Biography
James Cornelius Kirkwood Sr. (February 22, 1876 – August 24, 1963) was an American actor and director. Kirkwood debuted on screen in 1909 and was soon playing leads for D. W. Griffith. He started directing in 1912, and became a favorite of Mary Pickford, with whom he is rumored to have had an affair. In 1923, he married actress Lila Lee; with her, he had a son, James Kirkwood Jr., who became a successful writer, winning both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for A Chorus Line. Previously he had been married to Gertrude Robinson, with whom he also had a child. During his marriage to Robinson, he had an affair with Mary Miles Minter, who was 15 at the time. They "married" without clergy in the countryside near Santa Barbara. Their relationship ended after Minter became pregnant with Kirkwood's child and underwent an abortion.In 1931, he married actress Beatrice Powers, and had a daughter, Joan Mary Kirkwood, with her. They divorced in 1934, with Powers citing mental cruelty. He married Marjorie Davidson (1920–2008) in 1940, and had a son with her, Terrance Michael Kirkwood (born 1941).
He was George Melford's original choice for the starring role of Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan in The Sheik, which was later famously passed to Rudolph Valentino. His directing career fizzled in 1920, but he continued acting well into the 1950s. His film career would span more than two hundred films over nearly a half century.
He died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital.
Filmography
all 181
Movies 181
Director 34
self 1
The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956)
Adventures of the Texas Kid: Border Ambush (1954)
The Last Posse (1953)
The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
I Dream of Jeanie (1952)
Man in the Saddle (1951)
The Nevadan (1950)
Intruder in the Dust (1949)
Driftwood (1947)
That Brennan Girl (1946)
I've Always Loved You (1946)
Madame Curie (1943)
No Hands on the Clock (1941)
The Lady from Cheyenne (1941)
Goodbye, Mr. Germ (1940)
Playthings of Desire (1933)
My Pal, the King (1932)
Careless Lady (1932)
Lena Rivers (1932)
She Wanted a Millionaire (1932)
Cheaters at Play (1932)
Charlie Chan's Chance (1932)
The Rainbow Trail (1932)
Over the Hill (1931)
Transatlantic (1931)
A Holy Terror (1931)
Young Sinners (1931)
Worldly Goods (1930)
The Devil's Holiday (1930)
Hearts in Exile (1929)
The Time, the Place and the Girl (1929)
Black Waters (1929)
Million Dollar Mystery (1927)
Butterflies in the Rain (1926)
The Wise Guy (1926)
The Reckless Lady (1926)
That Royle Girl (1925)
Secrets of the Night (1924)
Circe the Enchantress (1924)
Another Man's Wife (1924)
Broken Barriers (1924)
Wandering Husbands (1924)
Love's Whirlpool (1924)
Discontented Husbands (1924)
Ponjola (1923)
Human Wreckage (1923)
Ebb Tide (1922)
The Sin Flood (1922)
Under Two Flags (1922)
Pink Gods (1922)
The Man From Home (1922)
The Great Impersonation (1921)
A Wise Fool (1921)
Bob Hampton of Placer (1921)
Man-Woman-Marriage (1921)
Love (1920)
The Forbidden Thing (1920)
The Branding Iron (1920)
In the Heart of a Fool (1920)
The Scoffer (1920)
A Trip Through the World's Greatest Motion Picture Studios (1920)
The Luck of the Irish (1920)
Our Film Stars (1919)
In Wrong (1919)
Bill Apperson's Boy (1919)
I Want to Forget (1918)
Out of the Night (1918)
A Romance of the Underworld (1918)
Eve's Daughter (1918)
The Gentle Intruder (1917)
The Innocence of Lizette (1916)
A Dream or Two Ago (1916)
Faith (1916)
Susie Snowflake (1916)
The Lost Bridegroom (1916)
The Foundling (1916)
The Old Homestead (1915)
The Fatal Card (1915)
Esmeralda (1915)
Rags (1915)
The Mountain Girl (1915)
Little Pal (1915)
Gambier's Advocate (1915)
The Dawn of a Tomorrow (1915)
Fanchon, the Cricket (1915)
Mistress Nell (1915)
Cinderella (1914)
Behind the Scenes (1914)
Men and Women (1914)
The Eagle's Mate (1914)
Lord Chumley (1914)
Silent Sandy (1914)
Home, Sweet Home (1914)
The Mountain Rat (1914)
The Mysterious Shot (1914)
The Floor Above (1914)
Strongheart (1914)
The Green-Eyed Devil (1914)
Classmates (1914)
The Gangsters of New York (1914)
The House of Discord (1913)
Little Dorrit (1913)
A Fair Exchange (1913)
Little Red Riding Hood (1911)
The Courting of Mary (1911)
Love in the Hills (1911)
The Price of Vanity (1911)
In Flowers Paled (1911)
O’er Grim Fields Scarred (1911)
The Conflict (1911)
A Left Hook (1911)
Over the Shading Edge (1911)
In the Teepee’s Light (1911)
Till Death Do Us Part (1911)
From the Valley of Shadows (1911)
The Trump Card (1911)
The Little Avenger (1911)
A Brass Button (1911)
For Remembrance (1911)
The Vows (1911)
On Kentucky Soil (1911)
The Thin Dark Line (1910)
Sunshine Sue (1910)
Where the Sea and the Shore Doth Meet (1910)
The Armorer’s Daughter (1910)
The Gray of the Dawn (1910)
The Modern Prodigal (1910)
Never Again (1910)
A Victim of Jealousy (1910)
The Woman from Mellon's (1910)
The Last Deal (1910)
The Honor of His Family (1910)
The Call (1910)
His Last Burglary (1910)
The Final Settlement (1910)
The Rocky Road (1910)
The Heart of an Outlaw (1909)
The Day After (1909)
To Save Her Soul (1909)
In Little Italy (1909)
A Corner in Wheat (1909)
The Redman's View (1909)
Through the Breakers (1909)
The Death Disc: A Story of the Cromwellian Period (1909)
In the Window Recess (1909)
The Mountaineer's Honor (1909)
The Light That Came (1909)
The Restoration (1909)
Nursing a Viper (1909)
The Gibson Goddess (1909)
Lines of White on a Sullen Sea (1909)
The Expiation (1909)
His Lost Love (1909)
Fools of Fate (1909)
Pippa Passes (1909)
Leather Stocking (1909)
The Broken Locket (1909)
Getting Even (1909)
Comata, the Sioux (1909)
1776, or The Hessian Renegades (1909)
The Little Darling (1909)
The Seventh Day (1909)
Oh, Uncle! (1909)
The Indian Runner's Romance (1909)
His Wife's Visitor (1909)
They Would Elope (1909)
The Mended Lute (1909)
A Strange Meeting (1909)
The Slave (1909)
Sweet and Twenty (1909)
Tender Hearts (1909)
The Renunciation (1909)
The Cardinal's Conspiracy (1909)
Jealousy and the Man (1909)
The Necklace (1909)
The Way of Man (1909)
The Mexican Sweethearts (1909)
The Faded Lilies (1909)
The Lonely Villa (1909)
At the Altar (1909)
Edgar Allan Poe (1909)
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Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1875-02-22
Deathday1963-08-24 (88 years old)
Birth PlaceGrand Rapids, United States of America
ChildrenJames Kirkwood Jr.
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsWalter Scott, James Kirkwood Sr., James Cornelius Kirkwood Sr.
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