Wallace Reid

Born: 1891-04-14 in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

Died: 1923-01-18

Known For: Acting

Biography

Wallace Reid was an American actor in silent film referred to as "the screen's most perfect lover". Wallace Reid appeared in several films with his father, and as his career in film flourished, he was soon acting and directing with and for early film mogul Allan Dwan. In 1913, while at Universal Pictures, Reid met and married actress Dorothy Davenport. He was featured as Jeff, the blacksmith, in The Birth of a Nation (1915) and had an uncredited role in Intolerance (1916), both directed by D. W. Griffith; he worked with leading ladies such as Florence Turner, Gloria Swanson, Lillian Gish, Elsie Ferguson, and Geraldine Farrar en route to becoming one of Hollywood's major heartthrobs. Already involved with the creation of more than 100 motion picture shorts, Reid was signed by producer Jesse L. Lasky and starred in over 60 films for Lasky's Famous Players film company, which later became Paramount Pictures. Frequently paired with actress Ann Little, his action-hero role as the dashing race-car driver drew young girls and older women alike to theaters to see his daredevil auto thrillers such as The Roaring Road (1919), Double Speed (1920), Excuse My Dust (1920), and Too Much Speed (1921). While en route to a location in Oregon during filming of The Valley of the Giants (1919), Reid was injured in a train wreck near Arcata, California and needed six stitches to close a 3-inch (8 cm) scalp wound. To keep on filming, he was prescribed morphine for relief of his pain and Reid soon became addicted, but kept on working at a frantic pace in films that were growing more physically demanding, and changing from 15–20 minutes in duration to as much as an hour. Reid's morphine addiction worsened at a time when drug rehabilitation programs were non-existent. He died in a sanatorium while attempting to recover.

Filmography

1922

Clarence as Clarence Smith
The Dictator as Brooke Travers
Thirty Days as John Floyd
A Trip to Paramountown as Self
The World's Champion as William Burroughs
Rent Free as Buell Arnister Jr
The Ghost Breaker as Walter Jarvis, a Ghost Breaker
Across the Continent as Jimmy Dent
Night Life in Hollywood as Self
Nice People as Captain Billy Wade

1921

Forever as Peter Ibbetson
Don't Tell Everything as Cullen Dale
The Hell Diggers as Teddy Darman
The Charm School as Austin Bevans
The Affairs of Anatol as Anatol Spencer
Too Much Speed as 'Dusty' Rhoades
The Love Special as Jim Glover

1920

Double Speed as 'Speed' Carr
The Dancin' Fool as Sylvester Tibble
Sick Abed as Reginald Jay
Excuse My Dust as 'Toodles' Walden
Always Audacious as Perry Dayton / 'Slim' Attucks
What's Your Hurry? as Dusty Rhoades

1919

The Dub as John Craig (The 'Dub')
The Valley of the Giants as Bryce Cardigan
Hawthorne of the U.S.A. as Anthony Hamilton Hawthorne
The Roaring Road as Walter Thomas 'Toodles' Walden
The Lottery Man as Jack Wright
The Love Burglar as David Strong
Alias Mike Moran as Larry Young
You're Fired as Billy Deering

1918

Rimrock Jones as Rimrock Jones
The Thing We Love as Rodney Sheridan
The Man from Funeral Range as Harry Webb
His Extra Bit as The Husband
The Source as Van Twiller Yard
Too Many Millions as Walsingham Van Doren
The Firefly of France as Devereux Bayne
The House of Silence as Marcel Levington
Believe Me, Xantippe as George MacFarland
Less Than Kin as Hobart Lee / Lewis Vickers

1917

Big Timber as Jack Fife
The World Apart as Bob Fulton
The Woman God Forgot as Alvarado
The Hostage as Lieutenant Kemper
The Squaw Man's Son as Lord Effington, aka Hal
The Prison Without Walls as Huntington Babbs
The Devil Stone as Guy Sterling
The Tell-Tale Arm
The Man Who Saved the Day as John King
The Golden Fetter as James Roger Ralston
Nan of Music Mountain as Henry de Spain

1916

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages as Boy Killed in Battle (uncredited)
Joan the Woman as Eric Trent 1431 / Eric Trent 1917
The Yellow Pawn as James Weldon
The Love Mask as Dan Derring
Maria Rosa as Andreas
To Have and to Hold as Captain Ralph Percy
The Wall of Flame as Wallace - the Fire Inspector
The Wrong Heart
The Selfish Woman as Tom Morley
The House with the Golden Windows as Tom Wells

1915

The Birth of a Nation as Jeff, the Blacksmith
Carmen as Don Jose
The Golden Chance as Roger Manning
Station Content as Jim Manning
A Yankee from the West as Billy Milford aka Hell-in-the Mud
Old Heidelberg as Prince Karl Heinrich
The Chorus Lady as Danny Mallory
The Craven as Bud Walton
The Lost House as Ford
Enoch Arden as Walter Fenn
The Three Brothers as Jean Gaudet / Will

