Tall, burly star of the silent screen. Began on stage and started acting in films from 1911, under contract first with Imp, then Universal. Became extremely popular in heroic (
Ivanhoe (1913)) or evil (
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1913)) characterizations. Loved performing heavily disguised, playing all ten roles in
Shadows (1914), including that of an old Chinese. Branched out into directing between 1914-28, subsequently returning to acting after the advent of sound as a character player, albeit almost exclusively in bit parts.
