Edgar Jones (actor) explained

Edgar Jones
Birth Date:	Steubenville, Ohio
Death Date:	Los Angeles, California
Occupation:	Actor · Producer · Director
Children:	1

Edgar Jones (June 17, 1874  - February 7, 1958) was an American actor, producer, writer, and director of silent films.^[1] He starred in and directed the adaptation of Mildred Mason's The Gold in the Crock.^[2] He also starred in and directed Siegmund Lubin films including Fitzhugh's Ride.^[3] He established a film production business in Augusta, Maine that produced original stories and adaptations of Holman Day novels.^[4]

Career

Jones acted in touring stage productions before moving on to films. He starred with Clara Williams in A Lucky Fall.^[5]

He acted, produced, and directed Lonesome Corners. He produced, directed, and starred in a series of short films with Evelyn Brent.^[6] According to IMDb, he has more than 100 acting credits and more than 60 directing credits. Late in 1918, he formed his own production company, Edgar Jones Productions, and made films in Maine.^{[7] [8]} His film work includes adaptations of Holman Day stories.^{[7] [9]} The studio operated out of the former Maine Children's Home Society.^[10]

Blaine S. Viles, a former mayor of Augusta, served as the film company's president.^[11] Viles also served as state forest commissioner. The Mentor reported Holman Day films being shown to prisoners.^[12]

He married Lubin actress Louise Huff and they had a daughter together. They divorced.^[13]

Among his surviving Maine films are Border River, A Knight of the Pines, Cupid, Registered Guide, and Caught in the Rapids, all Edgar Jones Productions. Co-stars included Evelyn Brent, Edna May Sperl, Carlton Brickert, and Ben Hendricks, Jr.

Edward Lorusso collected these four films, along with two others, in a Blu-ray collection in 2023. Lorusso screened these four films at the Silent Film Festival at the Colonial Theater in Augusta, Maine on June 17, 2023. The theater is where they had all made their premieres 1919-21.

Filmography

Actor

• A Lucky Fall (1912)
• Fitzhugh's Ride (1914)
• The Gold in the Crock (1915)
• On Bitter Creek (1915)^[14]
• The Trustee of the Law^[5]
• A Woman's Fool (1918)
• Wild Honey (1918)
• Wild Women (1918)^[15]
• Border River (1919) with Evelyn Brent
• A Knight of the Pines (1920) with Edna May Sperl
• Cupid, Registered Guide (1921) with Edna May Sperl
• Caught in the Rapids (1921) with Edna May Sperl
• The Big Punch (1921)^[16]
• Single-Handed Sam (1921)
• Lonesome Corners (1922)^[17]
• Lochinvar of the Line
• The Two-fisted Judge
• A Forest Diplomat
• Single Handed (Edgar Jones film)

Director

• The Turmoil (1916 film)
• Dimples (1916 film)
• Lovely Mary (1916)
• The Girl Who Wouldn't Quit (1918)
• A Rich Man's Darling (1918)

Producer

• Border River (1919 film)
• The Rider of King Log (1921)
• The Timber Wolves
• A Forest Samson

Notes and References

1. Web site: Among the Lost: The Rider of the King Log (1921). October 5, 2018.
2. Web site: The Moving Picture World. April 4, 1915. Chalmers Publishing Company. Google Books.
3. Web site: Popular Electricity and the World's Advance. Henry Walter. Young. April 4, 1913. Popular Electricity Publishing Company. Google Books.
4. Web site: The Editor. November 29, 1920. Google Books.
5. Web site: Motion Picture. November 6, 1913. Macfadden-Bartell.. Google Books.
6. Book: Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Lady Crook. Lynn. Kear. James. King. October 21, 2009. McFarland. 9780786454686. Google Books.
7. Web site: The Editor. November 6, 1920. Google Books.
8. Web site: Down East. November 6, 1977. Down East Enterprise. Google Books.
9. Web site: THE RIDER OF THE KING LOG (1921) - NitrateVille.com. nitrateville.com.
10. Book: Madore, Roger A.. Augusta. November 6, 2015. Arcadia Publishing. 9781467122719. Google Books.
11. Book: Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Lady Crook. Lynn. Kear. James. King. October 21, 2009. McFarland. 9780786454686. Google Books.
12. Web site: The Mentor. November 29, 1920. State Prison. Google Books.
13. Web site: JONES, Edgar. www.thanhouser.org.
14. Book: Motion Picture Guide Silent Film 1910-1936. Jay Robert. Nash. Robert. Connelly. Stanley Ralph. Ross. January 6, 1988. Cinebooks. 9780933997103. Google Books.
15. Book: Katchmer, George A.. A Biographical Dictionary of Silent Film Western Actors and Actresses. May 20, 2015. McFarland. 9781476609058. Google Books.
16. Book: Connelly, Robert B.. The Silents: Silent Feature Films, 1910-36. November 6, 1998. December Press. 9780913204368. Google Books.
17. Web site: Lonesome Corners. Edgar. Jones. November 29, 1922. memory.loc.gov.