Louis Robert Wolheim (March 28, 1880 – February 18, 1931) was an American actor, of both stage and screen, whose rough physical appearance relegated him to roles mostly of thugs or villains in the movies, but whose talent allowed him to flourish on stage. His career was mostly contained during the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

of the film industry, due to his untimely death at the age of 50 in 1931.

Early life

Born in New York City in 1880, he attended

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, where he graduated with a degree in engineering. After graduation, he taught mathematics, including six years as an instructor at Cornell. He also worked as a mining engineer. According to Wolheim, while at Cornell, he suffered an injury to his nose during a football game, and, after having the nose seen to by medical professionals, later that same day he got into a physical altercation (which he won), although his nose suffered more damage, ending up becoming almost a trademark for him. After the United States entrance into World War I, Wolheim joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, and was in officers training at Camp Zachary Taylor in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

when hostilities ended. Not wanting to remain in the service as a career, he asked for and was granted a discharge. According to Art Leibson's book ''Sam Dreben: The Fighting Jew'' (Westernlore Press, Tucson, Arizona 1996), just before World War I Wolheim was in Chihuahua, Mexico selling raincoats and rubber boots to revolutionaries, when he met

Sam Dreben Samuel Dreben (June 1, 1878 – March 15, 1925), sometimes misspelled "Drebben" or "Drebin", and known as "The Fighting Jew", was a highly decorated soldier in the US Army and a mercenary who fought in a variety of wars and revolutions. Early lif ...

, an American mercenary. According to a 1933 article in ''Liberty Magazine'' by Tex O'Reilly. Wolheim and Dreben were noted for their drinking and fighting in Mexican cantinas. One time Wolheim beat up a Mexican officer and was put in jail. Dreben rushed to the prison and secured Wolheim's release. When Dreben died in 1925 on the West Coast, Wolheim was living there and served as one of his pallbearers.

Career

In 1914, on the advice of

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

and

John Barrymore John Barrymore (born John Sidney Blyth; February 14 or 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an American actor on stage, screen and radio. A member of the Drew and Barrymore theatrical families, he initially tried to avoid the stage, and briefly att ...

, Wolheim entered films. Both brothers also invited him to appear in the 1919 play ''The Jest'' in which the Barrymores co-starred. He would appear in at least five films with Lionel Barrymore including a serial and four films with John Barrymore, '' The Test of Honor'' (1919), '' Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde'' (1920), ''

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

'' (1922) and ''

Tempest Tempest is a synonym for a storm. '' The Tempest'' is a play by William Shakespeare. Tempest or The Tempest may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Tempest'' (1908 film), a British silent film * ''The Tempest'' (1911 film), a ...

'' (1928). Wolheim appeared in two silent films with their sister Ethel Barrymore. Wolheim's fearsome visage almost immediately typecast him in roles as gangsters, executioners (as in D. W. Griffith's ''

Orphans of the Storm ''Orphans of the Storm'' is a 1921 American silent drama film by D. W. Griffith set in late-18th-century France, before and during the French Revolution. The last Griffith film to feature both Lillian and Dorothy Gish, it was a commercial fail ...

'') or prisoners. Towards the end of the 1920s, he occasionally broke out of these stereotypes and played a comic Russian officer in

and a rambunctious

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...

's ''

Two Arabian Knights ''Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) is an American comedy film, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring William Boyd, Mary Astor, and Louis Wolheim. A silent film, ''Two Arabian Knights'' was produced by Howard Hughes and was distributed by United ...

.'' He also played a Chaneyesque gangster in Hughes's splendidly photographed '' The Racket'', a lost film for over 70 years recently rediscovered. Beginning with his appearance in the Barrymores' play ''The Jest'', Wolheim would appear in ten

Broadway plays Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

from 1919 through 1925. He received considerable acclaim as Yank in the original stage production of ''

The Hairy Ape ''The Hairy Ape'' is a 1922 expressionist play by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. It is about a beastly, unthinking laborer known as Yank, the protagonist of the play, as he searches for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the rich ...

'' (1922) by

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earlier ...

. His final play would be as the

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, Captain Flagg, in '' What Price Glory?'', in 1925. The play would be made into a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

a year later, with

Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made se ...

in the role of Flagg. In 1922, with his fluent French, Wolheim translated

Henri Bernstein Henri-Léon-Gustave-Charles Bernstein (20 June 1876 – 27 November 1953) was a French playwright associated with Boulevard theatre. Biography Bernstein was born in Paris. His earliest plays, including ''La Rafale'' (1905), ''Le Voleur'' (1907), ...

