Wes Jenkins (1859-1930) was an American actor active during Hollywood's silent era. He appears in an untitled Biograph film from 1913 that has been dubbed ''

Lime Kiln Field Day ''Lime Kiln Field Day'' (also known as ''Lime Kiln Club Field Day'' or ''Bert Williams: Lime Kiln Field Day'') is a 1913 American black-and-white silent film produced by the Biograph Company and Klaw and Erlanger. Unnamed, unassembled, and aband ...

''; held by

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, the seven-reel clip is thought to be the oldest surviving footage of black actors.

Biography

Wes was born in

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the northwesternmost Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederi ...

. He grew up primarily in Pittsburgh, and when he was 14, he dropped out of school to get a job to help his mother and siblings. In his teens, he discovered his talent for singing while performing in groups like the Oriole Quartet. (His brother Robert was also a talented singer.) He got his start as a theater actor before making the transition to film around 1911. In his early days, he was part of a troupe called the Red Moon Company. He met his wife, Mattie Farrar, while performing in Whalen & Martell's production of ''The South Before the War''; they married in 1898 in Bloomington, Illinois. Between 1911 and his death, he appeared in films for companies like Vitagraph, Cosmopolitan, Distinctive, Kenmar, Famous Players Lasky, Ralph Ince, David O. Selznick, William Fox, Biograph, and more. He died in 1930 in Brooklyn after an illness. He was survived by his wife, his adopted daughter, and his nephew.

Selected filmography

* '' Scarlet Saint'' (1925) * ''

The Silent Command ''The Silent Command'' is a 1923 American silent film, silent drama film directed by J. Gordon Edwards (director), J. Gordon Edwards featuring Bela Lugosi as a foreign saboteur in his American film debut. The film, written by Anthony Paul Kell ...

'' (1923) * '' The Custard Nine'' (1921) * ''

The Kentuckians ''The Kentuckians'' is an 1898 novel by John Fox Jr. It was adapted into two films: first as ''The Fighting Kentuckians'' in 1920, then as ''The Kentuckians'' in 1921. Novel The novel was written by John Fox Jr. and published in 1898. The s ...

'' (1921) * ''

The Good-Bad Wife ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

'' (1920) * '' Babs'' (1920) * '' His Father's Wife'' (1919) * '' Little Miss No-Account'' (1918) * '' The Beautiful Mrs. Reynolds'' (1918) * '' A Natural Born Gambler'' (1916) * '' Lime Kiln Club Field Day'' (1913)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Wes American male film actors Male actors from Virginia People from Winchester, Virginia 1859 births 1930 deaths