Raoul Walsh
| Raoul Walsh | |
|---|---|
c. 1918
|
|
| Born |
March 11, 1887 New York, New York, United States |
| Died | December 31, 1980 (aged 93) Simi Valley, California, United States |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Assumption Catholic Cemetery Simi Valley, Ventura County, California |
| Occupation | Director, actor |
| Years active | 1909–1964 |
| Spouse(s) |
Miriam Cooper (1916–1926) Lorraine Miller (1928–1947) Mary Simpson (1947–1980) (died 2009) |
| Awards | Founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
Raoul A. Walsh (March 11, 1887 – December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the brother of the silent screen actor George Walsh. He was known for portraying John Wilkes Booth in the silent classic The Birth of a Nation (1915) and for directing such films as The Big Trail (1930), starring John Wayne, High Sierra (1941), starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart; and White Heat (1949), starring James Cagney and Edmond O'Brien. His directed his last film in 1964.
Walsh was born in New York as Albert Edward Walsh to Elizabeth T. Bruff, the daughter of Irish Catholic immigrants, and Thomas W. Walsh, an Englishman. Like his younger brother, he was part of Omega Gamma Delta in high school. Growing up in New York, Walsh was also a friend of the Barrymore family. (John Barrymore recalled spending time reading in the Walsh family library as a youth.) Later in life he lived in Palm Springs, California. He was buried at Assumption Catholic Cemetery, Simi Valley, Ventura County, California.
Walsh was educated at Seton Hall College. He began acting in 1909, first as a stage actor in New York City and later as a film actor. In 1914 he became an assistant to D.W. Griffith and made his first full-length feature film, The Life of General Villa, shot on location in Mexico with Pancho Villa playing the lead and with actual ongoing battles filmed in progress as well as recreations (events dramatized in the 2003 film And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, with Kyle Chandler playing Walsh). Walsh played John Wilkes Booth in Griffith's epic The Birth of a Nation (1915) and also served as an assistant director. This was followed by the critically acclaimed Regeneration in 1915, possibly the earliest feature gangster film, shot on location in Manhattan's Bowery district.
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