Ralph Ince
Ralph Ince | |
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![]() Ince in 1923 | |
Born | Ralph Waldo Ince January 16, 1887 Boston, Massachusetts,United States |
Died | April 10, 1937 London,England | (aged 50)
Occupation(s) | Film director,actor,screenwriter |
Years active | 1907–1937 |
Spouses | Helen Tigges
(m.1932) |
Children | 1 |
Relatives | John Ince(brother) Thomas H. Ince(brother) |
Ralph Waldo Ince(January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of thesilent film era.Ralph Ince was the brother ofJohn E. InceandThomas H. Ince.
Biography
[edit]Ralph Ince was born inBoston, Massachusetts,[1]the younger of three sons and a daughter raised by English immigrants, John and Emma Ince. Sometime after his birth Ince moved to Manhattan where his entire family was engaged in theater work; his father as a musical agent and mother, sister Bertha and brothers, John and Thomas as actors.[2]Ralph Ince studied art with cartoonist Dan McCarthy and for a while worked as a newspaper cartoonist for the New York World and later magazine illustrator for the New York Mirror and The Evening Telegram. At times over his acting and directing career Ince would continue to contribute cartoons to popular magazines of the day. Early on in his career Ince, who had done some stage acting as a child, was a member ofRichard Mansfield'sstock company playing parts inThe College WidowandBen Hur.[3][4]
Around 1906 Ince became an animator in the fledgling film industry working forWinsor McCay,but soon turned to acting and joinedVitagraph Studioswhere he became known for his portrayals ofAbraham Lincolnin a series of one reel films.[3][4]Ince began directing at Vitagraph around 1910 and was officially advanced to the director's chair in 1912, though he still continued to act in many of his films and throughout his career.[5]Ince would go on to direct some 171 films between 1910 and 1937 and appear in approximately 110 films over nearly the same time period.[6]
Ince became a member ofThe Lambs Clubin 1916, and his brother John joined in 1919.[7]
Marriage
[edit]Ince married three times, first to Vitagraph player Lucille Lee Stewart, sister of actressAnita Stewart.Their fifteen-year marriage ended in 1925, two years after she had left him.[8]The following year he married Rosa Castro Martinez (stage name Lucille Mendez), an 18-year-oldVenezuelanstage and screen actress, daughter of Venezuelan PresidentCipriano Castro.This union ended in 1932 after she claimed Ince damaged her career by not allowing her to accept certain job offers.[9]Ince's last wife was Helen Ruth Tigges, a native ofFrazee, Minnesota.She was the mother of his only child, born just months before Ince's death at age fifty.[10]
Death
[edit]Ralph Ince died on April 10, 1937, when a car his wife was driving struck an iron standard near their residence in theKensingtondistrict of London, England. The force of the impact, though not great, proved fatal to Ince when his head struck the dashboard. Helen Ince suffered cuts and bruises that required hospitalization. Ince and his wife had moved to Britain shortly after they had married in 1932 to continue his film work there.[10]Ince was cremated atGolders Green.[11]
Selected filmography
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Wet_Gold_%281921%29_-_Ad_3.jpg/220px-Wet_Gold_%281921%29_-_Ad_3.jpg)
As director
[edit]- The Mills of the Gods(1912)
- My Lady's Slipper(1916)
- The Conflict(1916)
- The Co-Respondent(1917)
- Our Mrs. McChesney(1918)
- The Panther Woman(1918)
- The Eleventh Commandment(1918)
- Five Thousand an Hour(1918)
- Sealed Hearts(1919)
- The Perfect Lover(1919)
- Red Foam(1920)
- Out of the Snows(1920)
- His Wife's Money(1920)
- Tropical Love(1921)
- The Highest Law(1921)
- After Midnight(1921)
- Remorseless Love(1921)
- A Man's Home(1921)
- Wet Gold(1921)
- A Wide Open Town(1922)
- Reckless Youth(1922)
- The Referee(1922)
- Counterfeit Love(1923)
- The Chorus Lady(1924)
- The House of Youth(1924)
- The Uninvited Guest(1924)
- Lady Robinhood(1925)
- Smooth as Satin(1925)
- Alias Mary Flynn(1925)
- The Better Way(1926)
