James Durkin (actor)

James Durkin

Durkin in 1903
Born James Peter Durkin
May 21, 1876
Quebec, Canada
Died March 12, 1934 (aged 57)
Los Angeles, California
Resting place Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Occupation actor, director
Years active 1906-1934
Spouse(s) Maude Fealy (1909-1917)
Alice Durkin

James Durkin (May 21, 1876 – March 12, 1934) was a Canadian-born American stage and film actor and director.

He was born in Quebec, Canada and died in Los Angeles, California.[1] Durkin's father was a Commissioner of Crown Lands for the province of Quebec. He was a graduate of De La Salle College (Toronto)[2][3]

In 1906, he made his Broadway debut in the play Julie Bonbon.[4] The following year, he played the male lead in the play Margaret Fleming at Chicago's New Theatre.[5] While working on Broadway, he met actress Maude Fealy and became her third husband[6] on November 28, 1909.[5] (They would divorce in 1917.[6][7]) According to the Internet Broadway Database, he acted in six Broadway productions from 1906 to 1923 and directed Chivalry (1925-1926).[4][lower-alpha 1]

After several years on the stage, Durkin moved into film.[9] He worked for the Thanhouser Company from late spring 1913 to 1914,[5] acting and directing his wife.[5] When Fealy and Durkin left Thanhouser, the trade journal Variety speculated that the couple planned to start a film company of their own.[10] In June 1915, he signed on with the Famous Players Film Company as a director.[5] In December of the same year, Durkin left Famous, signing a two-year contract with Lewis J. Selznick's Equitable Pictures.[11][lower-alpha 2] He continued working in film into the 1930s.

Filmography

Actor

Director

  • Peggy's Invitation (1913 short)
  • When the Wheels of Justice Clogged (1914 short)
  • Remorse (1914 short)
  • The Outlaw's Nemesis (1914 short)
  • Jean of the Wilderness (1914 short)
  • Old Jackson's Girl (1914 short)
  • The Chasm (1914 short)
  • Pawns of Fate (1914 short)
  • The Adventures of a Good Fellow (1914 short)
  • The Celebrated Scandal (1915)
  • Big Brother Bill (1915 short)
  • The Running Fight (1915)
  • The Incorrigible Dukane (1915 short)
  • The Mummy and the Hummingbird (1915)
  • The Clarion (1916)[18]
  • Who Killed Simon Baird? (1916)
  • The Red Widow (1916 short)[19]

Notes

  1. ↑ Before making an entry into film work, Durkin had been able to work in stage productions as a leading actor and as a manager for theater companies.[8]
  2. ↑ Durkin was actually under contract to Paramount Pictures, but on loan to Famous Players. Paramount had him under contract until May of 1916.[12]

General references

References

  1. ↑ James Peter Durkin at findagrave.com
  2. ↑ "The Stage". San Francisco Daily Times. Conklin & Haskin. October 3, 1903. p. 24. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  3. ↑ Hines, Dixie; Hanaford, Harry Prescott, eds. (1914). Who's Who in Music and Drama. New York: Hanaford. p. 105. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  4. 1 2 James Durkin at the Internet Broadway Database
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Durkin, James". thanhouser.org (see Thanhouser Company).
  6. 1 2 Katie Rudolph (November 16, 2015). "Actress Maude Fealy: Called Denver "Home"". Denver Public Library.
  7. ↑ "Denver, June 27". Variety. Variety: 6. June 29, 1917. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  8. ↑ Spivak, Jeffrey (2011). Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley. University Press of Kentucky. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-8131-2643-2.
  9. ↑ Motion Picture News Vol11 No. 25, June 26, 1915; James Durkin Joins Famous Producing Staff
  10. ↑ "Durkin-Fealy Own Co. ?". Variety. Variety: 19. July 10, 1914. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Durkin With Equitable". Variety. Variety: 21. December 17, 1915. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Changes at Famous Players". Variety. Variety: 18. December 10, 1915. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  13. ↑ Stumpf, Charles (2010). ZaSu Pitts: The Life and Career. McFarland. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-7864-6023-6.
  14. ↑ Soister, John T. (2005). Of Gods and Monsters: A Critical Guide to Universal Studios' Science Fiction, Horror and Mystery Films, 1929-1939. McFarland. p. 379. ISBN 978-1-4766-0499-2.
  15. ↑ Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (1990). Universal Horrors: The Studio's Classic Films, 1931-1946, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7864-9150-6.
  16. ↑ Pitts, Michael R, (2012). Western Movies: A Guide to 5,105 Feature Films, 2d ed. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-6372-5.
  17. ↑ Telotte, J.P. (2016). Robot Ecology and the Science Fiction Film. Routledge. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-3172-3301-5.
  18. ↑ Langman, Larry (1998). The Media in the Movies: A Catalog of American Journalism Films, 1900-1996. McFarland. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-4766-0925-6.
  19. ↑ Shull, Michael Slade (2000). Radicalism in American Silent Films, 1909-1929: A Filmography and History. McFarland. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-4766-1103-7.
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