Harold Lockwood
American postcard by Kline Poster Co. Inc., Phila. Illustration: Metro.
Harold Lockwood (1887-1918) was an American silent film actor, director, and producer. During the 1910s, he was one of the most popular matinee idols and formed with May Allison one of the earliest screen romantic teams. He worked for such companies as Nestor, Selig, Flying A, Famous Players, and Metro. Unfortunately, Lockwood became a victim of the worldwide flu epidemic of 1918 and died at the age of 31.
Harold A. Lockwood was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1887. He was raised and educated in Newark, New Jersey. Lockwood's father was a horse trainer and breeder. Being very athletic, he went on to become an expert horseman and excelled in swimming, track, and football. At some point during these early years, he also developed an interest in the theatre, attending plays as often as possible. As a result, Lockwood was delighted when he and his family moved to Manhattan during his teens. Upon graduating, he began working as a drygoods salesman. Lockwood quickly discovered that he did not enjoy exporting and quit to become an actor. He spent the next seven years working regularly in musical comedy, vaudeville, and Eastern stock. According to Wikipedia, Lockwood joined the Selig Company in 1908 and signed on with a stock company for David Horsley in 1910 and appeared in Western shorts. Tim Lussier at Silents are Golden writes that in 1911, Lockwood took a letter of introduction to Edwin S. Porter at his Rex Company. Porter recognised the handsome young man's potential, and the director regularly placed him in leading roles in such short silent Westerns as The White Red Man (Edwin S. Porter, 1911). After only a few months, Lockwood moved to Nestor who was also headquartered in New York. In the latter part of 1911 when Nestor opened a studio in California, Lockwood went with the troupe. In the spring of 1912, Lockwood made the move to Thomas Ince's "101 Ranch" playing leads in Westerns and Civil War stories. After nine months, he signed with Selig where he was guaranteed regular leading man status. His tenure with Selig contributed to his experience and popularity, as well as being very profitable, with Lockwood playing a variety of roles in everything from comedies to dramas and costume romances to action melodramas. In Two Men and a Woman (Lem B. Parker, 1913), he was a rich banker in a love triangle that included his wife (Kathlyn Williams) and another man (Henry Otto). In The Millionaire Vagabonds (Lem B. Parker, 1912), he was part of a comedic group of rich men who become "knights of the road." Margarita and the Mission Funds (Lem B. Parker, 1913) was a romance of Old Mexico, while in The Tie of the Blood (Lem B. Parker, 1913), he was "Deer Foot," an Indian brave. Edwin S. Porter had moved to Famous Players, and when he needed a leading man for an upcoming Mary Pickford feature he was directing, he thought of Lockwood. Porter was able to gain Lockwood's release from Selig and co-starred him in two features opposite Pickford, Hearts Adrift (Edwin S. Porter, 1914) and Tess of the Storm Country (Edwin S. Porter, 1914). Porter recommended to Adolph Zukor that he hire Lockwood as a leading man for Famous Players.
While at Famous Players, Harold Lockwood was cast opposite actress May Allison in the romantic film David Harum (Allan Dwan, 1915). American Flying "A" director Thomas Ricketts saw potential in this first romantic match-up and hired the couple from Zukor to star in a series of features that caught fire with the public. In The House of a Thousand Scandals (Tom Ricketts, 1915), Lockwood is the owner of a rich estate who falls in love with a poor farm girl (Allison). The Gamble cast Lockwood as a farmer who neglects his wife (Allison) for his farm. All were not dramas, either. In The Man in the Sombrero (Tom Ricketts, 1916), Lockwood is the son of a rich hatter who poses for a sombrero ad and wins Allison for his wife. In April 1916, the couple began making pictures for Fred Balshofer's Yorke-Metro. The two would appear in over 22 or 23 (the sources differ) films together during the World War I era and became one of the first celebrated on-screen romantic duos. However, the two were never romantically involved off-screen. When the film couple split in 1917, Lockwood's popularity did not wane. He co-starred with such popular actresses as Carmel Myers, Ann Little, and Bessie Eyton, and the audiences still flocked to see his pictures. On 19 October 1918, Lockwood died at the age of 31 of Spanish influenza at the Hotel Woodward in New York City. He had contracted the illness during the production of the silent thriller Shadows of Suspicion (Edwin Carewe, 1919), which had some scenes completed using a double shot from behind. Lockwood's funeral was held at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel, after which he was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. Lockwood was married to Alma Jones in 1906. The couple had a son, Harold Lockwood, Jr. (born 1908), who later appeared in silent and sound films.
