas
Careless Lady
as Ship's Purser
You Said a Mouthful
as Official (uncredited)
The Secrets of Wu Sin
as Pharmacist
The Devil Horse
as Whitney [Ch. 1] (uncredited)
The Tabasco Kid
as Sheriff's Deputy
Free Wheeling
as The Specialist
What Price Hollywood?
as Bill the Replacement Director (uncredited)
Stranger in Town
as J.P. Walker
Call Her Savage
as Child Welfare Official (Uncredited)
Lucky Larrigan
as John Larrigan
Devil and the Deep
as Court Martial Judge (uncredited)
Lawyer Man
as Second Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Igloo
Writer
Convicted
as Capt. Hammond
The Galloping Ghost
as Sportscaster
The Age for Love
as Undetermined Role
House of Mystery
as Sheriff Franklin
Men Call It Love
as Sam Ellery (uncredited)
Graft
as Candidate Louis
Young Donovan's Kid
as Duryea
The Phantom
as Dist. Atty. John Hampton
Pardon Us
as Warden
Millie
as Millie's Elderly Escort (uncredited)
Big Ears
as Doctor
Cock o' the Walk
as Señor Vallejo
Looser Than Loose
as Mr. Gillstrom, Charley's Boss
Those Who Dance
as Big Ben Benson
The Arizona Kid
as Manager
Hello Sister
as Dr. Saltus
Madam Satan
as Roman Senator
Just Imagine
as X-10
Burnt Fingers
as Lord Cumberly
Her Sacrifice
1926
Her Sacrifice
as Edwin Ramsey, Director
The Sorrows of Satan
as Minister (uncredited)
A Broadway Butterfly
as Stage Manager
The Bad Lands
as Col. Owen
As No Man Has Loved
as Maj. Bissell
Riders of the Purple Sage
as Oldring
Cyclone Cavalier
as Hugh Clayton
How Baxter Butted In
as R.S. Falk
The Wife Who Wasn't Wanted
as Judge Bledsoe
The Snob Buster
as John Pendergast
Youth's Gamble
as Harry Blaine
The Fighting Sap
as Charles Richmond
Lightning Romance
as Richard Wade
North of Nevada
as C. Hanaford
Racing for Life
as Hudford, Screenplay, Story
Daughters of Pleasure
as Mark Hadley
The Valley of Hate
as Old Jim Darley
Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall
as Earl of Rutland
Valley of Hate
as Old Jim Darley
The Price She Paid
as James Presbury
Passion's Pathway
as Richard Stanton
The Mask of Lopez
as Richard O'Neil
The Fatal Mistake
Actor, Story
The Greatest Menace
as Charles W. Wright
Jazzmania
as Julius Furman
Trilby
as The Laird
Can a Woman Love Twice?
as Franklyn Chase
Paid Back
as Ship Captain
The Kentucky Derby
as Capt. Wolff
Flesh and Blood
as The Policeman
Across the Dead-Line
as Aaron Kidder
The Beautiful Liar
as Gaston Allegretti
Through the Back Door
as Elton Reeves
The Fighting Breed
1921
The Fighting Breed
as John MacDonald, Writer, Director
One a Minute
as Prosecutor (uncredited)
The Breaking Point
as Mortimer Davidson
The Man from Kangaroo
as Red Jack Braggan, Director
The Shadow of Lightning Ridge
as Edward Mariott, Director, Story
The Jackeroo of Coolabong
as John MacDonald, Director
The Hushed Hour
as Robert Appleton Jr.
Soldiers of Fortune
as President Alvarez
What Every Woman Wants
as Horace Lennon
A Woman of Pleasure
as Sir John Thornbull
The Westerners
as Jim Buckley
The Girl from Nowhere
as Diamond Terry, Director, Story
The Romance of Tarzan
Scenario Writer, Director
Morgan's Raiders
Director, Writer
Jim Bludso
1917
Jim Bludso
as Jim Bludso, Director
Souls Triumphant
as Robert Powers
Hands Up!
as John Houston, Director, Writer
A Love Sublime
as Philip, Director, Writer
The Co-respondent
as Richard Manning
Sins of Ambition
as Andrew Maxwell
The Judgment House
as Rudyard Byng
The Food Gamblers
as Henry Havens
Macbeth
as Macduff
Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages
as Extra (uncredited)
The Wood Nymph
as Fred Arnold
The Microscope Mystery
as Doc Arnold
Acquitted
1916
Acquitted
as John Carter
Hell-to-Pay Austin
1916
Hell-to-Pay Austin
as Hell-to-Pay Austin
A Wild Girl of the Sierras
as Jim Hamilton
The Lily and the Rose
as Jack Van Norman
The Spanish Jade
1915
The Spanish Jade
as Osmund Manvers, Director
Brute Force
as Brute Force
The Trey o' Hearts
Director
The Speed Kings
Director
Fatty's Day Off
Director
A Temporary Truce
as An Indian (uncredited)
The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch
as Minor Role (uncredited)
The Massacre
as Stephen
Man's Genesis
as Bruteforce
A Sailor’s Heart
as The Sailor, Director, Writer
Billy's Stratagem
as Billy's Father
A Pueblo Legend
as The Indian Girl's Great Brother
Home Folks
as The Blacksmith
Just Like a Woman
1912
Just Like a Woman
as The Wealthy Friend
Fate's Interception
as The American
When Kings Were the Law
1912
When Kings Were the Law
as The King of Romanda, Writer
Blind Love
Director
The Long Road
as A Policeman
His Trust
as George
Enoch Arden: Part II
as Enoch Arden
His Trust Fulfilled
as George
A Terrible Discovery
as The District Attorney
Swords and Hearts
as Hugh Frazier
The Primal Call
as The Fisherman
The Rose of Kentucky
as The planter
The Making of a Man
as In Second Audience
Enoch Arden
as Enoch Arden
Fisher Folks
as Steve Hardester
The Lonedale Operator
as The Fireman
The Diamond Star
1911
The Diamond Star
as John Wilson
The Two Paths
as Nellie's Husband
Love in the Hills
1911
Love in the Hills
as The Manley Suitor
The Failure
as The Clerk
A Woman Scorned
as The Doctor
What Shall We Do with Our Old?
as Violent Jailbird
The Miser's Heart
as First Crook
The Indian Brothers
as The Indian Chief's Brother
The Blind Princess and the Poet
1911
The Blind Princess and the Poet
as Princess's Father
Winning Back His Love
as Frederick Wallace
