| Josef Swickard | |
| Birthname: | Peter Josef Schwickerath |
| Birth Date: | June 26, 1866 |
| Birth Place: | Alf, Kingdom of Prussia |
| Death Place: | Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States |
Josef Swickard (26 June 1866 – 1 March 1940) was a Prussian-born German stage and screen character actor, who had toured with stock companies in Europe, South Africa, and South America.
Swickard emigrated to the United States from the German Empire in 1882. He was a stage actor for several years before entering films with D.W. Griffith in 1912 and by 1914 was playing supporting roles for Mack Sennett. He appeared in Charles Chaplin's Laughing Gas and Caught in a Cabaret. He remained with Sennett until 1917, when he settled into his prolific career of playing mostly aristocratic characters.
Modern audiences are perhaps most familiar with his role of Marcelo Desnoyers, the well-intentioned but impractical French upper class father in Rex Ingram's 1921 film The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. His career in sound films was somewhat limited and he played in low-budget and action serial type films. He played the villainous Prime Minister Kruel in the 1925 film version of The Wizard of Oz.
Born in the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866 to Peter Schwecherath and Geniveve Steffens,[1] Swickard was the brother of actor Charles Swickard. After arriving in the United States in November 1882,[2] Schwecherath changed his name to Swickard and married a Scottish woman named Queeny in 1896.[3] In 1902, Swickard applied for citizenship in the Eastern District of New York under the name Joseph P. Schwickerath.[4] Records also show Swickard submitted a petition for naturalization in Los Angeles, California in February 1936 under the name of Peter Joseph Schwickerath.[5] Sometime around 1928 Swickard married Broadway actress Margaret Campbell.[6] The union was short-lived and the couple divorced on January 15, 1929.[7] Swickard's last known residence was the Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles where he lived after his divorce from Campbell.[8] Tragedy befell his ex-wife on June 27, 1939 when she was brutally murdered. Her son, Campbell McDonald, was the initial suspect. He was also suspected of having bludgeoned to death a Russian dancer, Anya Sosoyeva, as well as having assaulted the young actress Delia Bogard, who survived.LA police eventually arrested DeWitt Clinton Cook, who confessed and was sent to San Quentin, where he died in the gas chamber in 1941. Swickard died in 1940 from natural causes. He was falsely rumored to have jumped from the Hollywood sign.
The Evening Independent June 29, 1939. [9] Nearly seven months to-the-day after his ex-wife's murder, Swickard died on February 29, 1940. He was 73.
Despite rumors that Swickard committed suicide by jumping from the Hollywood sign, his death was from natural causes.[10] Swickard was buried under a simple headstone at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | Cupid in a Dental Parlor | Ethel's Father | Short |
| 1914 | Twenty Minutes of Love | Pickpocket's Victim | Short |
| Caught in a Cabaret | Mabel's Father | Short, Uncredited | |
| A Rowboat Romance | Short | ||
| Laughing Gas | Patient | Short | |
| The Property Man | Old Stagehand | Short, Uncredited | |
| The Face on the Bar Room Floor | Drinker | Short, Uncredited | |
| Lover's Luck | The Girl's Father | Short | |
| Hello, Mabel | Man in Lobby | Short, Uncredited | |
