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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.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank S. Hagney (March 20, 1884 – June 25, 1973) was an Australian actor. Born in Sydney in 1884, Hagney appeared in more than 350 Hollywood films between 1919 and 1966. Most of his film roles were small and uncredited. Because of his tall and strong appearance, Hagney often played officers or henchmens. He is perhaps best-known as Mr. Potter's wordless wheelchair pusher in Frank Capra's classic It's a Wonderful Life (1946). Frank Hagney was also a guest star on more than 70 television programs such as The Cisco Kid, The Adventures of Kit Carson, The Lone Ranger, The Rifleman, Perry Mason, and Daniel Boone.
He starred in The Fighting Marine (1926) with Jack Anthony, Joe Bonomo and Walter Miller; The Fighting Sap (1924) with Bob Fleming, Hazel Keener, Wilfred Lucas and Fred Thomson; The Ghost in the Garret (1921), Ghost Town Gold (1936), Go Get 'Em Hutch (1922) with Richard R. Neil; Ride Him Cowboy (1932) with Eddie Gribbon and Charles Sellon; Riders of the Dawn (1939), Valley of the Lawless (1936), and Vultures of the Sea (1928) with Joseph Bennett.
His 42 silent films included The Battler (1919), The Breed of the Border (1924), The Dangerous Coward (1924), Galloping Gallagher (1924), Lighting Romance (1924), The Mask of Lopez (1924), The Silent Stranger (1924), The Wild Bull's Lair (1925), Lone Hand Saunders (1926) and The Two-Gun Man (1926). His 54 sound western film included The Phantom of the West (1931), Fighting Caravans (1931), The Squaw Man (1931), The Golden West (1932), Honor of the Range (1934), Western Frontier, Heroes of the Range (1936), Billy the Kid, The Lone Rider Ambushed (1941), Blazing Frontier (1943) and The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947). His last two films were McLintock! (1963) and Come Blow Your Horn (1963).
Hagney was married to Edna Shephard. He died in Los Angeles in 1973. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.