Rapley Holmes (June 1, 1868 – January 11, 1928) was a stage and screen actor. He was born in Canada and married actress

Gerda Holmes Gerda Holmes, née Gerda Helen Elfrida Henius (April 2, 1891 – October 11, 1943), was an actress during the silent film era and in theater. She had major roles in numerous films including '' The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket'' ...

. Holmes played the part of Joe Horn in the long running

Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

play ''

Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

'' (1922) starring

Jeanne Eagels Jeanne Eagels (born Eugenia Eagles; June 26, 1890 – October 3, 1929) was an American stage and film actress. Eagels appeared in many Broadway productions, and in the emerging medium of sound films. She was posthumously nominated for the Acad ...

. On stage he appeared with many greats of the Edwardian era including

Maxine Elliott Maxine Elliott (February 5, 1868 – March 5, 1940) also known as Little Jessie, Dettie or by her birth name Jessie Dermott, was an American actress and businesswoman. She managed her own theater and experimented with silent films in the 1910s. ...

Elsie Ferguson Elsie Louise Ferguson (August 19, 1883 – November 15, 1961) was an American stage and film actress. Seen by some as an early feminist, she promoted suffrage, which she discussed in interviews, and supported animal rights. Early life Born in ...

Nance O'Neil Gertrude Lamson (October 8, 1874 – February 7, 1965), known professionally as Nance O'Neil or Nancy O'Neil, was an American stage and film actress who performed in plays in various theaters around the world but worked predominantly in the Unit ...

, Doug Fairbanks and both

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

and

Dustin Farnum Dustin Lancy Farnum (May 27, 1874 – July 3, 1929) was an American singer, dancer, and actor on the stage and in silent films. Although he played a wide variety of roles, he tended toward westerns and became one of the bigger stars of the genre ...

. Holmes began appearing in silent films in 1914 while still maintaining an active role in Broadway plays. His last film role was in 1920, two years before the huge hit of ''Rain''. Acting in ''Rain'' dominated the rest of Holmes's career up until his death in January 1928. His role in ''Rain'' was played by James A. Marcus in the 1928

Gloria Swanson Gloria Mae Josephine Swanson (March 27, 1899April 4, 1983) was an American actress. She first achieved fame acting in dozens of silent films in the 1920s and was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Actress, most famously for h ...

hit re-titled '' Sadie Thompson'' and by

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the ''El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

in the 1932 talkie ''

'' with

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

.''Who Was Who On Screen'', p.219 2nd Edition c.1977 by Evelyn Mack Truitt

Selected filmography

*'' One Wonderful Night'' (1914) *''The Verdict'' (1914), a short *''Through Eyes of Love'' (1914), a short *''The Fable of the People's Choice Who Answered the Call of Duty and Took Seltzer'' (1914)*short *''Within Three Hundred Pages'' (1914)*short *''The Servant Question'' (1914), a short *''The Means and the End'' (1914), a short *''The Buffer'' (1914), a short *''The Place, the Time and the Man'' (1914)*short *''The Fable of the Bush League Lover Who Failed to Qualify'' (1914), a short *''The Battle of Love'' (1914) *''The Fable of the City Grafter and the Unprotected Rubes'' (1915), a short *''The Fable of Hifaluting Tillie and Her Plain Parents'' (1915), a short *''The Fable of the Syndicate Lover'' (1915)*short *''The Creed of the Clan'' (1915), a short *''

The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket ''The Fable of Elvira and Farina and the Meal Ticket'' is a 1915 silent film directed by Richard Foster Baker. Gloria Swanson made her first credited appearance in this film as Farina. Cast * Lillian Drew - Elvira * Gloria Swanson - Farina, Elv ...

'' (1915)*short *''The Fable of the Cold Gray Dawn of the Morning After'' (1915)*short *''The Victory of Virtue'' (1915) *''

Gloria's Romance ''Gloria's Romance'' is a 1916 American silent film, silent film serial starring Billie Burke. Serial films, also called chapter plays, were shorter films that were typically run before the main feature film, each of which was part of a longer sto ...

'' (1916) *''

Nothing But Lies Nothing But Lies may refer to: * Nothing But Lies (1991 film), a French-Swiss drama film * Nothing But Lies (1933 film), a French comedy film * Nothing But Lies, a 1920 film by Lawrence C. Windom {{dab ...

'' (1920) *''The Servant Question'' (1920)

References

External links

Rapley Holmes at IMDb.comRapley Holmes at IBDb.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Rapley 1868 births 1928 deaths Male actors from Ontario Canadian male stage actors Canadian male film actors Canadian expatriate male actors in the United States