Rupert Julian

Rupert Julian
File:Rupert Julian, silent films (SAYRE 4913).jpg Julian in 1923
Born	Thomas Percival Hayes (1879-01-25)25 January 1879 Whangaroa, New Zealand
Died	Hollywood, California, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California
Occupation	Film Director Writer Producer Actor
Years active	1913–1930
Notable work	The Phantom of the Opera The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin The Cat Creeps
Spouse(s)	Elsie Jane Wilson (m. 1906)
Parent(s)	John Daly Hayes Jr. Eliza Harriet Hayes

Rupert Julian (born Thomas Percival Hayes; 25 January 1879 – 27 December 1943) was a New Zealand cinema actor, director, writer and producer. During his career, Julian directed 60 films and acted in over 90 films. He is best remembered for directing Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera (1925). He also directed The Cat Creeps (1930), a sound remake of The Cat and the Canary (1927), which is now considered a lost film, with only two minutes of footage remaining in the 1932 Universal comedy short film Boo!.

Early years

Julian was born Thomas Percival Hayes in Whangaroa, New Zealand, son of John Daly Hayes (Jr) and Eliza Harriet Hayes. His father was a rancher who raised cattle and sheep.

Julian's parents had him educated in preparation for becoming a Roman Catholic priest, but he went his own way. He volunteered to serve in the British army during the Boer War, and during his two years' service he was captured twice. The first time, he was exchanged, and the second time he escaped. By the time he left the military he was a lieutenant. He also worked as a sailor, a tea salesman, and engineer of a donkey engine.

Career

Julian became an actor when he was 16. He performed on stage in his native country and Australia before emigrating to the United States in 1911, where he started his career as an actor at the Daly Theatre in New York and touring with Tyrone Power, Sr., and then worked in silent movies. He turned to directing in 1914, often directing his wife Elsie Jane Wilson (also a director), and earned a substantial sum for his film The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin, which he wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the title role. This made him a star in Hollywood at the time and opened doors to larger projects with Universal Studios.

He was assigned to complete Merry-Go-Round in 1923 when director Erich von Stroheim was fired from it. In 1924, he directed Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera, but left the production shortly before it was released. The studio hired another director to complete the filming and changed the ending. Julian moved to Cecil B. DeMille's Producers Distributing Corporation for a series of films, but after directing The Cat Creeps and Love Comes Along (both in 1930), his career faded.

Death

On 27 December 1943, Julian died at his home in Hollywood, California, at the age of 64. He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California, in 1943. His wife Elsie died in 1965.

