Jack Standing

Jack Standing (10 February 1886 – 25 October 1917) was an English-born American actor who worked in both stage and film during the early twentieth century. He was the son of stage actor Herbert Standing (1846–1923) and a member of a family with extensive ties to the theatre and film industries. His brothers included Wyndham Standing (1880–1963), Herbert Jr., Sir Guy, and Percy, while Herbert Jr.'s daughter Joan Standing and Sir Guy's daughter Kay Hammond also pursued careers in the field.

Standing's Broadway career spanned from 1905 to 1911, during which he appeared in productions including The Belle of New York, Florodora, Lola from Berlin, The Lily and the Prince, The Triumph of an Empress, and Carmen. In 1909, he transitioned from the stage to film work, joining the Biograph Company. His appearance led to a contract with Sigmund Lubin in 1911. Over the course of his film career, Standing took on a wide range of character types, from romantic leads to villains to elderly men, accumulating credits in more than fifty films. In 1915, he expressed his commitment to versatility in an interview with Moving Picture World magazine, stating, "Spare me from being a one-type actor!"

Among his notable film appearances was the 1915 Mary Pickford vehicle Fanchon the Cricket, in which Standing co-starred. An incomplete print of the film has been recovered, and it is alleged that Fred and Adele Astaire made their screen debuts in it. Standing's most prominent film role came in the 1916 production Hell's Hinges, in which he played the weak-willed brother of Clara Williams's character.

Standing married and had a son, Jack Standing Jr., born in 1914, who appeared in early silent films as a child. On 25 October 1917, Standing died of pneumonia at the age of 31.