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Thomas Meighan

January 01, 1970

Thomas Meighan (April 9, 1879 – July 8, 1936) was an American actor of silent films and early talkies. He played several leading-man roles opposite popular actresses of the day, including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson.[1] At one point he commanded $10,000 per week.[2]

Thomas Meighan
Meighan, sometime before 1923
President of The Lambs
In office
1924–1926
Preceded byAlbert Oldfield Brown
Succeeded byThomas Alfred Wise
Personal details
Born(1879-04-09)April 9, 1879
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJuly 8, 1936(1936-07-08) (aged 57)
Great Neck, New York, U.S.
SpouseFrances Ring (1909–1936)
OccupationActor

Early life edit

Meighan was born to John and Mary Meighan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father was the president of Pittsburgh Facing Mills, and his family was well-off.[2]

Meighan's parents encouraged him to go to college but he refused. At the age of 15, his father sent him to work shoveling coal, which quickly changed his mind. He attended Mount St. Mary's College to study pharmacology.[3] After three years of study, Meighan decided he wished to pursue acting.[2]

Early theatre career edit

After dropping out of college in 1896, Meighan became a juvenile player in the Pittsburgh Stock Company headed by Henrietta Crosman. He was paid $35 per week.[2]

Meighan soon found success. He first appeared on Broadway in 1900, and four years later appeared in The Two Orphans.[2] His breakthrough role came in 1908 when he appeared with William Collier Sr. in The Dictator; this play was followed by a leading role in The College Widow, which had a successful run on Broadway in the 1907–1908 season. During this run, he met his wife Frances Ring.[4]

Despite his film career, Meighan remained devoted to the theatre during his life.[2]

Film career edit

In 1914, he entered motion pictures, at that time still in their infancy. His first film, shot in London, was titled Dandy Donovan, the Gentleman Cracksman. This led to a contract with Famous Players–Lasky.[1] His first US film, in 1915, was The Fighting Hope. During the next two years, Meighan's career took off.[2] In 1918, he made a propaganda film for World War I, titled Norma Talmadge and Thomas Meighan in a Liberty Loan Appeal. He then played opposite Mary Pickford in M'Liss.[1]

Stardom edit

 
Meighan with co-star Pauline Starke in 1922, as they appeared in publicity for the film If You Believe It, It's So

Meighan hit stardom in 1919. One of his better-known films of the period was that year's The Miracle Man, which featured Lon Chaney Sr.;[2] it is now believed to be lost except for brief clips. This was followed with Cecil B. DeMille's Male and Female, which starred him with Gloria Swanson and Lila Lee. Most of that film's cast returned for the 1920 film Why Change Your Wife?, which co-starred Bebe Daniels.[2] In April 1925, Meighan and Swanson produced a short film directed by Allan Dwan for the annual "Spring Gambol" for The Lambs. This film (sometimes known as Gloria Swanson Dialogue), made in Lee DeForest's sound-on-film Phonofilm process, was made as a joke for the live event, showing Swanson trying to crash the all-male club.

His popularity continued through the Roaring Twenties, during which he starred in several pictures. In 1924, he played in The Alaskan with Estelle Taylor and Anna May Wong. In 1927, Meighan starred in The City Gone Wild with Louise Brooks.

His final silents, both produced by Howard Hughes in 1928, were The Mating Call, which was critical of the Ku Klux Klan, and The Racket, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Both were thought lost until rediscovered in private collections in 2006; they were restored by University of Nevada, Las Vegas and shown on Turner Classic Movies.

Sound movies and career's end edit

Meighan's first sound feature film was The Argyle Case (1928). At this time, he was nearing 50; fearing his popularity might wane, he decided to go into real estate. It wasn't until 1931 that he returned to the screen with Young Sinners. He made four additional sound movies until illness sidelined him from acting.[2] His last film was Peck's Bad Boy in 1934.

