Elmo Lincoln (born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt; February 6, 1889June 27, 1952) was an American stage and film actor whose career in motion pictures spanned the silent and

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

eras. He performed in over 100 screen productions between 1913 and 1952, and was the first actor to portray on film novelist

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American writer, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best known for creating the characters Tarzan (who appeared in ...

' fictional "jungle" character

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

, initially appearing in that role in the 1918 release '' Tarzan of the Apes''.

Early years

Lincoln was born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt in Rochester, Indiana. He had six siblings, and he left home at 18 to begin a railroad career as a brakeman on a train. He went on to be a boxer, sailor, and

stevedore A dockworker (also called a longshoreman, stevedore, docker, wharfman, lumper or wharfie) is a waterfront manual laborer who loads and unloads ships. As a result of the intermodal shipping container revolution, the required number of dockwork ...

before he became an actor.

Career

Lincoln began acting for director D. W. Griffith, who changed the performer's name. Lincoln's first role was in ''The Battle of Elderbush Gulch'' (1914), followed by ''Judith of Bethula'' (1914), ''The Birth of a Nation'' (1915), and ''Intolerance'' (1916).

Tarzan films

Stellan Windrow, who initially portrayed the title character in

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

's '' Tarzan of the Apes'', went into military service five weeks after filming began. Lincoln replaced Windrow, although author Edgar Rice Burroughs objected to the choice. Lincoln became best known for that role. ( Gordon Griffith played Tarzan as a child in the same movie). He portrayed the character twice more—in '' The Romance of Tarzan'' (also

) and in the

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

serial '' The Adventures of Tarzan''. Following the end of the silent movie era, Elmo left Hollywood and tried his hand at

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

. He also had a salvage business in Salt Lake City. In the late 1930s, he returned to the film industry, most often employed as an extra. He appeared, uncredited, in two Tarzan films in the 1940s—as a circus roustabout in '' Tarzan's New York Adventure'' (

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

), and as a fisherman repairing his net in '' Tarzan's Magic Fountain'' (

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

). File:Tarzan of the Apes 1918.jpg, ''Tarzan of the Apes'' (1918) File:The Romance of Tarzan.jpg, ''The Romance of Tarzan'' (1918) File:The Adventures of Tarzan (1921) - 2.jpg, alt=Tarzan holding a tiger corpse above his head, Tarzan's agility, speed, and strength allow him to kill a Leopard in 1921's '' The Adventures of Tarzan''.

Final role

His final work saw him also playing a brief, uncredited role in the 1952 film '' Carrie'', starring

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

. According to ''Tarzan of the Movies'', by Gabe Essoe, Lincoln was quite proud of his work in this film, as he was an admirer of Olivier.

Death

Lincoln died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on June 27, 1952, at age 63. He is interred in a niche at

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...

. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, he has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

at 7042

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It runs through the Hollywood, East Hollywood, Little Armenia, Thai Town, and Los Feliz districts. Its western terminus is at Sunset Plaza Drive in the Hollyw ...

Biography

Lincoln's daughter, Marci'a Lincoln Rudolph, recounts his life in her 2001 book ''My Father, Elmo Lincoln: The Original Tarzan'' ().

Partial filmography

1910s

* '' The Battle at Elderbush Gulch'' (1913, Short) - Cavalryman * ''

John Barleycorn "John Barleycorn" is an England, English and Scotland, Scottish folk song. The song's protagonist is John Barleycorn, a personification of barley and of the beer made from it. In the song, he suffers indignities, attacks, and death that corres ...

'' (1914) * '' Judith of Bethulia'' (1914) * '' Brute Force'' (1914, Short) - In Club (Prologue) / Tribesman (The Old Days) * '' Buckshot John'' (1915) - The Sheriff * ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...

'' (1915) - Blacksmith (uncredited) * '' The Slave Girl'' (1915, Short) - Bob West * '' The Absentee'' (1915) - The Toiler - in the Prologue * ''Her Shattered Idol'' (1915) - Ben - a Blacksmith * '' Jordan Is a Hard Road'' (1915) * '' Hoodoo Ann'' (1916) - Officer Lambert * '' The Half Breed'' (1916) - The Doctor (uncredited) * '' Gretchen the Greenhorn'' (1916) - Mystery Ship Captain * ''

Intolerance Intolerance may refer to: * Hypersensitivity or intolerance, undesirable reactions produced by the immune system * ''Intolerance'' (film), a 1916 film by D. W. Griffith * ''Intolerance'' (album), the first solo album from Grant Hart, formerly ...