1914

The Odalisque as Curtiss
At Dawn as The Lieutenant
Her Awakening as Bob Turner
Moonshine Molly as Lawson Keene
Cupid Incognito as Jack Falkner
The Niggard as Elmer Kent
The Siren as Dane Northrop
Another Chance as Detective Flynn
Arms and the Gringo as Sullivan
Down by the Sounding Sea as John Ward - the Man from the Sea
The Test as The Poor Man
The Way of a Woman as Pierre
The Spider and Her Web
Regeneration as The Artist
The City Beautiful as The Country Boy
The Den of Thieves as Wallace
The Mountaineer as Jim - the Mountaineer
The Intruder as The Woodsman
The Heart of the Hills as Dave - the Woodsman
The Skeleton as Jack - the Young Husband
The Quack as Wallace Rosslyn
The Wheel of Life as The Prospector
The Second Mrs. Roebuck as Samuel Roebuck
Passing of the Beast as Jacques - the Woodsman
A Gypsy Romance as Jose - King of the Gypsies
Whoso Diggeth a Pit as Wally
The Voice of the Viola as Wallace
'Cross the Mexican Line as Lt. Wallace
Breed o' the Mountains as Joe Mayfield
The Joke on Yellentown
Her Doggy as The Doctor (unconfirmed)
The Avenging Conscience as The Doctor (uncredited)
The Little Country Mouse as Lieutenant Hawkhurst
Fires of Conscience as Ray - the Prospector
For Her Father's Sins as Frank Bell
Over the Ledge as Bob
A Flash in the Dark as A Miner
The Greater Devotion as 'Devotion'
The Fruit of Evil
A Wife on a Wager as Wally Bristow
Love's Western Flight as Wally - the Ranch Owner
The Countess Betty's Mine as Wallace
Down the Hill to Creditville as Marcus Down
A Mother's Influence as Wallace Burton - the Son
Women and Roses as Wallace
The Daughter of a Crook as Neal
Baby's Ride as Father
The Exposure as The Reporter
The High Grader as Dick Raleigh
Sierra Jim's Reformation as Tim - the Pony Express Rider
The Man Within as The Outlaw

1913

Mental Suicide as Reid - a Contractor
Pirate Gold
The Spirit of the Flag as Dr. Reid
The Picture of Dorian Gray as Dorian Gray
Near To Earth
The Wall of Money as Wallace - McQuarrie's Son
Pride of Lonesome as Edward Daton
The Kiss as Ralph Walters
The Brothers as Robert Gregory
Their Masterpiece as Jack Sanders
Song Bird of the North as Fowle - a Mission Worker
The Picket Guard as Sentry
The Powder Flash of Death as Captain Bruce Douglas
When Luck Changes as Cal Jim
Hearts and Horses as Bill Walters
Cross Purposes as Wally
When Jim Returned as Jim
Retribution as Reid
Youth and Jealousy as Ben
On the Border as Bill Reeves - the Cowboy
The Tattooed Arm as Ben Hart
Calamity Anne Takes a Trip as Policeman
The Animal as The Animal
The Gratitude of Wanda as Wally
His Mother's Son
The Mystery of Yellow Aster Mine as Reid - Rosson's Brother
The Fires of Fate as Wally - the Doctor
A Foreign Spy
Man's Duty as Bill, the Selfish One
The Cracksman's Reformation as Gentleman Crook
The Lightning Bolt as Reid
A Cracksman Santa Claus as Gentleman Crook
A Hopi Legend
The Harvest of Flame as The Inspector
The Spark of Manhood as Humphrey Van Weyden
The Heart of a Cracksman as Gentleman Crook
Love and the Law as Sheriff John Allen
The Guerilla Menace as Captain Bruce Douglas
A Modern Snare as Ralph - the New Sheriff
Women and War as The Boy
An Even Exchange as Joe
The Eye of a God as Frank Hammond
Her Innocent Marriage as Will Wayne
In Love and War as David - the Journalist
The Deerslayer as Chingachgook
A Rose of Old Mexico as Paul Hapgood
The Ways of Fate as Jim Conway
Via Cabaret as Harry Reeder

1912

Kaintuck as The Artist
A Man's Duty as Dick Wilson - Union Soldier
Jean Intervenes as Billy Hallock
Chumps as George - the Denouement
The Victoria Cross as Lt. Cholmodeley
Virginius as Icilius
The Illumination as Giuseppe's Father
At Scrogginses' Corner
Every Inch a Man as Robert Chapman - the Son
The Gamblers as Arthur Ingraham
At Cripple Creek as Joe Mayfield
The Path of True Love as The Country Boy
The Seventh Son as One of the Beecham Brothers
Indian Romeo and Juliet as Oniatore / Romeo
Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight as Basil Underwood
The Hieroglyphic
Fortunes of a Composer as Opera Attendee (uncredited)
An Indian Outcast as Wally, a Cowboy
Playmates as Party Guest at Piano (uncredited)
Making Good as Billy Burns
Brothers
The Tribal Law as Tall Pine aka Jose Seville - Apache Brave
His Only Son as Bob Madden
Hunted Down as John Dayton
Diamond Cut Diamond as Clerk
Early Days in the West as Dan, a Young Pioneer
A Red Cross Martyr; or, on the Firing Lines of Tripoli
The Indian Raiders as Tom
The Hidden Treasure as Bill Binks
The Cowboy Guardians
The Seepore Rebellion as Extra
A Daughter of the Redskins as Captain Stark, U.S.A.
Before the White Man Came as Wathuma - the Leopard
The Secret Service Man as The Secret Service Man
The Telephone Girl as Jack Watson

1911

The Reporter as Cohn, Jones' Assistant
War as Midas
The Leading Lady
The Mother of the Ranch as The Mother's Friend Back East

1910

The Phoenix as Young Reporter