De Jalma West (May 19, 1876 – November 15, 1958) was an American

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

and a federal immigrant inspector.

Early life

De Jalma West was born in Roseville,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

on May 19, 1876, the son of Joseph Thomas and Elizabeth West. West grew up in Kentucky and came to New York after he reached adulthood.

Career

West worked as an immigrant inspector at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...

from about 1905 to 1915. He developed an acting career at some point, but it is uncertain when he started. He acted in

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

s including ''The Secret Kingdom'' (Vitagraph, 1916), ''The Boy Who Cried Wolf'' (1916), and ''

The Trail of the Shadow ''The Trail of the Shadow'' is a lost 1917 American silent drama film. Directed by Edwin Carewe, the film stars Emmy Wehlen Emily "Emmy" Wehlen (1887–1977) was a German-born Edwardian musical comedy and silent film actress who vanished ...

'' (Metro, 1917). In 1918, he worked at the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

office of U.S. Military Intelligence. Later in his life, West retired to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. He died on November 15, 1958, at the age of eighty-two. He was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

on November 21.

Filmography

''The Secret Kingdom'' (

Vitagraph Vitagraph Studios, also known as the Vitagraph Company of America, was a United States motion picture studio. It was founded by J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, ...

, 1916; director:

Theodore Marston Theodore Marston (August 10, 1868 in Minnesota – October 2, 1920 in Los Angeles, California, United States) was an American silent film director and writer during the early silent period. He directed films including '' Aurora Floyd'' in 19 ...

) - as Count Ramon; ''The Boy Who Cried Wolf'' (1917); ''The Trail of the Shadow'' (

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

, 1917) - as Sergeant Keen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:West, De Jalma 20th-century American male actors People from Kentucky 1876 births 1958 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery