Harold A. Lockwood

Harold A. Lockwood (April 12, 1887 – October 19, 1918)

He was one of the most popular matinee idols of the early film period during the 1910s. In 1908, Lockwood joined the Selig Company. In 1910, Lockwood signed on with a stock company for David Horsley and appeared in Western shorts. He later worked for the New York Motion Picture Company, Selig Polyscope Company and Famous Players Film Company. While at Famous Players, Lockwood was cast opposite actress May Allison in Allan Dwan's romantic film David Harum. The two would appear in over twenty-three films together during the World War I era, and became one of the first celebrated on-screen romantic duos. In early 1912 he began working for Thomas Ince. Under the direction of Ince, Lockwood starred in many Westerns and Civil War movies. In 1914 Lockwood's old mentor Edwin S. Porter began working at Famous Players-Lasky Studios, and arranged for Lockwood's release from another studio so he could star in two of his upcoming pictures with Mary Pickford, Tess of the Storm Country and Hearts Adrift. These two films did very well, and Porter urged Adolph Zukor to hire him as a permanent member of the studio. Zukor agreed, and Lockwood starred in a third film with Pickford, Such a Little Queen.

In June of 1918 he began writing a monthly column for Motion Picture magazine, "Funny Happenings in the Studio and on Lockwood," which quickly became very popular. Like many movie stars of the day, Lockwood was very involved with the Liberty Loan drives that raised money during World War I. However, it was at this time when he was showing signs of an illness, which turned out to be influenza. It was believed he had caught this while selling war bonds at the Morning Telegraph booth. On October 19, 1918, Lockwood died at the age of 31 of influenza at the Hotel Woodward in New York City. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Bronx, New York.