John Thomas O'Donnell (July 1868 – January 3, 1944), better known by his stage name Hap Ward,Fisher, p. 602 was an American

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

, dancer, and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who was half of the

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

comedy duo Ward and Vokes. Ward and Vokes toured widely in a series of musicals and vaudeville entertainments from 1894 through 1911. After this, Ward worked in other stage works without Vokes and starred in several films made from 1918 through 1929. The majority of his films were short comic silent films made with the actress

Gale Henry Gale Preston Henry (April 15, 1893 – June 17, 1972) was an American film actress. A prominent comedian, she appeared in more than 230 films between 1914 and 1933. Early life and career Born in Bear Valley in San Bernardino County, Calif ...

between the years 1919 and 1921. His final film was the 1929 sound feature ''

Fugitives A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

'' in which he portrayed Scal "the Rat". He starred in several

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

musicals during his career, including '' The Floor Walkers'' (1900) and the '' Ziegfeld Follies of 1923''

Life and career

Born John Thomas O'Donnell in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

,, Mack Truitt, p
477
Hap Ward began his career in the theatre as a dancer. He formed a comedic partnership with the actor Harry Vokes in 1884, and the pair first achieved fame performing in theaters owned by the impresario

Tony Pastor Antonio Pastor (May 28, 1837 – August 26, 1908) was an American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner who became one of the founding forces behind American vaudeville in the mid-to-late-nineteenth century. He was sometimes refe ...

in which they excelled at portraying the

tramp A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English '' ...

s Harold and Percy; original characters they created which the duo portrayed in numerous stage works. These included the musicals ''A Run On the Bank'' (1895), ''The Governors'' (1898), '' The Floor Walkers'' (1900), ''The Head Waiters'' (1901), ''A Pair of Pinks'' (1905), ''The Promoters'' (1910), and ''The Trouble Makers'' (1911). The tramp characters of Harold and Percy generated comedy by behaving with gentlemanly manners of a higher social class while appearing like homeless vagrants. Ultimately these characters evolved from being unambitious tramps affecting upper class manners into "wealthy layabouts". ''The Floor Walkers'' toured to

's Grand Opera House for performances in 1900 and again in 1901. This work also starred sisters Margaret and Lucy Daly; the latter of whom was married to Hap Ward. Without Vokes, Ward starred in the Broadway musicals ''The Grafter'' (1906, as Bill Grafter), ''Not Yet, But Soon'' (1907, as Bill Nerve), and the '' Ziegfeld Follies of 1923''. Ward made his

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized 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) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

debut in Francis Ford's '' The Silent Mystery'' (1918). This was followed by many comic silent films, most of them short films, made with the actress

from 1919 through 1921; including the role of One Lung in ''The Detectress'' (1919) and parts in ''Pants'' (1919), ''The Slavey'' (1919), ''Her First Flame'' (1919), ''Her Week-end'' (1919), ''Lizzie's Luck'' (1919), ''Poor Fish'' (1919), ''Cash'' (1919), ''Sweet Cookie'' (1919), ''This Way Out'' (1920), ''Help!'' (1920), and ''Beat It'' (1921) to name a few. Ward later appeared in one sound film, portraying Scal "the Rat" in ''

'' (1929).Solomon, p. 312 After retiring from acting, Ward operated a roadhouse outside of Boston for many years. At various points in his career he also worked as a theatre agent and producer. He was a member of

The Lambs The Lambs, Inc. (also known as The Lambs Club) is a New York City social club that nurtures those active in the arts, as well as those who are supporters of the arts, by providing activities and a clubhouse for its members. It is America's old ...

and was a founding member of The Catholic Actor's Guild of America. He died at his home in New York City on January 3, 1944 at the age of 76.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Hap 1868 births 1944 deaths 19th-century American comedians American musical theatre actors American male silent film actors Male actors from Philadelphia Members of The Lambs Club American vaudeville performers 20th-century American comedians American male comedians