Personal life edit

Meighan commanded a salary of $5,000 per week for much of his career. At one point, it reached $10,000 per week.[1][2]

Marriage edit

 
Meighan at home with his wife, Frances Ring

Meighan met Frances Ring (July 4, 1882 – January 15, 1951)[5] when she was a stage actress on Broadway and he was appearing there. She was a younger sister of popular singer Blanche Ring and of vaudeville actress Julie Ring. Actor and director A. Edward Sutherland was a nephew of both Blanche Ring and Meighan. Sutherland's mother Julie was a sister of Blanche and Frances Ring.[6]

Meighan and Ring became inseparable and soon married. They remained married until his death in 1936. Their marriage was considered happy and strong; one writer remarked "Thomas Meighan and Rin Tin Tin were the only Hollywood stars who had never seen a divorce court". The couple had no children.[2]

Hollywood scandals edit

Meighan was involved in some of the more scandalous moments of silent film history, albeit as a helping hand. He was the sole witness to Jack Pickford and Olive Thomas's secretive wedding in New Jersey on October 25, 1916.[7]

In March 1923, Douglas Gerrard, in need of help bailing his friend Rudolph Valentino out of jail for bigamy, called a fellow Irishman named Dan O'Brien who happened to be with Meighan at the time. Meighan barely knew Valentino but put up a large chunk of the bail money, and with the help of June Mathis and George Melford, Valentino was freed.[8]

Florida edit

In the mid-1920s, Meighan became obsessed with Florida after talks with his realtor brother James E. Meighan. He bought property in Ocala, Florida in 1925. In 1927, he built a home in New Port Richey, Florida, where he was to spend his winters. He intended to shoot his film We're All Gamblers there; however, filming was moved to Miami.

The Meighans hoped to draw other celebrities to the area.[9] On July 1, 1926, The Meighan Theatre opened with a screening of Meighan's movie The New Klondike. Meighan was not present but sent a congratulatory telegram.[9]

In 1930, sound was added to the theatre. Meighan appeared this time, pushing the button to start the sound. The theatre closed in 1934, a victim of the Depression. It reopened in 1938 under the name The New Port Richey Theatre.[9] The theatre is still open as a community playhouse, under the name Richey Suncoast Theatre.[10]

Death edit

In 1934, Meighan was diagnosed with cancer. The following year, he underwent surgery at Doctors Hospital in Manhattan. He succumbed to cancer at 9:10pm on July 8, 1936, passing away at his home in Great Neck, New York. Many of his family were present.[citation needed]

Meighan was originally buried at Calvary Cemetery in Queens.[11] After resting there for almost a year, his remains were moved to a family plot at Saint Mary Cemetery in Meighan's hometown of Pittsburgh.[12]

Legacy edit

Meighan was a large donor to various Catholic charities and the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies. Many of his later films survive and have been released on DVD.

Selected filmography edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Thomas Meighan, Silent Movie Star | Golden Silents".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Thomas Meighan, Movie Actor, Dies". The New York Times. July 9, 1936. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  3. ^ Baubie, James A. (February 5, 1931). "From Coal Heaver to Miracle Man". Pittsburgh Press. p. 19. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  4. ^ "Thomas Meighan". www.meighangenealogy.com.
  5. ^ Who Was Who in the Theatre 1912–1976 original material by John Parker, reprinted here by Gale Research (1976)
  6. ^ Barry Paris, Louise Brooks (Anchor Books, 1990) p. 147
  7. ^ Long, Bruce (September 1995). "TAYLOROLOGY; The Life and Death of Olive Thomas". public.asu.edu. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  8. ^ Leider, Emily W., Dark Lover: The life and death of Rudolph Valentino, p. 211
  9. ^ a b c "History of the Meighan/Richey Suncoast Theatre". fivay.org. September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  10. ^ "Silent Era : Theaters". www.silentera.com.
  11. ^ "Meighan Death Takes Star of Silent Screen". Motion Picture Herald. 124 (3): 66. July 18, 1936.
  12. ^ "Body of Meighan Brought to City". Pittsburgh Press. June 13, 1937. p. 8.
  13. ^ deMille, William C. (2007). "24: The Excitements of Celluloid: The Camel's Nose". In Peter Wild (ed.). The Grumbling Gods: a Palm Springs Reader. Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press. ISBN 978-0-87480-899-5. OCLC 122974473, 608203796, 608020250 (print and on-line), quoting deMille in Hollywood Saga. New York, NY: E.P. Dutton. 1939. pp. 319. OCLC 1353346. (Rouben Mamoulian Collection (Library of Congress) First edition OCLC 655475937) (Also catalogued at OCLC 494267566, 475574309; and OCLC 591194207 (eBook)); and see The Heir to the Hoorah at the American Film Institute Catalog

