Wilton Lackaye

Wilton Lackaye, born William Andrew Lackey on September 30, 1862, in Loudoun County, Virginia, was an American stage and film actor whose Broadway career spanned from 1887 to 1930. The son of James Lackey and his wife, Margaret Bagnam, he attended Georgetown University and Ottawa College with early intentions of entering the priesthood. Before turning professional, he performed as an amateur with the Lawrence Barrett Club of Washington.

Lackaye made his professional acting debut in 1883, taking on the role of Lucentio in Francesca da Rimini at the Star Theatre in New York. He subsequently performed with a stock company in Dayton that same summer, then went on to work with the Carrie Swain Company. Among his most significant career achievements was originating the role of Svengali in the stage production of Trilby in 1895, a character drawn from the novel of the same name published that year. He later reprised the role on screen in 1915, appearing opposite Clara Kimball Young. His film debut had come the previous year in The Pit (1914), and his screen work continued through the 1920s with appearances in films including Children of the Ghetto (1915), God's Crucible (1921), What's Wrong with the Women? (1922), The Lone Wolf (1924), For Woman's Favor (1924), and The Sky Raider (1925). During World War I, Lackaye toured in vaudeville, performing in the one-act plays Quits and The Bomb.

His Broadway credits encompassed both performing and book writing, and included productions such as The Law and the Man, Love, Honor and Betray, Ladies of the Jury, Sweet Land of Liberty, and Trelawny of the "Wells," among others. Two of his siblings, James Lackaye Jr. and Helen Lackaye, also worked in show business. Lackaye was married three times: first to actress Annie Lewis, then to Alice Evans, and finally to Katherine Alberta Riley. He had a son, Wilton Lackaye Jr., with his second wife, Evans.

Lackaye died of an acute heart attack on August 22, 1932, at his home in New York City at the age of 69. His funeral was held at St. Malachy's Roman Catholic Church, and he was buried at Calvary Cemetery.