Philippe De Lacy (July 25, 1917 â€" July 29, 1995) was a
French-American silent film era child actor who became a film
producer, director, and cinematographer in adulthood.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.
French-American silent film era child actor who became a film
producer, director, and cinematographer in adulthood.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.
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