- The Lone Wolf Returns(1926)
- Breed of the Sea(1926)
- The Sea Wolf(1926)
- Bigger Than Barnum's(1926)
- Home Struck(1927)
- South Sea Love(1927)
- Shanghaied(1927)
- Enemies of Society(1927)
- Not for Publication(1927)
- Coney Island(1928)
- Chicago After Midnight(1928)
- Hit of the Show(1928)
- The Wreck of the Singapore(1928)
- Danger Street(1928)
- A Real Girl(1929)
- Hurricane(1929)
- Lucky Devils(1933)
- Murder at Monte Carlo(1934)
- A Glimpse of Paradise(1934)
- Love at Second Sight(1934)
- What's in a Name?(1934)
- No Escape(1934)
- Crime Unlimited(1935)
- Rolling Home(1935)
- The Black Mask(1935)
- Blue Smoke(1935)
- Gaol Break(1936)
- Fair Exchange(1936)
- Twelve Good Men(1936)
- Jury's Evidence(1936)
- Hail and Farewell(1936)
- It's You I Want(1936)
- The Perfect Crime(1937)
- The Vulture(1937)
- Side Street Angel(1937)
As actor
[edit]- Jean the Match-Maker(1910, Short)
- A Tale of Two Cities(1911, Short) – (uncredited)
- The Child Crusoes(1911, Short)
- The Sins of the Mothers(1914) – Mr. Raymond
- The Land of Opportunity(1920) – Abraham Lincoln
- Out of the Snows(1920) – Robert Holliday
- The Bringers(1920)
- The Highest Law(1921) – Abraham Lincoln
- The Last Door(1921)
- Wet Gold(1921) – John Cromwell
- Channing of the Northwest(1922)
- Yellow Fingers(1926) – Brute Shane
- Bigger Than Barnum's(1926) – Carl Ravelle
- The Sea Wolf(1926) – 'Wolf' Larsen
- Breed of the Sea(1926) – Tod Pembroke, aka Captain Blaze Devine
- The Better Way(1926) – Billy
- Not for Publication(1927) – 'Big Dick' Wellman
- Shanghaied(1927) – Hurricane Haley
- Chicago After Midnight(1928) – Jim Boyd
- The Wreck of the Singapore(1928) – Kelsey
- Wall Street(1929) – Roller McCray
- The Big Fight(1930) – Chuck
- Numbered Men(1930) – 33410
- Little Caesar(1931) – Pete Montana
- Gentleman's Fate(1931) – Dante
- Hell Bound(1931) – Dorgan
- The Star Witness(1931) – 'Maxey' Campo
- The Big Gamble(1931) – Webb
- The Law of the Sea(1931) – Marty Drake
- Men of Chance(1931) – Farley
- The Big Shot(1931) – Butch (uncredited)
- Girl of the Rio(1932) – O'Grady
- The Hatchet Man(1932) – 'Big Jim' Malone (uncredited)
- Law and Order(1932) – Poe Northrup
- The Lost Squadron(1932) – Jettick
- The County Fair(1932) – Diamond Barnett
- State's Attorney(1932) – Defense Attorney
- The Mouthpiece(1932) – J.B. Roscoe
- The Tenderfoot(1932) – Dolan
- Gorilla Ship(1932) – Capt. 'Gorilla' Larsen
- Guilty as Hell(1932) – Jack Reed
- The Pride of the Legion(1932) – Klafki
- Malay Nights(1932) – Jack Sheldon
- Men of America(1932) – Cicero
- Havana Widows(1933) – G.W. 'Butch' O'Neill
- Love at Second Sight(1934) – Mackintosh
- No Escape(1934) – Lucky
- So You Won't Talk(1935) – Ralph Younger
- Rolling Home(1935) – Wally
- Blue Smoke(1935) – Al Dempson
- Gaol Break(1936) – Jim Oakley
- The Perfect Crime(1937) – Jim Lanahan
References
[edit]- ^"Ralph Ince - U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 - Ancestry.com".ancestry.com.
- ^1900 US Census Records, Ancestry.com
- ^abMotion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual, 1921, p. 267 – Ancestry.com
- ^abAbel, Richard (August 2004).Encyclopedia of Early Cinema.Taylor & Francis.ISBN9780203482049.
- ^The Motion Picture Story Magazine;August 1912, p. 132
- ^Ralph InceatIMDb
- ^"The Lambs".the-lambs.org.The Lambs, Inc.(Member Roster 'I').RetrievedDecember 4,2021.
- ^"Ralph Ince Seeks Divorce,"Portsmouth Daily Times(Portsmouth, Ohio), April 10, 1925, p. 22
- ^"Lucille Mendes Divorces Ince,"Syracuse Herald,April 3, 1932, p. 14
- ^ab"Ralph Ince Killed In Crash In London".The New York Times.April 12, 1937. p. 1.
- ^Wilson, Scott (2016).Resting Places.McFarland.ISBN9781476625997.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1887 births
- 1937 deaths
- Road incident deaths in London
- Film directors from Massachusetts
- American male film actors
- American people of English descent
- American male silent film actors
- American male screenwriters
- Male actors from Boston
- Screenwriters from Massachusetts
- 20th-century American male actors
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American screenwriters
- Members of The Lambs Club