1865-1949
Robert W. Cummings, born on this day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was first and foremost a man of the stage. A highly respected and accomplished stage actor, he was a staple on Broadway for years. His acting career started with stock & touring companies in the 1880's, before films were even invented. He was known as a consummate supporting actor who was just as strong in comedic roles as he was in supporting characters in drama. His debut in film came long after their invention; at the age of 49, he was pursuaded to appear in a film adaptation of a stage adaptation of an Upton Sinclair novel (I am pretty sure that he had appeared in stage production as well). The film was The Jungle, was released in May of 1914, and is now considered a lost film. Based on an Upton Sinclair novel of social injustice in Chicago, the film's lost status means that a number of roles are of an undetermined nature. He would next show up in one of Edwin S. Porter's early efforts at Famous Players, an intrigue comedy based on a popular play of the times by Edward Peple: The Spitfire (June 1914). His first appearance in a film that today has historical significance was as Doyle in the Maurice Tourneur directed crime film Alias Jimmy Valentine, a Peerless Picture released in February of 1915. Though a man of the stage, Cummings had regular film work through 1919; over 25 of his nearly 35 film appearances came during this span of time. He was basically a free agent, though he did have roles is two more lesser known Tourneur films (The Cub and The Ivory Snuff Box both in 1915). Also in 1915, he appeared in a couple of films with Clara Kimball Young--The Heart of the Blue Ridge and Camille; and one of his first films in 1916, The Yellow Passport, also starred Young. Later in 1916, he added appearances in two films starring Francis X. Bushman: The Wall Between and A Million a Minute, both directed by John W. Noble. Later in the year, being a man of the stage, he was not going to turn down a chance to appear in some Shakespeare. He took the role of Friar Lawrence in Bushman's 1916 rendition of Romeo and Juliet with Beverly Bayne taking the role of Juliet. He then appeared with Lionel Barrymore in The Brand of Cowardice (October 1916), another Noble directed film; next appearing with Barrymore sister Ethel in The Awakening of Helena Ritchie, his last role of 1916. He appeared in just four films in 1917, one of which was the Norma Talmadge melodrama The Law of Compensation (April 1917); and appeared in just three films the following year. In ever diminishing returns, he acted in just two films in 1919 and just one in 1920 after which he quit film acting until the coming of sound. His last silent film role came in The Face at Your Window (October 1920). He appeared in just six more films in his film career, only two of which were in credited roles. His first appearance in a film with sound was actually a late partial silent: the mystery drama Convict's Code (August 1930) starring Cullen Landis and Eloise Taylor, in which he plays a governor. In 1932, he appeared the independently produced It Happened in Paris, his first full sound film and his last credited role. His last four film appearances between 1935 and 1937 went uncredited, with his last film being The Outer Gate, a crime drama released in August of 1937. Cummings died in Los Angeles twelve years later on the 22 of July at the age of 84. There is currently no information on his interment.
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