Lester H. Cuneo
Cuneo in The Masked Avenger (1922)
Born
Lester H. Cuneo

(1888-10-25)October 25, 1888
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedNovember 1, 1925(1925-11-01) (aged 37)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1912–1925
SpouseFrancelia Billington (m.1920–div.1925)
Children2

Lester H. Cuneo (October 25, 1888 – November 1, 1925) was an American stage and silent film actor. He began acting in theatre while still in his teens. His name remains associated with the history of Western film.[1]

Early years

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Cuneo attended Culver Military Academy, and he was a law student at Northwestern University when he turned to acting.[2]

Career

Cuneo's stage career included work with stock theater companies in Brooklyn, Chicago, and Winnepeg.[2]

Cuneo began a film career in 1912 with the Chicago-based Selig Polyscope Company then joined Essanay Studios in 1914. Working in early Hollywood, his popularity increased after he switched from comedic roles to the increasingly popular western film genre. However, his career was interrupted when he served with the United States Army during World War I. He served in France from 1917 to 1919 with the 33rd Division from Illinois.[2]

At war's end, Lester Cuneo returned to film, and in the early 1920s, he started his own production company, making primarily western films. Lester Cuneo Productions.[3][4]

Personal life

He married actress Francelia Billington in 1920, and they had two children.[5] The two made 14 films together before their divorce in October 1925.[6]

Death

Despondent over the breakdown of his marriage and the downhill slide of his film career, Lester Cuneo took his own life with a gunshot to the head in 1925.[7][8] He was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.[9] His year of death is printed on his gravemarker as 1926 which contradicts 1925, the year usually given.[10]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ Lahue, Kalton C. (1971). Winners of the West: The Sagebrush Heroes of the Silent Screen. A. S. Barnes. ISBN 978-0-498-07396-0.
  2. ^ a b c "Educated in school of hard experience". The Shreveport Journal. Louisiana, Shreveport. March 10, 1923. p. 9. Retrieved June 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Massa, Steve. Slapstick Divas: The Women of Silent Comedy. BearManor Media.
  4. ^ Motion Picture Studio Directory and Trade Annual. Motion Picture News, Incorporated. 1921.
  5. ^ Rainey, Buck (2004). The Strong, Silent Type: Over 100 Screen Cowboys, 1903-1930. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-1286-0.
  6. ^ Klepper, Robert K. (September 16, 2015). Silent Films, 1877-1996: A Critical Guide to 646 Movies. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-0484-8.
  7. ^ Birdwell, Russell J. (November 28, 1925). "Hollywood". The Eugene Guard. Eugene, Oregon. Retrieved September 11, 2001.
  8. ^ Hans J. Wollstein (2012). "Lone Hand Wilson". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
  9. ^ Wilson, Scott (August 19, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7.
  10. ^ "Lester Cuneo (1888-1925) - Find a Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved November 12, 2023.

External links

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