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Meighan.
  • Thomas Meighan at IMDb
  • Thomas Meighan at Find a Grave  
  • The Meighan Theatre
  • Photographs and literature
  • Photo of Meighan with his wife Frances Ring, 1920
  • Thomas Meighan on Broadway Internet Database

January 01, 1970
thomas, meighan, april, 1879, july, 1936, american, actor, silent, films, early, talkies, played, several, leading, roles, opposite, popular, actresses, including, mary, pickford, gloria, swanson, point, commanded, week, meighan, sometime, before, 1923presiden. Thomas Meighan April 9 1879 July 8 1936 was an American actor of silent films and early talkies He played several leading man roles opposite popular actresses of the day including Mary Pickford and Gloria Swanson 1 At one point he commanded 10 000 per week 2 Thomas MeighanMeighan sometime before 1923President of The LambsIn office 1924 1926Preceded byAlbert Oldfield BrownSucceeded byThomas Alfred WisePersonal detailsBorn 1879 04 09 April 9 1879Pittsburgh Pennsylvania U S DiedJuly 8 1936 1936 07 08 aged 57 Great Neck New York U S SpouseFrances Ring 1909 1936 OccupationActor Contents 1 Early life 2 Early theatre career 3 Film career 3 1 Stardom 3 2 Sound movies and career s end 4 Personal life 4 1 Marriage 4 2 Hollywood scandals 4 3 Florida 5 Death 6 Legacy 7 Selected filmography 8 References 9 External linksEarly life editMeighan was born to John and Mary Meighan in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania His father was the president of Pittsburgh Facing Mills and his family was well off 2 Meighan s parents encouraged him to go to college but he refused At the age of 15 his father sent him to work shoveling coal which quickly changed his mind He attended Mount St Mary s College to study pharmacology 3 After three years of study Meighan decided he wished to pursue acting 2 Early theatre career editAfter dropping out of college in 1896 Meighan became a juvenile player in the Pittsburgh Stock Company headed by Henrietta Crosman He was paid 35 per week 2 Meighan soon found success He first appeared on Broadway in 1900 and four years later appeared in The Two Orphans 2 His breakthrough role came in 1908 when he appeared with William Collier Sr in The Dictator this play was followed by a leading role in The College Widow which had a successful run on Broadway in the 1907 1908 season During this run he met his wife Frances Ring 4 Despite his film career Meighan remained devoted to the theatre during his life 2 Film career editIn 1914 he entered motion pictures at that time still in their infancy His first film shot in London was titled Dandy Donovan the Gentleman Cracksman This led to a contract with Famous Players Lasky 1 His first US film in 1915 was The Fighting Hope During the next two years Meighan s career took off 2 In 1918 he made a propaganda film for World War I titled Norma Talmadge and Thomas Meighan in a Liberty Loan Appeal He then played opposite Mary Pickford in M Liss 1 Stardom edit nbsp Meighan with co star Pauline Starke in 1922 as they appeared in publicity for the film If You Believe It It s So Meighan hit stardom in 1919 One of his better known films of the period was that year s The Miracle Man which featured Lon Chaney Sr 2 it is now believed to be lost except for brief clips This was followed with Cecil B DeMille s Male and Female which starred him with Gloria Swanson and Lila Lee Most of that film s cast returned for the 1920 film Why Change Your Wife which co starred Bebe Daniels 2 In April 1925 Meighan and Swanson produced a short film directed by Allan Dwan for the annual Spring Gambol for The Lambs This film sometimes known as Gloria Swanson Dialogue made in Lee DeForest s sound on film Phonofilm process was made as a joke for the live event showing Swanson trying to crash the all male club His popularity continued through the Roaring Twenties during which he starred in several pictures In 1924 he played in The Alaskan with Estelle Taylor and Anna May Wong In 1927 Meighan starred in The City Gone Wild with Louise Brooks His final silents both produced by Howard Hughes in 1928 were The Mating Call which was critical of the Ku Klux Klan and The Racket which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture Both were thought lost until rediscovered in private collections