Arthur Donaldson (5 April 186928 September 1955), was a Swedish-American actor and opera singer. He appeared in 71 films between 1910 and 1934.

Biography

Donaldson was born in

Norsholm Norsholm () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality situated in Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 615 inhabitants in 2010. It lies around 15 kilometres southwest of Norrköping. Norsholm lies on the European route E4, ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. His father was a sea captain, and his mother was an actress. He was educated at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in Stockholm. He moved to the United States at the age of 14 and quickly became a prolific actor on stage. He made his film debut in 1910. Donaldson debuted on stage when he was seven years old, performing in ''Uncle Brown's Leather Couch'' at the Stora Theatre in Norrköping, Sweden. He first performed on stage in the United States in 1890 as part of a Swedish company. Donaldson moved from theatrical productions to singing, first with the Duff Opera Company and then performing in a concert tour with Emma Cecilia Thursby. He returned to acting in 1893, organizing a Swedish stock company in Brooklyn, New York. The troupe moved to Chicago in 1894. In 1903, Donaldson created the title role in ''The Prince of Pilsen'' with the Tivoli Opera Company in San Francisco. Donaldson sang the role for four consecutive seasons, a total of 1,345 performances. He worked for

Kalem Company The Kalem Company was an early American film studio founded in New York City in 1907. It was one of the first companies to make films abroad and to set up winter production facilities, first in Florida and then in California. Kalem was sold to V ...

under the direction of

Sidney Olcott Sidney Olcott (born John Sidney Allcott; September 20, 1872 – December 16, 1949) was a Canadian-born film producer, director, actor and screenwriter. Biography Born John Sidney Allcott in Toronto, he became one of the first great dire ...

. During the summer of 1911, he went to Ireland with the O'Kalems, a stage company, to shoot films. They settled in

Beaufort, County Kerry Beaufort () is a small village that lies on the banks of the River Laune in County Kerry, in the southwest of Ireland. It consists of a post office, three public houses, one supermarket, parish hall, guest houses and thirty private houses. As o ...

, where they made 13 films, directed by Olcott. Among them: ''

Rory O'More Rory Oge O'More (; – 30 June 1578) was an Irish noble and chief of the O'More clan. As the Lord of Laois, he rebelled against the Tudors' sixteenth-century conquest of Gaelic Ireland. Irish nationalists Patrick Pearse and Philip O'Su ...

'', ''

The Colleen Bawn ''The Colleen Bawn, or The Brides of Garryowen'' is a melodramatic Play (theatre), play written by Irish people, Irish playwright Dion Boucicault. It was first performed at Laura Keene's Theatre, New York City, New York, on 27 March 1860 with ...

'' in which he played a priest, '' The Fishermaid of Ballydavid'', and ''

Arrah-na-Pogue ''Arrah-na-Pogue'', also known as ''Arrah-na-Pogue; or the Wicklow Wedding'', is a play in 3 acts by Dion Boucicault. Along with ''The Colleen Bawn'' (1860) and ''The Shaughraun'' (1874), it is considered one of the three major Irish plays penn ...

''. After Ireland, he returned briefly to Sweden, appearing in

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s at

Oscarsteatern Oscarsteatern (English language, English: Oscar Theatre), also known simply as Oscars, is one of Stockholm's private theatres and is the best-known musical theatre in Sweden. It is located at Kungsgatan (Stockholm), Kungsgatan 63 in central Stock ...

and making two Swedish films (one as director) before going back to America. He also directed ''Domen'' (1924), a Swedish-language

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

, a version of ''Retribution'', in the DeForest

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. In 1919 and 1920, de Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofi ...

process. Upon his return to the U.S., he worked again with

in films such as '' A Mother of Men'' (1914), '' The Irish in America'' (1915), shot in 1914 in Ireland, ''

The Moth and the Flame The Moth and the Flame may refer to: *The Moth & The Flame, American alternative rock band *The Moth and the Flame (play), ''The Moth and the Flame'' (play), 1898 play by Clyde Fitch *''Invocations/The Moth and the Flame'', 1981 album by Keith Jarr ...

'' (1915), and ''

The Ghost of Twisted Oaks ''The Ghost of Twisted Oaks'' is the American silent film produced by Sid Films and distributed by Lubin Manufacturing Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Valentine Grant and Florence Walcott in leading roles. Cast * Valentine Gran ...

