James Kirkwood, Sr.
| James Kirkwood, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 22, 1875 Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA |
| Died | August 24, 1963 Woodland Hills, California, USA |
| Occupation | Actor and Film director |
| Years active | 1909 - 1956 |
James Kirkwood, Sr. (February 22, 1875, Grand Rapids, Michigan – August 24, 1963, Woodland Hills, California) was an American actor and director. According to author Sean Egan, Kirkwood, Sr. was actually exactly a year younger than is widely believed. [1]
He debuted on screen in 1909 and was soon playing leads for D.W. Griffith. He started directing in 1912, and became a favorite of Mary Pickford. In 1923 he married actress Lila Lee; with her, he had a son, James Kirkwood, Jr., who became a writer.
His directing career fizzled in 1920, but he continued acting well into the 1950s.
Kirkwood’s film career would eventually span more than two hundred films over nearly a half century. Many years later his son, James Jr., would become a successful writer, winning both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for A Chorus Line.[2]
Following his death at age 88, he was interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.
[edit] Selected filmography
- At the Altar (1909)
- The Lonely Villa (1909)
- The Hessian Renegades (1909)
- Fools of Fate (1909)
- The Death Disc: A Story of the Cromwellian Period (1909)
- The Red Man's View (1909)
- In Little Italy (1909)
- To Save Her Soul (1909)
- The Day After (1909)
- The Rocky Road (1910)
- The Left-Handed Man (1913)
- The Green-Eyed Devil (1914)
- Home, Sweet Home (1914)
- Lord Chumley (1914)
- Cinderella (1914)
- The Man from Home (1922)
- Under Two Flags (1922)
- Ebb Tide (1922)
- Human Wreckage (1923)
- Ponjola (1923)
- Circe, the Enchantress (1924)
- The Devil's Holiday (1930)
- Charlie Chan's Chance (1932)
- Red Stallion in the Rockies' (1949)
- The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
[edit] References
- ^ Egan, Sean (2011) “Ponies & Rainbows: The Life of James Kirkwood" Bearmanor Media, ISBN 1-59393-680-X, page 17
- ^ New York Times, “James Kirkwood, Actor, Dead at 80,” August 25, 1963, p. 82; Los Angeles Times, "Actor James Kirkwood Dies at 80,” August 25, 1963, p. K10; Whitfeld, Eileen, Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood, pp. 137–138; Internet Movie Database <www.imdb.com/name/nm0456804/>.
[edit] External links
- James Kirkwood, Sr. at the Internet Movie Database
- James Kirkwood, Sr. at Find a Grave(man in photo is not James Sr.)
- James Kirkwood Sr. at the SilentGents.com website (with correct photos of the correct James Kirkwood)
- James Kirkwood & Norma Shearer in "Broken Barriers" 1924(Univ. of Washington/ Sayre Collection)
