Edgar Jones (actor)

Edgar Jones
Edgar Jones, ca. 1915
Born(1874-06-17)June 17, 1874 Steubenville, Ohio
DiedFebruary 7, 1958(1958-02-07) (aged 83) Los Angeles, California
OccupationActor · Producer · Director
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1914, divorced)​
Children1

Edgar Jones (June 17, 1874 – February 7, 1958) was an American actor, producer, writer, and director of silent films.[1][2] He starred in and directed the film adaptation of The Gold in the Crock.[3] He also starred in and directed Siegmund Lubin films including Fitzhugh's Ride.[4] He established a film production business in Augusta, Maine that produced original stories and adaptations of Holman Day novels.[5]

Career

Jones acted in touring stage productions before moving on to films.[6] He starred with Clara Williams in A Lucky Fall.[7]

He acted, produced, and directed Lonesome Corners. He produced, directed, and starred in a series of short films with Evelyn Brent.[8] According to IMDb, he has more than 100 acting credits and more than 60 directing credits. Late in 1918, he formed his own production company, Edgar Jones Productions, and made films in Maine.[9][10] His film work includes adaptations of Holman Day stories.[9][11] The studio operated out of the former Maine Children's Home Society.[12]

Blaine S. Viles, a former mayor of Augusta, served as the film company's president.[13] Viles also served as state forest commissioner. The Mentor reported Holman Day films being shown to prisoners.[14]

He married Lubin actress Louise Huff and they had a daughter together. They divorced.[6]

Among his surviving Maine films are Border River, A Knight of the Pines, Cupid, Registered Guide, and Caught in the Rapids, all Edgar Jones Productions. Co-stars included Evelyn Brent, Edna May Sperl, Carlton Brickert, and Ben Hendricks, Jr.

Edward Lorusso collected these four films, along with two others, in a Blu-ray collection in 2023. Lorusso screened these four films at the Silent Film Festival at the Colonial Theater in Augusta, Maine on June 17, 2023. The theater is where they had all made their premieres 1919-21.

Filmography

Actor

Director

Producer

References

  1. ^ "Among the Lost: The Rider of the King Log (1921)". October 5, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Katchmer, George A. (May 20, 2015). A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. McFarland. ISBN 9781476609058 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "The Moving Picture World". Chalmers Publishing Company. April 4, 1915 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Young, Henry Walter (April 4, 1913). "Popular Electricity and the World's Advance". Popular Electricity Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "The Editor". November 29, 1920 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ a b "JONES, Edgar". www.thanhouser.org.
  7. ^ a b "Motion Picture". Macfadden-Bartell. November 6, 1913 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Kear, Lynn; King, James (October 21, 2009). Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Lady Crook. McFarland. ISBN 9780786454686 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ a b "The Editor". November 6, 1920 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ "Down East". Down East Enterprise. November 6, 1977 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "THE RIDER OF THE KING LOG (1921) - NitrateVille.com". nitrateville.com.
  12. ^ Madore, Roger A. (November 6, 2015). Augusta. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781467122719 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ Kear, Lynn; King, James (October 21, 2009). Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Lady Crook. McFarland. ISBN 9780786454686 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ "The Mentor". State Prison. November 29, 1920 – via Google Books.
  15. ^ Nash, Jay Robert; Connelly, Robert; Ross, Stanley Ralph (January 6, 1988). Motion Picture Guide Silent Film 1910-1936. Cinebooks. ISBN 9780933997103 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ Connelly, Robert B. (November 6, 1998). The Silents: Silent Feature Films, 1910-36. December Press. ISBN 9780913204368 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ Jones, Edgar (November 29, 1922). "Lonesome Corners" – via memory.loc.gov.