'' (1915). In the 1920s,

Robert G. Vignola Robert G. Vignola (born Rocco Giuseppe Vignola, August 7, 1882 – October 25, 1953) was an Italian-American actor, screenwriter, and film director. A former stage actor, he appeared in many motion pictures produced by Kalem Company and later mov ...

, became director for

Cosmopolitan Productions Cosmopolitan Productions, also often referred to as Cosmopolitan Pictures, was an American film company based in New York City from 1918 to 1923 and Hollywood until 1938. History Newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst formed Cosmopolitan in c ...

. Donaldson played in '' When Knighthood Was in Flower'' (1922) and '' Yolanda'', both with

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies left the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

. He also acted in ''

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

'', directed by

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

. Donaldson was married to Florence Walcott, a prima donna with the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

and with the Aborn Grand Opera Company. He died in a hospital in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, on 28 September 1955. He is buried at

Kensico Cemetery Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, New York, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city ...

Partial filmography

*''

The Conspiracy of Pontiac ''The Conspiracy of Pontiac'' is an American silent film produced by Kalem Company and directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier, Robert Vignola and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It is a story of the Indian war after the conquest of Can ...

'' – The Indian Chief *''

A Lad from Old Ireland ''The Lad from Old Ireland'', also called ''A Lad from Old Ireland'', is a one-reel 1910 United States, American motion picture directed by and starring Sidney Olcott and written by and co-starring Gene Gauntier. It was the first film appearanc ...

'' (1910) – The Priest *''

'' (1911) – Father O'Brien *''

'' (1911) – Father Tom *'' The Fishermaid of Ballydavid'' (1911) – Kathleen's father *''

'' (1911) – O'Grady *'' The Atheist'' (1913) – A Clergyman *'' The Day of Days'' (1914) *'' A Mother of Men'' (1914) *'' The Idle Rich'' (1914) *'' Tricking the Government'' (1914) *''

'' (1915) – Mr Walton *'' The Irish in America'' (1915) – Kerry Bay *''

'' (1915) – The Snake charmer *'' Enlighten Thy Daughter'' (1917) *'' The Danger Trail'' (1917) *'' His Own People'' (1917) – Shamus Reilly *'' The Green God'' (1918) * '' Over the Top'' (1918) *'' The Golden Goal'' (1918) *'' The A.B.C. of Love'' (1919) *''

Atonement Atonement, atoning, or making amends is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some othe ...

'' (1919) *'' The Undercurrent'' (1919) *'' A Modern Salome'' (1920) *'' Is Life Worth Living?'' (1921) *'' Gilded Lies'' (1921) * '' The Rider of the King Log'' (1921) *'' The Silver Lining'' (1921) *''

The Passionate Pilgrim ''The Passionate Pilgrim'' (1598 or 1599) is an anthology of 21 poems collected and published by William Jaggard that were attributed to " W. Shakespeare" on the title page, only five of which are considered authentically Shakespearean. These ...

'' (1921) *''

Find the Woman ''Find the Woman'' is a 1922 American silent mystery film directed by Tom Terriss and starring Alma Rubens. It was produced by Cosmopolitan Productions, owned by William Randolph Hearst, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film is based ...

'' (1922) *'' When Knighthood Was in Flower'' (1922) *'' Yolanda'' (1924) *''

'' (1924) *'' For Woman's Favor'' (1924) *'' The Bandolero'' (1924) *'' The Swan'' (1925) *'' Fifty-Fifty'' (1925) * '' Down Upon the Suwanee River'' (1925) * '' Love 'Em and Leave 'Em'' (1926) * '' Wives at Auction'' (1926) * '' The Winning Oar'' (1927) * '' The Broadway Drifter'' (1927)

References

Sources

* ''Hvar 8 dag'' (Swedish illustrated weekly magazine), no. 52 1911 * Svensk filmdatabas (Swedish film database) at the website of the

Swedish Film Institute The Swedish Film Institute () (SFI) is a statutory body located in Stockholm, Sweden that supports the Swedish film industry. Founded in 1963, the institute is responsible for administering the annual Guldbagge Awards, and for managing the Swed ...

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donaldson, Arthur 1869 births 1955 deaths Swedish emigrants to the United States American male film actors American male silent film actors 20th-century American male actors People from Norrköping Municipality Male actors from Östergötland County Burials at Kensico Cemetery