| Tillie's Punctured Romance | Cinema spectator | Uncredited | |
| Fatty and Minnie He-Haw | Minta's father | Short | |
| 1915 | Mabel and Fatty's Simple Life | Mabel's father | Short |
| Mabel, Fatty and the Law | Desk Sergeant | Short | |
| Mabel and Fatty's Married Life | Minor Role | Short, Uncredited | |
| Hogan's Romance Upset | The Rival | Uncredited | |
| Love, Loot and Crash | Mary's Father, a Banker | Short | |
| 1916 | A Social Cub | The Knight of Old | Short |
| Haystacks and Steeples | The Minister | Short | |
| 1917 | A Tale of Two Cities | Dr. Alexandre Manette | |
| American Methods | Baron de Prefont | ||
| The Book Agent | Dr. Newdope | ||
| To Honor and Obey | James Hollis | ||
| The Soul of Satan | Chicago Stone | ||
| Because of a Woman | Col. Gwynne | ||
| His Mother's Boy | Tom Glenny | ||
| 1918 | Keys of the Righteous | Paul Manning | |
| Treasure of the Sea | Thomas Elkins | ||
| The White Man's Law | Suliman Ghengis | ||
| When a Woman Sins | Mortimer West | ||
| The Light of Western Stars | Padre Marcos | ||
| 1919 | A Trick of Fate | Raoul Garson | |
| The Lady of Red Butte | Delicate Hanson | ||
| Pretty Smooth | Judge | ||
| Snares of Paris | De Brionne | ||
| A Girl in Bohemia | Professor Bryce | ||
| A Woman of Pleasure | Rev. Mr. Goddard | ||
| The Last of His People | Baron Bonart | ||
| 1920 | The Beggar Prince | Nodo | |
| The Third Generation | Colonel Alden Van Dusen | ||
| Blind Youth | Pierre Monnier | ||
| Moon Madness | Latour | ||
| Trumpet Island | Jacques de Merincourt | ||
| 1921 | The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | Marcelo Desnoyers | |
| Sowing the Wind | Petworth | ||
| Beach of Dreams | Monsieur de Brie | ||
| Who Am I? | Jacques Marbot | ||
| Serenade | Domingo Maticas | ||
| Opened Shutters | Sam Lacey | ||
| No Woman Knows | The Great Schabelitz | ||
| Cheated Hearts | Colonel Fairfax Gordon | ||
| 1922 | Across the Dead-Line | Abel | |
| Oh, Mabel Behave | Townsman | Uncredited | |
| The Golden Gift | Leonati | ||
| The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe | Serial | ||
| The Storm | Jacques Fachard | ||
| Another Man's Shoes | Gouret | ||
| The Young Rajah | Narada – the Mystic | ||
| Pawned | Paul Veniza | ||
| My American Wife | Don Fernando DeContas | ||
| 1923 | Mr. Billings Spends His Dime | Estaban Juárez | |
| Bavu | Prince Markoff | ||
| Daughters of the Rich | Maud's Father | ||
| The Cricket on the Hearth | Caleb Plummer | ||
| Mothers-in-Law | Newton Wingate | ||
| Forgive and Forget | John Standing | ||
| The Age of Desire | Marcio | ||
| The Eternal Struggle | Pierre Grange | ||
| A Prince of a King | Urbano | ||
| Maytime | Colonel Van Zandt | ||
| 1924 | The Shadow of the Desert | John Locke | |
| North of Nevada | Mark Ridgeway | ||
| Professor Durand | |||
| Pal o' Mine | Verdugo Montford | ||
| A Boy of Flanders | Jan Van Dullan | ||
| Men | Cleo's Father | ||
| Untamed Youth | Pietro | ||
| Defying the Law | Michelo Brescia | ||
| Dante's Inferno | The Victim – Eugene Craig | ||
| 1925 | Easy Money | ||
| The Sign of the Cactus | Old Man Hayes | ||
| Wizard of Oz | Prime Minister Kruel | ||
| The Verdict | Pierre Ronsard | ||
| She Wolves | De Goncourt | ||
| Fifth Avenue Models | Josef Ludant | ||
| Playing with Souls | Monsieur Jomier | ||
| The Mysterious Stranger | Raoul Lesage | ||
| The Three Way Trail | |||
| Off the Highway | Master | ||
| The Keeper of the Bees | Bee master | ||
| Northern Code | Père Le Blanc | ||
