Ralph Faulkner (July 20, 1891 – January 28, 1987) was an American fencer and film actor. He competed in the team

sabre A sabre (French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as the ...

event at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held dur ...

Post-college career

After graduating from college Faulkner became a forest ranger. The majority of his time was spent in the wilderness of

Washington (state) Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washin ...

. He then moved to New York, where he established himself as a stage performer and silent film actor.

Introduction to fencing

During the filming of the 1922 film The Man from Glengarry, in which he portrayed a

lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

, Faulkner fell and broke his left knee. Faulkner underwent surgery and move to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. It was here he joined the Los Angeles Athletic Club and took up

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

as a way of recovering. Faulkner reportedly fenced for 50 hours a week until his knee had healed completely. After which, he began competing in organized amateur fencing tournaments around Southern California where he got the opportunity to learn from many accomplished fencers, including

Lucien Gaudin Lucien Alphonse Paul Gaudin (27 September 1886 – 23 September 1934) was a French fencer. He competed in foil and in épée events at the 1920, 1924 and 1928 Olympics and won a gold or silver medal in every event he entered, accumulating fou ...

Philippe Cattiau Philippe Cattiau (28 July 1892 – 18 February 1962) was a French épée and foil fencer who won a total of eight Olympic medals between 1920 and 1936. He was born in Saint-Malo in Brittany. A stadium in the Paris suburb of ...

Oreste Puliti Oreste Puliti (18 February 1891 – 5 February 1958) was an Italian fencer. He won four gold medals and a silver at three Olympic Games. His teammates were accused of attempting to inflate his score by losing to him in the final of the Men ...

, and Roger Ducret. During this time in his life, Faulkner was making a living selling real estate.

International fencing career

Faulkner won his first major sabre championship in 1928 and went on to compete in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

and the

. In the 1932 Los Angeles games the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

took fourth place in team sabre. It was the highest finish in the nation's history.

Coaching

Faulkner opened Falcon Studios, a theatre and fencing school with his wife, Edith Jane. He coached many notable actors and actresses for staged swordplay and, himself returned to film in the mid 1930s. Additionally, Faulkner trained a number of fencers for competition including Polly Craus, Sewall Shurtz, and Janice Romary. He taught a classical French style which stressed form, bladework, and finger strength over agility and athleticism, characteristic of the Italian school. Eventually, he retired from film work but continued to teach all three weapons until he suffered a stroke following a Saturday fencing class. He died two weeks later on January 27, 1987 at the age of 95. vangelista, Nick. The Art and Science of Fencing. Masters, 1999./ref>

Partial filmography

* ''War and the Woman'' (1917) - Minor Role * ''

On the Jump ''On the Jump'' is a 1918 American short comedy film featuring Harold Lloyd. A print of the film survives in the film archive of the Museum of Modern Art. Like many American films of the time, ''On the Jump'' was subject to cuts by city and sta ...

'' (1918) -

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...

* ''

The Prussian Cur ''The Prussian Cur'' is a 1918 American anti-German silent propaganda film produced during World War I. Now considered a lost film, it is notable for telling the story of the Crucified Soldier. The film's director, Raoul Walsh, called it his "rot ...

'' (1918) - Woodrow Wilson * ''

Why America Will Win Why may refer to: * Causality, a consequential relationship between two events * Reason (argument), a premise in support of an argument, for what reason or purpose * Grounding (metaphysics), a topic in metaphysics regarding how things exist in vi ...

'' (1918) - Woodrow Wilson * '' Anne of Little Smoky'' (1921) - Tom Brockton * ''

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

'' (1922, Short) - Pierre * '' The Man from Glengarry'' (1922) * '' April Showers'' (1923) - Champ Sullivan * '' Loving Lies'' (1924) - Jack Ellis * '' My Neighbor's Wife'' (1925) - William Jordan * '' God of Mankind'' (1928) * ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

'' (1935) - Jussac (uncredited) * ''

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in or ...

'' (1937) - Bersonin (uncredited) * '' If I Were King'' (1938) - First Watch (uncredited) * '' Dramatic School'' (1938) - Fencing Teacher (uncredited) * '' The Star Maker'' (1939) - Fencing Master * ''

Zorro's Fighting Legion ''Zorro's Fighting Legion'' is a 1939 Republic Pictures film serial consisting of twelve chapters starring Reed Hadley as Zorro and directed by William Witney and John English. The plot revolves around his alter-ego Don Diego's fight against t ...

'' (1939, Serial) - Rodriguez - Henchman

h. 1 H is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet. H may also refer to: Musical symbols * H number, Harry Halbreich reference mechanism for music by Honegger and Martinů * H, B (musical note) * H, B major People * H. (noble) (died after 1279 ...

(uncredited) * ''

The Foxes of Harrow ''The Foxes of Harrow'' is a 1947 American adventure film directed by John M. Stahl. The film stars Rex Harrison, Maureen O'Hara, and Richard Haydn. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Production Design (Lyle R. Wheeler, Maur ...

'' (1947) - Fencing Instructor (uncredited) * ''

Fireside Theatre ''Fireside Theatre'' (also known as ''Jane Wyman Presents'') is an American anthology drama series that ran on NBC from 1949 to 1958, and was the first successful filmed series on American television. Productions were low-budget and often ba ...

'' (1953, TV Series) - Professor * ''

The Purple Mask ''The Purple Mask'' is a 1955 American swashbuckler film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone starring Tony Curtis and set in 1803 France.Database (undated)."''The Purple Mask'' (1955)" Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 26, 2013. Backgrou ...

'' (1955) - Opponent (uncredited) * '' The Dinah Shore Show'' (1956, TV Series) - Himself * '' The Ford Television Theatre'' (1957, TV Series) - Nourric * '' Maverick'' (1958, TV Series) - Herr Ziegler * ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by ...

'' (1960) - Instructor * '' Shirley Temple's Storybook'' (1961, TV Series) - Pirate

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, Ralph 1891 births 1987 deaths American male sabre fencers American male film actors Olympic fencers of the United States Fencers at the 1932 Summer Olympics People from Abilene, Kansas Male actors from Kansas 20th-century American male actors