James Keteltas Hackett
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| James Keteltas Hackett | |
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| Born | September 6, 1869 Ontario, Canada |
| Died | November 8, 1926 |
| Occupation | Stage actor |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Mannering, Beatrice Mary Beckley |
James Keteltas Hackett (September 6, 1869 – November 8, 1926) was an American actor and manager, son of James Henry Hackett, a comedian and celebrated Falstaff. He was born in Ontario, Canada, and graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1891.
Hackett made his professional debut in Philadelphia in 1892 as Francois in The Broken Seal. In New York later that year, he played opposite Mrs. Potter. Later in the decade, he played Romeo to Olga Nethersole's Juliet, and Mercutio to Maude Adams's Juliet.[1]
In 1913, Adolph Zukor lured Hackett from the stage to star in director Edwin Porter's film The Prisoner of Zenda (1913), for a role which Hackett had played in the theater numerous times. Since feature films were in their infancy (indeed The Prisoner of Zenda is considered the first five-reel American film) Hackett was at first reluctant to take the part. Zukor tried to convince Hackett in person, and as Neal Gabler writes, "When Hackett came to visit Zukor, he was the very picture of the faded matinee idol. He wore a fur-collared coat with frayed sleeves and carried a gold-headed cane". [2]
In 1897, he married the actress Mary Mannering and in 1911 Beatrice Mary Beckley. He and Mannering had a daughter Elise together.
[edit] References
[edit] Publications
- Strang, Famous Actors of the Day in America, (Boston, 1900)
- William Winter, The Wallet of Time, (two volumes, New York, 1913)
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