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Philippe De Lacy

Known For
Acting

Known Credits
36

Gender
Male

Birthday
July 25, 1917 (108 years old)

Place of Birth
Nancy, France

Philippe De Lacy

Biography

Philippe De Lacy a.k.a. Philippe deLacy (July 25, 1917 – July 29, 1995) was a former silent film era child actor.

Born during World War I, the already fatherless Philippe lost his mother and five siblings when a German shell devastated the family home. Only two days old at the time of tragedy, the boy was kept alive, but barely, in the basement of his grandmother's house. He was adopted by Mrs. Edith De Lacy, who was associated with the U.S. Woman's Overseas Hospital. After the war ended, Mrs. De Lacy brought Philippe to America, where his stunning looks soon created opportunities for him as a model for magazine advertisements. His modeling assignments brought him to the attention of Hollywood, and he appeared in his first film in a bit part at the age of four.

Phillipe's childhood story was used as the subject of a fictional children's book, Little Philippe of Belgium, written by Madeline Brandeis as part of her "Children of the World" series.

De Lacy freelanced for several studios in the 1920s, but mostly for Paramount. In 1924 he played the role of Michael Darling in the classic silent version of Peter Pan, with Betty Bronson. He played the young Don Juan at ten years of age in John Barrymore's Don Juan (1926), and in 1927 he played the young prince Karl Heinrich in Ernst Lubitsch's memorable The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg, which also starred Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer. Also in 1927 he starred with Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in Love, an updated version of the Tolstoy novel Anna Karenina in which he played the young son of Anna, Serezha Karenin. When the sound era arrived De Lacy's acting career was declining, and he never made the transition from child actor to adult. Apart from his films, De Lacy also did some work in the theatre. However he had lost his boyish charm by his early teens and retired from the screen in the early 1930s.

De Lacy concentrated on the production end of films as a producer, director and cinematographer. He became an assistant to director Louis De Rochemont and worked with him in the 1940 film The Ramparts We Watch. Eventually he became an executive with the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency, a position he held for over 25 years. De Lacy’s first credit was in 1942 as an editorial associate for the US armed forces propaganda film We Are The Marines. Radio and television announcer Westbrook Van Voorhis provided the narration for the documentary, which was effectively a full-length fighting feature. In 1944 De Lacy was involved in another documentary, this time for the US Navy, filmed aboard the carrier Yorktown. The narrators in this documentary were actors Robert Taylor (who was actually a lieutenant in the navy at the time) and Charles Boyer who supplied the French narration. De Lacy was the cinematographer in The Fighting Lady and had three real life naval commanders to assist him. This film won the 1945 Oscar for Best Documentary. De Lacy then turned his hand to directing a television series in 1950, and in addition, he also became manager of a local Hollywood television station.

Known For

Acting

1930The Sins of the Childrenas Rudolph Wagenkampf as a Child (uncredited)
1930One Romantic Nightas Prince Georg
1930Sarah and Sonas Bobby
1929General Crackas Christian, as a boy
1929The Marriage Playgroundas Terry Wheater
1929The Four Feathersas Harry Faversham - age 10
1929Square Shouldersas Eddie
1929The Royal Rideras King Michael XI
1929The Redeeming Sinas Petit
1928Napoleon's Barberas The Barber's Son
19284 Devilsas Adolf - as a Boy
1928The Student Prince in Old Heidelbergas Heir Apparent
1928The Broken Maskas Pertio, as a boy
1927Mother Machreeas Brian - Child
1927Loveas Serezha Karenin (as Philippe de Lacy)
1927The Tigressas Pippa
1927The Way of All Fleshas August, as a child
1927The Elegyas
1927The Magic Gardenas John Guido Forrester, as a child
1927Is Zat So?as Little Jimmy Parker
1926Flesh and the Devilas Leo as a boy (uncredited)
1926Faithful Wivesas The Child
1926Beau Gesteas Digby Geste - younger
1926Don Juanas Don Juan - at age 10 (uncredited)
1925A Lover's Oathas His Son
1925The Happy Warrioras Ralph (at 8 years)
1925My Neighbor's Wifeas William Jordan Jr.
1924Peter Panas Michael Darling
1923Rositaas Rosita's Brother
1923Divorceas 'Dicky' Parker
1923The Wheel of Fortuneas
1922Thelmaas Viking Prince (uncredited)
1922Is Matrimony a Failure?as One of the kids
1922A Doll's Houseas Ivar
1921What's a Wife Worth?as Child (uncredited)
1920The Riddle: Womanas

Production

1963The Best of Cinerama...Director
1955Cinerama Holiday...Director