| 1926 | Stop, Look and Listen | Old Actor | |
| Three Pals | Col. Girard | ||
| The Night Watch | John Pendleton | ||
| Desert Gold | Sebastian Castaneda | ||
| Whispering Canyon | Eben Beauregard | ||
| Senor Daredevil | Juan Estrada | ||
| Don Juan | Duke Della Varnese | ||
| Officer Jim | The President of the Bank | ||
| The High Flyer | |||
| Kentucky Handicap | |||
| Devil's Dice | Judge Casper Paine | ||
| The Unknown Cavalier | Lingo | ||
| The Border Whirlwind | Señor Jose Cordova | ||
| 1927 | Hotel Imperial | Austrian General | Uncredited |
| One Increasing Purpose | Old Gand | ||
| The Golden Stallion | John Forsythe | ||
| The King of Kings | Uncredited | ||
| False Morals | |||
| Senorita | Don Francisco Hernandez | ||
| Time to Love | Elvire's father | ||
| Old San Francisco | Don Hernandez de Vasquez | ||
| Get Your Man | Duke of Albin | ||
| Compassion | Judge Henning | ||
| 1928 | Sharp Shooters | Grandpère | |
| Comrades | John Burton | ||
| Turn Back the Hours | Colonel Torreon | ||
| Eagle of the Night | |||
| The Toy Shop | The toymaker | Short | |
| Dreary House | |||
| 1929 | The Bachelor's Club | ||
| The Devil's Chaplain | The King | ||
| The Eternal Woman | Ovaldo | ||
| The Veiled Woman | Col. De Selincourt | ||
| Frozen River | Hazy | ||
| The Phantom of the North | Colonel Rayburn | ||
| Street Corner | Short | ||
| Times Square | Professor Carrillo | ||
| Dark Skies | Señor Moreno | ||
| 1930 | The Lone Defender | Juan Valdez | Serial, [Chs. 1–2] |
| Mamba | Count von Linden | Uncredited | |
| Song of the Caballero | Manuel | ||
| The Phantom of the Desert | Col. Van Horn | ||
| 1933 | The Narrow Corner | Dutch Constable | Uncredited |
| Narcotic | Federal Narcotics Agent | ||
| The Perils of Pauline | Haggins, Foreign Consul | Serial, [Ch. 9] | |
| 1934 | Beloved | Revolutionist | |
| All Men Are Enemies | Katha's Father | Uncredited | |
| Cross Streets | Dean Todd | ||
| The Return of Chandu | Tyba – The White Magician | Serial, [Chs. 8–12] | |
| The Man Who Reclaimed His Head | French Citizen | Uncredited | |
| 1935 | A Notorious Gentleman | Minor Role | Uncredited |
| The Lost City | Dr. Manyus | ||
| A Dog of Flanders | Monsieur de LaTour | (replaced by Henry Kolker) (scenes deleted) | |
| Love Me Forever | Bonini | Uncredited | |
| The Crusades | Buyer | Uncredited | |
| 1936 | Custer's Last Stand | Major Henry Trent MD | Serial |
| The Millionaire Kid | The Tutor | ||
| Caryl of the Mountains | Jean Foray | ||
| Lash of the Penitentes | Dr. Andrew Robert Taylor | ||
| The Black Coin | Don Pedro Navarro | Serial, [Chs. 2–4, 13–15] | |
| Under Your Spell | Amigo | Uncredited | |
| The Boss Rider of Gun Creek | Lafe Turner | ||
| 1937 | Sandflow | Banker Porter | |
| Fit for a King | Sanitarium Director | Uncredited | |
| The Sheik Steps Out | Mohammedan Priest | Uncredited | |
| The Girl Said No | Jonesy | ||
| Zorro Rides Again | Dam Watchman | Serial, [Ch. 8], Uncredited | |
| 1938 | The Secret of Treasure Island | Passenger Ship Doctor | Chapter 1, Uncredited |
| You Can't Take It with You | Professor | ||
| Say It in French | Old Man | Uncredited | |
| 1939 | Mexicali Rose | Gonzales | Uncredited |
| Dick Tracy's G-Men | Presidente Huenemo Mendoza | Serial, Chapter 3, Uncredited | |
| $1,000 a Touchdown | Hamilton McGlen Sr. | Uncredited | |
| The Pal from Texas | Texas Malden | ||
| The Great Victor Herbert | Newspaper Reporter | Uncredited | |
| The Mad Empress | Mexican Statesman with Father Fisher | Uncredited, (final film role) |