Filmography

x30px          ◆   Filmography of Rupert Julian   ◆
Year	Film	Actor	Director	Wife	Writer	Production	Distribution	Genre	Length	Released	Notes
1913	The Wife's Deceit	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Comedy	Short	1913-12-21
1913	The Mask	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-12-14
1913	The Blood Brotherhood	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-11-16
1913	The Haunted Bride	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Comedy	Short	1913-11-09
1913	Two Thieves and a Cross	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-11-04
1913	The Clue	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-10-30
1913	Memories	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-10-16
1913	Shadows of Life	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-11-09
1913	His Brand	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-11-02
1913	Genesis 4:9	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-09-25
1913	The Heart of a Jewess	15px				Victor	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-08-15
1913	Through Strife	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-07-13
1913	The Peacemaker	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-03-23
1913	Troubled Waters	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-03-09
1913	His Sister	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1913-02-09
1914	The Master Key	15px				Universal	Universal	Drama	serial	1914-11-16
1914	A Law Unto Herself	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-11-08
1914	Daisies	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-09-03
1914	Out of the Depths	15px		15px		Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-08-20
1914	The Hole in the Garden Wall	15px		15px	15px	Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-08-23
1914	The Midnight Visitor	15px		15px		Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-08-09
1914	Behind the Veil	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-08-02
1914	The Pursuit of Hate	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-06-14
1914	Closed Gates	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-06-07
1914	Avenged	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-05-24
1914	The Triumph of Mind	15px		15px		Bison Motion Pictures	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-05-23
1914	The Career of Waterloo Peterson	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-05-10
1914	An Episode	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-04-30
1914	In the Days of His Youth	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-03-28
1914	The Spider and Her Web	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-03-26
1914	A Modern Fairy Tale	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-03-08
1914	The Weaker Sister	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-03-01
1914	The Merchant of Venice	15px				Universal	Universal	Drama	Feature	1914-02-01
1914	Woman's Burden	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-02-22
1914	An Old Locket	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-02-15
1914	The Coward Hater	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-02-08
1914	The Leper's Coat	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-01-25
1914	The Imp Abroad	15px				Victor	Universal	Comedy	Short	1914-01-12
1914	A Fool and His Money	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Comedy	Short	1914-01-04
1914	The Female of the Species	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1914-01-01
1915	The Evil of Suspicion	15px		15px	15px	Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1915-12-28
1915	One Hundred Years Ago	15px		15px		Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1915-12-23
1915	The Water Clue	15px		15px		Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1915-12-18
1915	Gilded Youth	15px		15px	15px	Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1915-11-02
1915	A White Feather Volunteer	15px		15px	15px	Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1915-11-04
1915	The Wolf's Den	15px				Navajo Films	Asso Film Sales	Western	Short	1915-10-09
1915	Jewel	15px				Universal	Universal	Drama	Feature	1915-08-30
1915	A Cigarette - That's All	15px				Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1915-08-10
1915	Scandal	15px				Universal	Universal	Drama	Feature	1915-07-19
1915	Where the Trail Led	15px				Balboa Prod	Pathé	Western	Short	1915-07-19
1915	The Pretty Sister of Jose	15px				Famous Players	Paramount Pictures	Drama	Feature	1915-05-31
1915	The Heritage of a Century	15px				Paragon Films	Kriterion Film	Drama	Short	1915-04-05
1915	The Lone Star Rush	15px				Climax Company	Alliance Films	Drama	Feature	1915-03-05
1915	A Voice from the Sea	15px				Paragon Films	Kriterion Film	Drama	Short	1915-03-27
1915	The Hawk and the Hermit	15px				Paragon Films	Kriterion Film	Drama	Short	1915-03-22
1915	The Bond of Friendship	15px				Alhambra Films	Kriterion Film	Drama	Short	1915-03-13
1915	Fate's Vengeance	15px				Paragon Films	Kriterion Film	Drama	Short	1915-03-08
1915	A Tale of the Hills	15px				Paragon Films	Kriterion Film	Drama	Short	1915-02-22
1915	A Small Town Girl	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1915-01-17
1916	The Gilded Life	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-12-29
1916	The Right to Be Happy	15px				Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1916-12-25
