Sam De Grasse
Encyclopedia
Samuel Alfred De Grasse (June 12, 1875 – November 29, 1953) was a Canadian
actor. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick
, he trained to be a dentist.
He married Annie McDonnell in 1904. Their daughter, Clementine Bell, was born in 1906. Annie died in 1909, probably in childbirth with another daughter, Olive. In 1910, Samuel practiced dentistry and he and Clementine were living in Providence, Rhode Island along with his older sister (also named Clementine) and her 14 year old son, Jerome Fauchy.
Sam married British actress Ada Fuller Golden and became a step-father to her three children. His older brother Joe
went into the fledgling movie business and Sam decided to also give it a try. He traveled to New York City
and in 1912 he appeared in his first motion picture.
At first he played standard secondary characters but when fellow Canadian Mary Pickford
set up her own studio with her husband Douglas Fairbanks
, he joined them. He portrayed the villainous Prince John
in Fairbanks' 1922 Robin Hood. Afterward, he began to specialize in villainous roles. He was the uncle of successful cinematographer
Robert De Grasse
. He lived on the west coast until his death in Hollywood. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
actor. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Bathurst is a Canadian city in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.Bathurst is situated on Bathurst Harbour, an estuary at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River at the southernmost part of Chaleur Bay....
, he trained to be a dentist.
He married Annie McDonnell in 1904. Their daughter, Clementine Bell, was born in 1906. Annie died in 1909, probably in childbirth with another daughter, Olive. In 1910, Samuel practiced dentistry and he and Clementine were living in Providence, Rhode Island along with his older sister (also named Clementine) and her 14 year old son, Jerome Fauchy.
Sam married British actress Ada Fuller Golden and became a step-father to her three children. His older brother Joe
Joe De Grasse
Joseph Louis De Grasse was a Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse....
went into the fledgling movie business and Sam decided to also give it a try. He traveled to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and in 1912 he appeared in his first motion picture.
At first he played standard secondary characters but when fellow Canadian Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
set up her own studio with her husband Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
, he joined them. He portrayed the villainous Prince John
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
in Fairbanks' 1922 Robin Hood. Afterward, he began to specialize in villainous roles. He was the uncle of successful cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
Robert De Grasse
Robert De Grasse
Robert De Grasse was an American cinematographer.-Career:Born in Maplewood, New Jersey where his family was working in the fledgling movie industry, he was the nephew of film actor Sam De Grasse...
. He lived on the west coast until his death in Hollywood. He is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
.
Selected filmography
- The Birth of a NationThe Birth of a NationThe Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...
- (1915) - The Good Bad ManThe Good Bad ManThe Good Bad Man is a 1916 silent Western film starring Douglas Fairbanks and Bessie Love. It was directed by Allan Dwan and released through the Triangle Film Corporation. The film was edited, shortened and rereleased in 1923...
- (1916) - An Innocent MagdaleneAn Innocent MagdaleneAn Innocent Magdalene is a 1916 silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan.-Cast:* Lillian Gish - Dorothy Raleigh* Spottiswoode Aitken - Col. Raleigh* Sam De Grasse - Forbes Stewart* Mary Alden - The Woman* Seymour Hastings - The Preacher...
- (1916) - IntoleranceIntolerance (film)Intolerance is a 1916 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Silent Era. The three-and-a-half hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines each separated by several centuries: A contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; a...
- (1916) - Diane of the FolliesDiane of the FolliesDiane of the Follies is a 1916 drama film directed by Christy Cabanne.-Cast:* Lillian Gish - Diane* Sam De Grasse - Phillips Christy* Howard Gaye - Don Livingston* Lillian Langdon - Marcia Christy* Allan Sears - Jimmie Darcy Diane of the Follies is a 1916 drama film directed by Christy...
- (1916) - Jim BludsoJim BludsoJim Bludso is a 1917 drama film directed by Tod Browning. It was Browning's first feature film as a director. Contemporary sources are variable on the matter of whether the direction was a joint effort between Browning and the film's star, Wilfred Lucas. In their book Dark Carnival: The Secret...
- (1917) - Wild and WoollyWild and WoollyWild and Woolly is a 1917 silent film which tells the story of one man's personal odyssey from sophisticated Easterner to Western tough guy. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Eileen Percy, Walter Bytell and Sam De Grasse....
- (1917) - The Empty GunThe Empty GunThe Empty Gun is a 1917 silent Western film directed by Joe De Grasse and starring Lon Chaney, Sr.-Cast:* Franklyn Farnum - Robber* Claire McDowell - Mary* Lon Chaney - Frank* Sam De Grasse - Jim...
- (1917) - An Old Fashioned Young Man - (1917)
- Anything OnceAnything OnceAnything Once is a 1917 silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and starring Lon Chaney, Sr.-Cast:* Franklyn Farnum - Theodore Crosby* Claire Du Brey - Sñorita Dolores* Marjory Lawrence - Dorothy Stuart* Mary St. John - Mrs. Stuart...
