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Josef Swickard (26 June 1866 – 1 March 1940) was a
Born in the 
Prussian
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
-born veteran stage and screen character actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, who had toured with stock companies in Europe, South Africa, and South America.
Career
Swickard emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1882. He was a stage actor several years before entering films withD.W. Griffith
David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...
in 1912 and by 1914 was playing supporting roles for Mack Sennett
Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.
Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...
. He appeared in Charles Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
's ''Laughing Gas
Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or nos, is a chemical compound, an oxide of nitrogen with the formula . At room temperature, it is a colourless non-flammable gas, and has ...
'' and ''Caught in a Cabaret
''Caught in a Cabaret'' is a 1914 short comedy film written and directed by Mabel Normand and starring Normand and Charles Chaplin.
Plot
Chaplin plays a waiter who fakes being the Prime Minister of Greenland to impress a girl. He then is inv ...
''. He remained with Sennett until 1917, when he settled into his prolific career of playing mostly aristocratic characters.
Modern audiences are perhaps most familiar with his role of Marcelo Desnoyers, the well-intentioned but impractical French upper class father in Rex Ingram's 1921 film '' The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse''. His career in sound films was somewhat limited and he played in low-budget and action serial type films. He played the villainous Prime Minister Kruel in the 1925 film version of '' The Wizard of Oz''.
Family Life & Death
Born in the Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
in 1866 to Peter Schwecherath and Geniveve Steffens, Swickard was the brother of actor Charles Swickard
Charles Swickard (March 21, 1861 – May 12, 1929) was a German-born American film actor, actor and film director of the silent era. He was the brother of the actor Josef Swickard.Katchmer p.366
Selected filmography Director
* ''The Beckoning Fl ...
. After arriving in the United States in November 1882, Schwecherath changed his name to Swickard and married a Scottish woman named Queeny in 1896. In 1902, Swickard applied for citizenship in the Eastern District of New York under the name ''Joseph P. Schwickerath.'' Records also show Swickard submitted a petition for naturalization in Los Angeles, California in February 1936 under the name of ''Peter Joseph Schwickerath.'' Sometime around 1928 Swickard married Broadway actress Margaret Campbell
Margaret Campbell (April 24, 1883 – June 27, 1939) was an American character actress in silent films. In her later years she was the secretary of the Baháʼí Spiritual Assembly of Los Angeles.
Career
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Campbel ...
. That union was short-lived and the couple divorced on January 15, 1929. Swickard's last known residence was the Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles where he lived after his divorce from Campbell. Tragedy befell his ex-wife on June 27, 1939 when she was brutally murdered by her adult son from a previous marriage, Campbell McDonald. Nearly seven months to-the-day after his ex-wife's murder, Swickard died on February 29, 1940. He was 73.
Despite rumors that Swickard committed suicide by jumping from the Hollywood sign
The Hollywood Sign is an American landmark and cultural icon overlooking Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. Originally the Hollywoodland Sign, it is situated on Mount Lee, in the Beachwood Canyon area of the Santa Monica Mountains. Spelling ...
, his death was from natural causes. Swickard was buried under a simple headstone at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...
.
Filmography
See also
References
External links
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swickard, Josef 1866 births 1940 deaths American male silent film actors American male film actors Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery German emigrants to the United States 20th-century American male actors