's play ''The Claw'' into English, which his friend Lionel Barrymore had a successful run on Broadway in. Wolheim acted primarily in

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s, because of his sudden death at the close of the silent era, but he did appear in several

talkie A sound film is a motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, percep ...

s, including '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' and ''

Danger Lights ''Danger Lights'' is a 1930 American Pre-Code drama film, directed by George B. Seitz, from a screenplay by James Ashmore Creelman. It stars Louis Wolheim, Robert Armstrong, and Jean Arthur. The plot concerns railroading on the Chicago, M ...

'' (both 1930) before he died. Wolheim was credited for a screenplay in addition to his acting career, for ''The Greatest Power'', which starred none other than

Ethel Barrymore Ethel Barrymore (born Ethel Mae Blythe; August 15, 1879 – June 18, 1959) was an American actress and a member of the Barrymore family of actors. Barrymore was a stage, screen and radio actress whose career spanned six decades, and was regarde ...

. At the very end of his career, his final appearance was in '' The Sin Ship'', which was also his only directing credit. The film was released in April 1931, after Wolheim's death, however after its completion, Wolheim had decided that directing was not for him, and had stated he would only act from that point forward. According to the biography included in the DVD version of ''All Quiet on the Western Front'', Wolheim wanted, at one point in his career, to play romantic leads instead of tough " heavies". To that end, he sought to have plastic surgery performed on his broken nose. Executives at

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

successfully obtained a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...

against him from doing so, however. Off-screen, Wolheim had a reputation as a genuinely caring individual, so much so that after his death, when flowers were usually sent to the funeral, his friends and co-workers instead took up a collection and gave the money, in Wolheim's name, to a fund to feed the hungry.

James R. Quirk James R. Quirk (September 4, 1884 – August 1, 1932) was an American magazine editor. Career Quirk was the vice president and editor of '' Photoplay'' magazine, one of the earliest film or fan glamour magazines and particularly popular in t ...

, editor and president of '' Photoplay Magazine'', said of Wolheim, "This is no attempt to glorify an actor who has passed on. It is the truth, every word of it. Louis Wolheim was one of the finest and most generous souls I have ever known." Wolheim was a member of

The Lambs Club The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a social club in New York City for actors, songwriters, and others involved in the theatre. It is America's oldest theatrical organization. "The Lambs" is a registered trademark of The Lambs, Inc ...

, which he had joined in 1925.

Death

While preparing to appear in the film ''

The Front Page ''The Front Page'' is a Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema several times. Plot The ...

'', Wolheim died suddenly on February 18, 1931, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He had been losing drastic amounts of weight for the role, and news accounts from that time attributed his death to that weight loss. However, modern sources attribute his death to

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

. He would be replaced in ''The Front Pages cast by

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley K ...

. Wolheim is interred 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 ...

Hollywood, CA Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

Filmography

(filmography as per

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

database, except where otherwise noted) * '' The Warning'' (1914) - Policeman (uncredited) * ''

The Romance of Elaine ''The Romance of Elaine'' is a 1915 American silent adventure film serial directed by George B. Seitz, Leopold Wharton and Theodore Wharton, based on the novel by Arthur B. Reeve. The film is considered to be lost. Cast * Pearl White as Elai ...

'' (1915, Serial) - (uncredited) * ''

Dorian's Divorce ''Dorian's Divorce'' is a 1916 American silent drama film directed by O. A. C. Lund and starring Lionel Barrymore and Grace Valentine. B. A. Rolfe produced for distribution through Metro Pictures. Cast *Lionel Barrymore as Richard Dorian *Grace ...

'' (1916) - Capt. Ross * ''

The Brand of Cowardice a contemporary newspaper advertisement ''The Brand of Cowardice'' is a 1916 silent film starring Lionel Barrymore and released through Metro Pictures. It is a lost film.''The American Film Institute Catalog Feature Films: 1911-20'' by The Ameri ...

'' (1916) - Cpl. Mallin * '' The Sunbeam'' (1916) - Biff the Brute * ''

The Greatest Power ''The Greatest Power'' is a lost 1917 silent film drama directed by Edwin Carewe and starring Ethel Barrymore. It was produced and distributed by Metro Pictures. Cast *Ethel Barrymore - Miriam Monroe * William B. Davidson - John Conrad * Harry S ...

'' (1917, screenplay) * ''

The End of the Tour ''The End of the Tour'' is a 2015 American drama film about writer David Foster Wallace. The film stars Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg, was written by Donald Margulies, and was directed by James Ponsoldt. Based on David Lipsky's best-selling ...