Sources: Tim Lussier (Silents are Golden), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Harold Lockwood
American postcard by Kline Poster Co. Inc., Phila. Illustration: Metro.
Harold Lockwood (1887-1918) was an American silent film actor, director, and producer. During the 1910s, he was one of the most popular matinee idols and formed with May Allison one of the earliest screen romantic teams. He worked for such companies as Nestor, Selig, Flying A, Famous Players, and Metro. Unfortunately, Lockwood became a victim of the worldwide flu epidemic of 1918 and died at the age of 31.
Harold A. Lockwood was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1887. He was raised and educated in Newark, New Jersey. Lockwood's father was a horse trainer and breeder. Being very athletic, he went on to become an expert horseman and excelled in swimming, track, and football. At some point during these early years, he also developed an interest in the theatre, attending plays as often as possible. As a result, Lockwood was delighted when he and his family moved to Manhattan during his teens. Upon graduating, he began working as a drygoods salesman. Lockwood quickly discovered that he did not enjoy exporting and quit to become an actor. He spent the next seven years working regularly in musical comedy, vaudeville, and Eastern stock. According to Wikipedia, Lockwood joined the Selig Company in 1908 and signed on with a stock company for David Horsley in 1910 and appeared in Western shorts. Tim Lussier at Silents are Golden writes that in 1911, Lockwood took a letter of introduction to Edwin S. Porter at his Rex Company. Porter recognised the handsome young man's potential, and the director regularly placed him in leading roles in such short silent Westerns as The White Red Man (Edwin S. Porter, 1911). After only a few months, Lockwood moved to Nestor who was also headquartered in New York. In the latter part of 1911 when Nestor opened a studio in California, Lockwood went with the troupe. In the spring of 1912, Lockwood made the move to Thomas Ince's "101 Ranch" playing leads in Westerns and Civil War stories. After nine months, he signed with Selig where he was guaranteed regular leading man status. His tenure with Selig contributed to his experience and popularity, as well as being very profitable, with Lockwood playing a variety of roles in everything from comedies to dramas and costume romances to action melodramas. In Two Men and a Woman (Lem B. Parker, 1913), he was a rich banker in a love triangle that included his wife (Kathlyn Williams) and another man (Henry Otto). In The Millionaire Vagabonds (Lem B. Parker, 1912), he was part of a comedic group of rich men who become "knights of the road." Margarita and the Mission Funds (Lem B. Parker, 1913) was a romance of Old Mexico, while in The Tie of the Blood (Lem B. Parker, 1913), he was "Deer Foot," an Indian brave. Edwin S. Porter had moved to Famous Players, and when he needed a leading man for an upcoming Mary Pickford feature he was directing, he thought of Lockwood. Porter was able to gain Lockwood's release from Selig and co-starred him in two features opposite Pickford, Hearts Adrift (Edwin S. Porter, 1914) and Tess of the Storm Country (Edwin S. Porter, 1914). Porter recommended to Adolph Zukor that he hire Lockwood as a leading man for Famous Players.
While at Famous Players, Harold Lockwood was cast opposite actress May Allison in the romantic film David Harum (Allan Dwan, 1915). American Flying "A" director Thomas Ricketts saw potential in this first romantic match-up and hired the couple from Zukor to star in a series of features that caught fire with the public. In The House of a Thousand Scandals (Tom Ricketts, 1915), Lockwood is the owner of a rich estate who falls in love with a poor farm girl (Allison). The Gamble cast Lockwood as a farmer who neglects his wife (Allison) for his farm. All were not dramas, either. In The Man in the Sombrero (Tom Ricketts, 1916), Lockwood is the son of a rich hatter who poses for a sombrero ad and wins Allison for his wife. In April 1916, the couple began making pictures for Fred Balshofer's Yorke-Metro. The two would appear in over 22 or 23 (the sources differ) films together during the World War I era and became one of the first celebrated on-screen romantic duos. However, the two were never romantically involved off-screen. When the film couple split in 1917, Lockwood's popularity did not wane. He co-starred with such popular actresses as Carmel Myers, Ann Little, and Bessie Eyton, and the audiences still flocked to see his pictures. On 19 October 1918, Lockwood died at the age of 31 of Spanish influenza at the Hotel Woodward in New York City. He had contracted the illness during the production of the silent thriller Shadows of Suspicion (Edwin Carewe, 1919), which had some scenes completed using a double shot from behind. Lockwood's funeral was held at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel, after which he was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. Lockwood was married to Alma Jones in 1906. The couple had a son, Harold Lockwood, Jr. (born 1908), who later appeared in silent and sound films.
Sources: Tim Lussier (Silents are Golden), Wikipedia, and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.