(1917) - The Scarlet CarThe Scarlet CarThe Scarlet Car is a 1917 silent drama film directed by Joe De Grasse and starring Lon Chaney, Sr. -Cast:* Franklyn Farnum - Billy Winthrop* Edith Johnson - Beatrice Forbes* Lon Chaney, Sr. - Paul Revere Forbes* Sam De Grasse - Ernest Peabody* Al W...
(1917) - A Woman's FoolA Woman's FoolA Woman's Fool is a 1918 Western film directed by John Ford featuring Harry Carey. The film is considered to be lost.-Cast:* Harry Carey - Lin McLean* Betty Schade - Katie Lusk* Molly Malone - Jessamine Buckner...
- (1918) - The Exquisite ThiefThe Exquisite ThiefThe Exquisite Thief is a 1919 silent drama film directed by Tod Browning. Prints of this film survive.-Cast:* Priscilla Dean - Blue Jean Billie* Thurston Hall - Algernon P. Smythe* Milton Ross - Det. Wood* Sam De Grasse - Shaver Michael...
- (1919) - Blind HusbandsBlind HusbandsBlind Husbands is a 1919 drama film directed by Erich von Stroheim. The film is an adaptation of the story The Pinnacle by Stroheim.-Cast:* Sam De Grasse as Doctor Robert Armstrong, the husband* Francelia Billington as Margaret Armstrong, the wife...
- (1919) - The Devil's Pass Key (1920)
- Robin Hood - (1922)
- The SpoilersThe Spoilers (1923 film)The Spoilers is a 1923 silent film directed by Lambert Hillyer. It is set in Nome, Alaska during the 1898 Gold Rush, with Milton Sills as Roy Glennister, Anna Q. Nilsson as Cherry Malotte, and Noah Beery, Sr. as Alex McNamara. The film culminates in a saloon fistfight between Glennister and...
- (1922) - Forsaking All OthersForsaking All OthersForsaking All Others is a 1934 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by W.S. Van Dyke, and starring Joan Crawford, Clark Gable and Robert Montgomery. In this "comedy of errors", three friends of long-standing are involved in a love triangle. The screenplay was written by Joseph L....
- (1922) - The Courtship of Miles StandishThe Courtship of Miles Standish (1923 film)The Courtship of Miles Standish was an ambitious and costly historical silent film produced by and starring Charles Ray.The film was based on the famous Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem The Courtship of Miles Standish. This movie famously bankrupted Ray costing him his life savings garnered from...
(1923) - Slippy McGeeSlippy McGeeSlippy McGee is a 1923 silent film, directed by Wesley Ruggles and based on the book Slippy McGee: Sometimes Known as the Butterfly Man by Marie Conway Oemler, published in 1917. The film was an Oliver Morosco Production released by Associated First National, and featured actress Colleen Moore as...
- (1923) - Painted People - (1924)
- The Black PirateThe Black PirateThe Black Pirate is a 1926 silent adventure film shot entirely in two-strip Technicolor about an adventurer and a "company" of pirates. It stars Douglas Fairbanks, Donald Crisp, Sam De Grasse, and Billie Dove.-Plot:...
(1926) - The Eagle of the SeaThe Eagle of the SeaThe Eagle of the Sea is a 1926 silent drama film directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Florence Vidor and featuring Boris Karloff in an uncredited role.-Cast:* Florence Vidor - Louise Lestron* Ricardo Cortez - Captain Sazarac...
(1926) - When a Man LovesWhen A Man Loves (1927 film)When a Man Loves is a 1927 American silent historical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced and distributed by Warner Bros.. The picture stars John Barrymore and Dolores Costello in the oft filmed story of Abbe Prevost's Manon Lescaut....
(1927) - The Fighting Eagle - (1927)
- King of Kings - (1927)
- Our Dancing DaughtersOur Dancing DaughtersOur Dancing Daughters is a 1928 MGM silent drama film starring Joan Crawford and John Mack Brown , about the "loosening of youth morals" that took place during the 1920s. The film was directed by Harry Beaumont and produced by Hunt Stromberg...
- (1928) - The Man Who LaughsThe Man Who LaughsThe Man Who Laughs is a novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title L'Homme qui rit. Also published under the title By Order of the King...
- (1928) - Wall StreetWall Street (1929 film)Wall Street was a drama film released on December 1, 1929 and was produced by Harry Cohn, directed by Roy William Neill, and starred Ralph Ince, Aileen Pringle, Sam De Grasse, Philip Strange, and Freddie Burke Frederick.synopsis...
- (1929) - Captain of the Guard - (1930)
External links
- Sam De Grasse at Northernstars.ca