in 2006 they were restored by University of Nevada Las Vegas and shown on Turner Classic Movies Sound movies and career s end edit Meighan s first sound feature film was The Argyle Case 1928 At this time he was nearing 50 fearing his popularity might wane he decided to go into real estate It wasn t until 1931 that he returned to the screen with Young Sinners He made four additional sound movies until illness sidelined him from acting 2 His last film was Peck s Bad Boy in 1934 Personal life editMeighan commanded a salary of 5 000 per week for much of his career At one point it reached 10 000 per week 1 2 Marriage edit nbsp Meighan at home with his wife Frances Ring Meighan met Frances Ring July 4 1882 January 15 1951 5 when she was a stage actress on Broadway and he was appearing there She was a younger sister of popular singer Blanche Ring and of vaudeville actress Julie Ring Actor and director A Edward Sutherland was a nephew of both Blanche Ring and Meighan Sutherland s mother Julie was a sister of Blanche and Frances Ring 6 Meighan and Ring became inseparable and soon married They remained married until his death in 1936 Their marriage was considered happy and strong one writer remarked Thomas Meighan and Rin Tin Tin were the only Hollywood stars who had never seen a divorce court The couple had no children 2 Hollywood scandals edit Meighan was involved in some of the more scandalous moments of silent film history albeit as a helping hand He was the sole witness to Jack Pickford and Olive Thomas s secretive wedding in New Jersey on October 25 1916 7 In March 1923 Douglas Gerrard in need of help bailing his friend Rudolph Valentino out of jail for bigamy called a fellow Irishman named Dan O Brien who happened to be with Meighan at the time Meighan barely knew Valentino but put up a large chunk of the bail money and with the help of June Mathis and George Melford Valentino was freed 8 Florida edit In the mid 1920s Meighan became obsessed with Florida after talks with his realtor brother James E Meighan He bought property in Ocala Florida in 1925 In 1927 he built a home in New Port Richey Florida where he was to spend his winters He intended to shoot his film We re All Gamblers there however filming was moved to Miami The Meighans hoped to draw other celebrities to the area 9 On July 1 1926 The Meighan Theatre opened with a screening of Meighan s movie The New Klondike Meighan was not present but sent a congratulatory telegram 9 In 1930 sound was added to the theatre Meighan appeared this time pushing the button to start the sound The theatre closed in 1934 a victim of the Depression It reopened in 1938 under the name The New Port Richey Theatre 9 The theatre is still open as a community playhouse under the name Richey Suncoast Theatre 10 Death editIn 1934 Meighan was diagnosed with cancer The following year he underwent surgery at Doctors Hospital in Manhattan He succumbed to cancer at 9 10pm on July 8 1936 passing away at his home in Great Neck New York Many of his family were present citation needed Meighan was originally buried at Calvary Cemetery in Queens 11 After resting there for almost a year his remains were moved to a family plot at Saint Mary Cemetery in Meighan s hometown of Pittsburgh 12 Legacy editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed April 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Meighan was a large donor to various Catholic charities and the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies Many of his later films survive and have been released on DVD Selected filmography editDanny Donovan the Gentleman Cracksman 1914 Short Dandy Donovan the Gentleman Cracksman Kindling 1915 Honest Heine Schultz The Fighting Hope 1915 Burton Temple Out of the Darkness 1915 Harvey Brooks Blackbirds 1915 Jack Doggins Hon Nevil Trask The Secret Sin 1915 Jack Herron Armstrong s Wife 1915 David Armstrong The Immigrant 1915 David Harding Temptation 1915 Pudd nhead Wilson 1916 Chambers The Trail of the Lonesome Pine 1916 Jack Hale The Sowers 1916 Prince Paul Alexis The Clown 1916 Dick Ordway The Dupe 1916 Jimmy Regan Common Ground 1916 Judge David Evans The Storm 1916 Robert Fielding The Heir to the Hoorah 1916 directed by William C deMille 13 Joe Lacy The Slave Market 1917 John Barton Sapho 1917 Jean Gaussin Sleeping Fires 1917 David