Ralph Ince | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Ince in 1923 | |
| Born | Ralph Waldo Ince (1887-01-16)January 16, 1887 Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | April 10, 1937(1937-04-10) (aged 50) London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, actor,screenwriter |
| Years active | 1907–1937 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | John Ince (brother) Thomas H. Ince (brother) |
Ralph Waldo Ince (January 16, 1887 – April 10, 1937) was an American pioneer film actor, director and screenwriter whose career began near the dawn of thesilent film era. Ralph Ince was the brother ofJohn E. Ince andThomas H. Ince.
Ralph Ince was born on January 16, 1887, inBoston,[1] the youngest of three sons and a daughter raised by English immigrants, John and Emma Ince. Sometime after his birth Ince moved to Manhattan where his entire family was engaged in theater work; his father as a musical agent and mother, sister Bertha and brothers, John and Thomas as actors.[2] Ralph Ince studied art with cartoonist Dan McCarthy and for a while worked as a newspaper cartoonist for the New York World and later magazine illustrator for the New York Mirror and The Evening Telegram. At times over his acting and directing career Ince would continue to contribute cartoons to popular magazines of the day. Early on in his career Ince, who had done some stage acting as a child, was a member ofRichard Mansfield's stock company playing parts inThe College Widow andBen Hur.[3][4]
Around 1906, Ince became an animator in the fledgling film industry working forWinsor McCay, but soon turned to acting and joinedVitagraph Studios where he became known for his portrayals ofAbraham Lincoln in a series of one reel films.[3][4] Ince began directing at Vitagraph around 1910 and was officially advanced to the director's chair in 1912, though he still continued to act in many of his films and throughout his career.[5] Ince would go on to direct some 171 films between 1910 and 1937 and appear in approximately 110 films over nearly the same time period.[6]
Ince became a member ofThe Lambs Club in 1916, and his brother John joined in 1919.[7]
Ince married three times, first to Vitagraph player Lucille Lee Stewart, sister of actressAnita Stewart. Their fifteen-year marriage ended in 1925, two years after she had left him.[8] The following year he married Rosa Castro Martinez (stage name Lucille Mendez), an 18-year-oldVenezuelan stage and screen actress, daughter of Venezuelan PresidentCipriano Castro. This union ended in 1932 after she claimed Ince damaged her career by not allowing her to accept certain job offers.[9] Ince's last wife was Helen Ruth Tigges, a native ofFrazee, Minnesota. She was the mother of his only child, born just months before Ince's death at age fifty.[10]
Ralph Ince died inLondon, on April 10, 1937, aged 50, when a car his wife was driving struck an iron standard near their residence in theKensington district of London, England. The force of the impact, though not great, proved fatal to Ince when his head struck the dashboard. Helen Ince suffered cuts and bruises that required hospitalization. Ince and his wife had moved to Britain shortly after they had married in 1932 to continue his film work there.[10] Ince was cremated atGolders Green.[11]
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