Maurice Costello
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Maurice Costello (February 22, 1877 - October 28, 1950) was a prominent vaudeville actor of the late 1890s and early 1900s, who later played a principal role in early American films, as both a leading man, supporting player and a director.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Irish immigrants Thomas Costello (born 1852) and Ellen Fitzgerald (born 1853), Costello appeared in his first motion picture in 1905, in which he had the honour of appearing in the very first film appearance of the legendary Sherlock Holmes in the movie Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, in which Costello played the title role. He then went to Vitagraph, being a member of the first motion picture stock company ever formed, playing opposite Florence Turner. Among some of his best known pictures are "A Tale of Two Cities," "The Man Who Couldn't Beat God" and "For the Honor of the Family." After an absence of some years he returned to the screen. He was married to actress Mae Costello (née Altschuk). His daughters were the actresses Dolores Costello and Helene Costello, grandson John Drew Barrymore, and great granddaughter Drew Barrymore. He was one of the world's first leading men in early American cinema, but sadly, like a lot of other silent screen stars, he found the transition to "talkies" extremely difficult, and his leading man status was over. However, Costello was a trooper, and continued to appear in movies, often in small roles and bit parts, right up until his death in 1950.
Costello died at the age 73 in 1950 in Los Angeles, California and was interred at Calvary Cemetery, East Los Angeles.
[edit] Selected filmography
- Lady from Louisiana (1941)
- Eagle of the Night (1928)
- Johnny Get Your Hair Cut (1927)
- The Crimson Stain Mystery (1916)
- A Tale of Two Cities (1911)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)
- Antony and Cleopatra (1908)
