Wilfred Lucas

Wilfred Van Norman Lucas
Picture from Photoplay Magazine (1915)
Born	(1871-01-30)January 30, 1871 Norfolk, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 13, 1940(1940-12-13) (aged 69) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Chapel Of The Pines Crematory, Los Angeles, CA
Occupation	Actor, director, screenwriter
Years active	1908–1940 (film)
Spouse(s)	Louise Perine (1898-?) (3 children) Bess Meredyth (1917-1927) (divorced) (1 child)
Children	John Meredyth Lucas Alice Van Norman Lucas Kirke LaShelle Lucas Wilfred Lucas

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 Van Norman Lucas was born in Norfolk County, Ontario on January 30, 1871, 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, in Townsend and later Montreal, Quebec. Lucas attended Montreal High School and McGill University before immigrating to America in the late 1880s. His early career there was that of a baritone singer performing at church functions and at small venues.

Wilfred 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, 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."

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”.