Gray The Silent Partner 1917 Edward Royle Her Better Self 1917 Dr Robert Keith The Mysterious Miss Terry 1917 Gordon True Arms and the Girl 1917 Wilfred Ferrers The Land of Promise 1917 Frank Taylor Madame Jealousy 1918 Valour Eve s Daughter 1918 John Norton M Liss 1918 Charles Gray Missing 1918 Sir William Farrel Heart of the Wilds 1918 Sergeant Tom Gellatly In Pursuit of Polly 1918 Colby Mason Out of a Clear Sky 1918 Robert Lawrence The Forbidden City 1918 John Worden The Heart of Wetona 1919 John Hardin The Probation Wife 1919 Harrison Wade The Miracle Man 1919 Tom Burke The Thunderbolt 1919 Bruce Corbin Male and Female 1919 William Crichton The Butler Peg o My Heart 1919 Sir Gerald Adair Why Change Your Wife 1920 Robert Gordon The Prince Chap 1920 William Peyton Civilian Clothes 1920 Capt Sam McGinnis Conrad in Quest of His Youth 1920 Conrad Warrener Frontier of the Stars 1921 Buck Leslie The Easy Road 1921 Leonard Fayne The City of Silent Men 1921 Jim Montgomery White and Unmarried 1921 Billy Kane The Conquest of Canaan 1921 Joe Louden Cappy Ricks 1921 Matt Peasley A Prince There Was 1921 Charles Edward Martin The Bachelor Daddy 1922 Richard Chester Our Leading Citizen 1922 Daniel Bentley lawyer If You Believe It It s So 1922 Chick Harris Manslaughter 1922 Daniel J O Bannon The Man Who Saw Tomorrow 1922 Burke Hammond Back Home and Broke 1922 Tom Redding The Ne er Do Well 1923 Kirk Anthony Homeward Bound 1923 Jim Bedford Hollywood 1923 Thomas Meighan Woman Proof 1923 Tom Rockwood Pied Piper Malone 1924 print held Gosfilmofond Jack Malone The Confidence Man 1924 Dan Corvan The Alaskan 1924 Alan Holt Tongues of Flame 1924 Henry Harrington Coming Through 1925 Tom Blackford Old Home Week 1925 Tom Clark The Man Who Found Himself 1925 Tom Macauley Irish Luck 1925 Tom Donahue Lord Fitzhugh The New Klondike 1926 Tom Kelly Fascinating Youth 1926 Thomas Meighan Tin Gods 1926 Roger Drake The Canadian 1926 Frank Taylor Blind Alleys 1927 Captain Dan Kirby We re All Gamblers 1927 Lucky Sam McCarver The City Gone Wild 1927 John Phelan The Racket 1928 Captain James McQuigg The Mating Call 1928 Leslie Hatten The Argyle Case 1929 Alexander Kayton Young Sinners 1931 Tom McGuire Skyline 1931 Gordon A McClellan Cheaters at Play 1932 Michael Lanyard Madison Square Garden 1932 Bill Carley Peck s Bad Boy 1934 Henry PeckReferences edit a b c d Thomas Meighan Silent Movie Star Golden Silents a b c d e f g h i j k l Thomas Meighan Movie Actor Dies The New York Times July 9 1936 Retrieved July 23 2017 Baubie James A February 5 1931 From Coal Heaver to Miracle Man Pittsburgh Press p 19 Retrieved December 13 2020 Thomas Meighan www meighangenealogy com Who Was Who in the Theatre 1912 1976 original material by John Parker reprinted here by Gale Research 1976 Barry Paris Louise Brooks Anchor Books 1990 p 147 Long Bruce September 1995 TAYLOROLOGY The Life and Death of Olive Thomas public asu edu Retrieved July 23 2017 Leider Emily W Dark Lover The life and death of Rudolph Valentino p 211 a b c History of the Meighan Richey Suncoast Theatre fivay org September 5 2015 Retrieved July 23 2017 Silent Era Theaters www silentera com Meighan Death Takes Star of Silent Screen Motion Picture Herald 124 3 66 July 18 1936 Body of Meighan Brought to City Pittsburgh Press June 13 1937 p 8 deMille William C 2007 24 The Excitements of Celluloid The Camel s Nose In Peter Wild ed The Grumbling Gods a Palm Springs Reader Salt Lake City UT University of Utah Press ISBN 978 0 87480 899 5 OCLC 122974473 608203796 608020250 print and on line quoting deMille in Hollywood Saga New York NY E P Dutton 1939 pp 319 OCLC 1353346 Rouben Mamoulian Collection Library of Congress First edition OCLC 655475937 Also catalogued at OCLC 494267566 475574309 and OCLC 591194207 eBook and see The Heir to the Hoorah at the American Film Institute CatalogExternal links edit nbsp Biography portal nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thomas Meighan Thomas Meighan at IMDb Thomas Meighan at Find a Grave nbsp The Meighan Theatre Photographs and literature Photo of Meighan with his wife Frances Ring 1920 Thomas Meighan on Broadway Internet Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Meighan amp oldid 1212388560, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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