Tom Ricketts
actor, director, writer
- Born:
- 1853-01-15, London, England, UK
- Died:
- 1939-01-20, Hollywood, California, USA
- Professions:
- actor, director, writer
Biography
Born in London, England, in 1853, prolific actor/director (300+ credits) Tom Ricketts is mostly forgotten today, but his chief claim to fame is that he directed the first motion picture shot in Hollywood. Ricketts began his show-business career as an actor on the London stage, and gained a reputation as one of the best Shakespearean actors of his day. Ricketts never seemed to rest, working up until a few days before his death in 1939. He left for work one day with a bad cold, which quickly developed into pneumonia. His health went downhill rapidly and he died only a few days later. His wife, the actress Josephine Ditt (aka Josephine Ditt), was not notified of his death at the time; she was still suffering from the effects of a stroke that she had in December of 1938.
Filmography
In the vault (74)