'' (1917) * '' The Millionaire's Double'' (1917) - Bob Holloway * '' The Eternal Mother'' (1917) - Bucky McGhee * ''

The Avenging Trail ''The Avenging Trail'' is a 1917 American silent drama film directed by Francis Ford and starring Harold Lockwood, Sally Crute, and Joseph Dailey. It was released on December 31, 1917. Plot Gaston Olaf returns home from college and finds out ...

'' (1917) - Lefty Reed * ''

The Eyes of Mystery ''The Eyes of Mystery'' is a lost 1918 American silent mystery film directed by Tod Browning starring Edith Storey. Plot As described in a film magazine, Carma Carmichael (Storey), who lives with her uncle Quincy Carmichael (Andrews), is kid ...

'' (1918) - Brad Tilton * ''

The House of Hate ''The House of Hate'' is a 1918 American film serial directed by George B. Seitz, produced when many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey. The serial was originally announced at fiftee ...

'' (1918 - film serial) * '' Peg of the Pirates'' (1918) - Flatnose Tim (as L. Walheim) * ''

A Pair of Cupids ''A Pair of Cupids'', also known by its pre-release title of ''Both Members'', is a 1918 American silent comedy-drama film, directed by Charles Brabin. It stars Francis X. Bushman, Beverly Bayne, and Charles Sutton, and was released on July 29, ...

'' (1918) aka. ''Both Members'' (reissue title) - Dirk Thomas * ''

The Poor Rich Man ''The Poor Rich Man'' is a surviving 1918 American silent costume-romance film, produced and distributed by Metro Pictures. It was directed by Charles Brabin and starred screen lovers Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne. Cast *Francis X. Bushman ...

'' (1918) - Wrestler * ''

The Belle of the Season ''The Belle of the Season'' is a 1919 American silent comedy-drama film, directed by S. Rankin Drew, and stars Emmy Wehlen, S. Rankin Drew, and Walter Hitchcock. It was originally scheduled to be released in 1917, but its premiere was delayed unt ...

'' (1919) - Johnson * '' The Carter Case'' (1919 - film serial) - Emanon * '' The Test of Honor'' (1919) - Man/Devil in Dream''Rock Island Argus'', May 10, 1919; Chronicling America - Library of Congress
Retrieved February 27, 2018(*uncredited) * ''

The Darkest Hour "The Darkest Hour" is a phrase used to refer to an early period of World War II, from approximately mid-1940 to mid-1941. While widely attributed to Winston Churchill, the origins of the phrase are unclear. The phrase The phrase "the darkest ...

'' (1919) - Louis Marcotte * '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1920) - Dance Hall Proprietor * ''

A Manhattan Knight ''A Manhattan Knight'' is a 1920 American silent mystery film directed by George Beranger and starring George Walsh, Virginia Hammond, William H. Budd, Warren Cook, Jack Hopkins, and William T. Hayes. It is based on the 1911 novel ''Find the Woma ...

'' (1920) - Mangus O'Shea * '' Number 17'' (1921) * ''

Experience Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...

'' (1921) - Crime * ''

'' (1921) - Executioner * ''

Determination Determination is a positive emotional feeling that involves persevering towards a difficult goal in spite of obstacles.Kirby, L.D., Morrow, J., & Yih, J. (2014). The challenge of challenge: Pursuing determination as an emotion. In M. M. Tugade, ...

'' (1922) * ''

'' (1922) - Craigin * ''

The Face in the Fog ''The Face in the Fog'' is a 1922 American silent film produced by Cosmopolitan Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Alan Crosland and starred Lionel Barrymore. An incomplete print is preserved at the Library of C ...

'' (1922) - Petrus * ''

Love's Old Sweet Song "Love's Old Sweet Song" is a Victorian parlour song published in 1884 by composer James Lynam Molloy and lyricist Graham Clifton Bingham. The first line of the chorus is "Just a song at twilight", and its title is sometimes misidentified as su ...

'' (1923) - The Wanderer — two-reeler filmed in

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. Introduction In 1919 and 1920, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, ...

sound-on-film system * ''

The Last Moment ''The Last Moment'' is a 1928 American drama film conceived and directed by Paul Fejos. The film starred Otto Matieson and Georgia Hale. Fejos made ''The Last Moment'' on a budget of US$13,000. The film told its story without intertitles, w ...

'' (1923) - The Finn * ''

The Go-Getter "The Go-Getter" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, which first appeared in the United States in the March 1931 issue of ''Cosmopolitan'' (as "Sales Resistance"), and in the United Kingdom in the August 1931 ''Strand''. Part of the Blandings ...