1916	The Celebrated Stielow Case	15px				Argosy Pictures		Drama	Feature	1916-12-02
1916	The Bugler of Algiers	15px				Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1916-11-27
1916	The Evil Women Do	15px		15px		Bluebird	Universal	Comedy	Feature	1916-09-26
1916	Bettina Loved a Soldier	15px		15px		Bluebird	Universal	Comedy	Feature	1916-08-14
1916	Little Boy Blue	15px		15px	15px	Victor Film	Universal	Comedy	Short	1916-06-14
1916	The Human Cactus	15px		15px		Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-06-29
1916	The Turn of the Wheel					Paragon Films	Mutual Film	Drama	Short	1916-11-13
1916	Romance at Random	15px		15px		Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-06-18
1916	The False Gems	15px		15px		Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-06-11
1916	The Fur Trimmed Coat	15px		15px		Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-05-30
1916	Naked Hearts	15px			15px	Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1916-05-10
1916	The Marriage of Arthur	15px		15px	15px	Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-05-07
1916	The Eyes of Fear	15px		15px		Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-04-06
1916	The Desperado	15px				Universal	Universal	Western	Short	1916-03-22
1916	The Blackmailer	15px		15px		Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-03-05
1916	John Pellet's Dream	15px		15px	15px	Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-02-24
1916	As Fate Decides	15px		15px		Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-02-16
1916	Arthur's Last Fling	15px		15px	15px	Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-02-13
1916	The Dumb Girl of Portici	15px				Universal	Universal	Drama	Feature	1916-04-04
1916	The Red Lie	15px		15px	15px	Universal	Universal	Drama	Short	1916-01-27
1916	The Underworld	15px		15px	15px	Universal	Universal	Comedy	Short	1916-01-15
1917	The Circus of Life			15px		Butterfly	Universal	Drama	Feature	1917-06-04
1917	The Desire of the Moth	15px				Bluebird	Universal	Western	Feature	1917-10-22
1917	The Mysterious Mr. Tiller	15px				Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1917-09-17
1917	The Door Between					Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1917-11-18
1917	Mother O' Mine	15px		15px	15px	Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1917-09-02
1917	A Kentucky Cinderella	15px		15px		Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1917-06-25
1917	The Gift Girl	15px				Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1917-03-26
1917	The Boyhood He Forgot	15px				Rex Prod	Universal	Drama	Short	1917-03-24
1917	Alone in the World	15px				Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Short	1917-01-02
1917	The Savage					Bluebird	Universal	Western	Feature	1917-11-19
1917	My Little Boy			15px	15px	Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1917-12-17
1918	Hands Down	15px				Bluebird	Universal	Western	Feature	1918-02-11
1918	Midnight Madness					Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1918-06-08
1918	Fires of Youth				15px	Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1918-08-26
1918	The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin	15px			15px	Jewel	Universal	Drama	Feature	1918-03-19
1918	Hungry Eyes	15px				Bluebird	Universal	Western	Feature	1918-02-11
1919	The Fire Flingers	15px				Universal	Universal	Drama	Feature	1919-04-21
1919	Creaking Stairs				15px	Universal	Universal	Horror	Feature	1919-02-10
1919	The Millionaire Pirate					Bluebird	Universal	Drama	Feature	1919-02-10
1919	The Sleeping Lion					Universal	Universal	Drama	Feature	1919-06-23
1920	The Honey Bee				15px	American Film	Pathé	Drama	Feature	1920-04-01
1922	The Girl Who Ran Wild				15px	Universal	Universal	Western	Feature	1922-10-09
1923	The Midnight Guest				15px	Universal	Universal	Drama	Feature	1923-03-17
1923	Merry-Go-Round					Universal	Universal	Drama	Feature	1923-09-03
1924	Love and Glory				15px	Universal	Universal	Western	Feature	1924-12-07
1925	Hell's Highroad					DeMille Pictures	Producers Distributing	Drama	Feature	1925-10-18
1925	Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ	15px				MGM	MGM	Drama	Feature	1927-10-08
1925	The Phantom of the Opera					Jewel	Universal	Horror	Feature	1925-11-15
1926	Three Faces East	15px				Cinema Corp	Producers Dist Corp	Drama	Feature	1926-02-03
1926	Silence					DeMille Pictures	Producers Dist	Drama	Feature	1926-04-25
1927	The Yankee Clipper					DeMille Pictures	Producers Dist	Drama	Feature	1927-05-07
1927	The Country Doctor					DeMille Pictures	Pathé	Drama	Feature	1927-08-22
1928	The Leopard Lady					DeMille Pictures	Pathé	Drama	Feature	1928-01-22
1928	Walking Back	15px				DeMille Pictures	Pathé	Drama	Feature	1928-05-21
1930	Love Comes Along					RKO	RKO	Drama	Feature	1930-01-05
1930	The Cat Creeps					Universal	Universal	Horror	Feature	1930-11-10
Rupert Julian acted in these 95 films   Rupert Julian directed these 60 films   Rupert and Elsie Julian participated in these 28 films   Rupert Julian participated in the writing of these 20 films

External links

• Rupert Julian at the Internet Movie Database
• rupertjulian.com Site for research into Rupert Julian and his wife, Elsie Jane Wilson, by Robert Catto
• NZ On Screen biography by Robert Catto
• Radio New Zealand Saturday Morning Interview with Robert Catto discussing Rupert Julian
• Rupert Julian at Find a Grave
• Rupert Julian at AllMovie