'' (1916) - The Mighty Man of Valor (uncredited) * '' The Children of the Feud'' (1916) - Bad Bald Clayton * '' The Fatal Glass of Beer'' (1916) * '' The Bad Boy'' (1917) - Yeggman * '' Betsy's Burglar'' (1917) * '' Might and the Man'' (1917) - McFadden * '' Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp'' (1917) - Magic Genie * '' Treasure Island'' (1918) - Prologue Player * '' Tarzan of the Apes'' (1918) - Tarzan * '' The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin'' (1918) - Marcas, the Blacksmith * '' The Romance of Tarzan'' (1918) - Tarzan * '' The Greatest Thing in Life'' (1918) - The American Soldier * '' The Road Through the Dark'' (1918) - Pvt. Schultz * '' Elmo the Mighty'' (1919) - Capt. Elmo Armstrong * ''The Fall of Babylon'' (re-edited from ''Intolerance'') (1919) - The Mighty Man of Valour

1920s

* '' Elmo the Fearless'' (1920) - The Stranger * '' Under Crimson Skies'' (1920) - Captain Yank Barstow * '' The Flaming Disc'' (1920) - Elmo Gray / Jim Gray * '' Devotion'' (1921) - Robert Trent * '' The Adventures of Tarzan'' (1921) - Tarzan * '' Quincy Adams Sawyer'' (1922) - Abner Stiles *'' Rupert of Hentzau'' (1923) - Simon * '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1923) - (uncredited) * '' The Rendezvous'' (1923) - Godunoff * '' Fashion Row'' (1923) - Kaminoff * '' All Around Frying Pan'' (1925) - Foreman Slade * ''Whom Shall I Marry'' (1926) * '' King of the Jungle'' (1927, Serial)

1930s

* ''

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

'' (1939) - Card Player (uncredited) * ''

Blue Montana Skies ''Blue Montana Skies'' is a 1939 American Western (genre), Western film directed by B. Reeves Eason and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Based on a story by Norman S. Hall and Paul Franklin, the film is about a singing cowb ...

'' (1939) - Mack (uncredited) * '' Wyoming Outlaw'' (1939) - U.S. Marshal Gregg * '' Timber Stampede'' (1939) - Townsman (uncredited) * '' Colorado Sunset'' (1939) - Dairyman Burns * '' The Real Glory'' (1939) - Townsman (uncredited) * '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1939) - Minor Role (uncredited)

1940s

* '' Stage to Chino'' (1940) - Townsman (uncredited) * '' Reap the Wild Wind'' (1942) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Tarzan's New York Adventure'' (1942) - Circus Roustabout (uncredited) * '' Bandit Ranger'' (1942) - Townsman in Bank (uncredited) * '' Fighting Frontier'' (1943) - Barfly who knocks Ike down (uncredited) * '' Frontier Fury'' (1943) - Sam Stewart (uncredited) * '' The Story of Dr. Wassell'' (1944) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Black Arrow'' (1944, Serial) - Chief Arano (uncredited) * '' When the Lights Go On Again'' (1944) - Farmer #2 (uncredited) * '' The Man Who Walked Alone'' (1945) - Turnkey * '' Escape in the Fog'' (1945) - Cop (uncredited) * '' The Return of the Durango Kid'' (1945) - Luke Blake (uncredited) * '' Badman's Territory'' (1946) - Dick Broadwell (uncredited) * '' Rolling Home'' (1947) - Racing Official * '' A Double Life'' (1947) - Detective (uncredited) * '' Tap Roots'' (1948) - Sergeant (uncredited) * '' Tarzan's Magic Fountain'' (1949) - A Fisherman (uncredited)

1950s

* '' Hollywood Story'' (1951) - Elmo Lincoln (uncredited) * ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

'' (1951) - Minor Role (uncredited) * '' Carrie'' (1952) - Minor Role (uncredited) (final film role)

References

* * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lincoln, Elmo 1889 births 1952 deaths American male film actors American male silent film actors People from Rochester, Indiana Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Male actors from Indiana 20th-century American male actors