'' (1923) - Daniel Silver * '' Little Old New York'' (1923) - The Hoboken Terror * ''

Unseeing Eyes ''Unseeing Eyes'' is a lost 1923 American silent north country drama film produced by William Randolph Hearst and distributed by Goldwyn Pictures. Edward H. Griffith directed Lionel Barrymore, Seena Owen, Louis Wolheim, and Gustav von Seyffert ...

'' (1923) - Laird * '' The Uninvited Guest'' (1924) - Jan Boomer * ''

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

'' (1924) - Capt. Hare * ''

The Story Without a Name ''The Story Without a Name'' is a 1924 American silent melodrama film directed by Irvin Willat and based on a novel by Arthur Stringer, which was published in conjunction with the film. It was produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by ...

'' (1924) - Kurder * '' Lover's Island'' (1925) - Captain Joshua Dawson * ''

'' (1927) - Sergeant Peter McGaffney * '' Sorrell and Son'' (1927) - Buck * ''

'' (1928) - Sgt. Bulba * '' The Racket'' (1928) - Nick Scarsi * '' The Awakening'' (1928) - Le Bete * ''

The Shady Lady ''The Shady Lady'' is a 1928 American drama film directed by Edward H. Griffith and starring Phyllis Haver, Robert Armstrong and Louis Wolheim.Quinlan p.122 It was made as a part-talkie during the transition from silent to sound film. Synops ...

'' (1929) - Professor Holbrook * ''

Square Shoulders ''Square Shoulders'' is a 1929 American silent crime drama film directed by E. Mason Hopper and starring Frank Coghlan Jr., Louis Wolheim and Anita Louise.Munden p.760 Synopsis After returning from fighting in World War I, a man falls into bad ...

'' (1929) - Slag Collins * ''

Wolf Song ''Wolf Song'' is a 1929 American silent Western romance film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Gary Cooper and Lupe Vélez. Based on a story by Harvey Fergusson, the film is about a man who heads out west in 1840 looking for adventure and ...

'' (1929) - Gullion * ''

Frozen Justice ''Frozen Justice'' is a 1929 American pre-Code drama film directed by Allan Dwan. The picture starred Lenore Ulric in her first sound film and is based on the 1920 novel, ''Norden For Lov og Ret'', by Ejnar Mikkelsen. A shorter, silent versio ...

'' (1929) - Duke * ''

Condemned Condemned or The Condemned may refer to: Legal * Persons awaiting execution * A condemned property, or condemned building, by a local authority, usually for public health or safety reasons * A condemned property seized by power of eminent domain ...

'' (1929) - Jacques * ''

The Ship from Shanghai ''The Ship from Shanghai'' is a 1930 Pre-Code American action film directed by Charles Brabin and written by John Howard Lawson. The film stars Conrad Nagel, Kay Johnson, Carmel Myers, Holmes Herbert and Zeffie Tilbury. The film was released ...

'' (1930) - Ted, the steward * '' All Quiet on the Western Front'' (1930) - Stanislaus Katczinsky * ''

'' (1930) - Dan Thorn * '' The Silver Horde'' (1930) - George Balt * ''

Gentleman's Fate ''Gentleman's Fate'' is a 1931 American pre-Code drama film directed by Mervyn LeRoy and written by Leonard Praskins. The film stars John Gilbert, Louis Wolheim, Leila Hyams, Anita Page, and Marie Prevost. The film was released on March 7, 19 ...

'' (1931) - Frank * '' The Sin Ship'' (1931) - Captain Sam McVey (also directed)

Stage career

(list as per

Internet Broadway Database The Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It was conceived and created by Karen Hauser in 1996 and is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade assoc ...

) * ''The Jest'' (1919–20) - The Executioner * ''The Letter of the Law'' (1920) - Bridet * '' The Broken Wing'' (1920-1921) - General Panfilo Aguilar * ''The Claw'' (1921-1922) - translation from French * ''The Fair Circassian'' (1921) - The Prince Regent * '' The Idle Inn'' (1921-1922) - Bendet * ''

'' (1922) - Yank * ''MacBeth'' (1924) - Porter * ''Catskill Dutch'' (1924) - Cobby * '' What Price Glory?'' (1925) - Captain Flagg

References

External links

* *
Louis Wolheim
at Virtual History * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolheim, Louis 1880 births 1931 deaths Cornell Big Red football players Deaths from stomach cancer American male film actors American male silent film actors Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Deaths from cancer in California Male actors from New York City 20th-century American male actors Jewish American male actors Members of The Lambs Club