Joseph De Grasse(1873-1940)
- Director
- Actor
- Producer
Joseph Louis DeGrasse (May 4, 1873 - May 25, 1940) was born into a
French Canadian family. He is the son of Lange DeGrasse and Ellen
Comeaux of Bathurst, New Brunswick. Joseph is the older brother of
actor Samuel DeGrasse. There were 11 siblings. Joe immigrated to the
USA around 1880 as a young child. Joseph began his career as a
journalist, but soon became enamored of the theater and took work as a
stage actor. Joe DeGrasse met and married actress, Ida May Park
(1879-1954). By 1910, he and Ida were acting in motion pictures in
Burbank, California. Joe eventually appeared as an actor in 13 films,
and wrote 2 screenplays, his real interest was in directing. Ida also
became one of the few female directors working at the time. In 1915,
Joe became a founding member of the Motion Picture Directors
Association, a forerunner to the Director's Guild of America. During a
career spanning from 1910 to 1935 he directed a total of 86 films, as
well as writing and producing. Joseph DeGrasse died in Eagle Rock,
California. Family lore contends that there is a link between the
DeGrasse brothers and French Admiral and US Revolutionary War hero,
François-Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse, 13
September 1722.
