Willard Mack (September 18, 1873 â€" November 18, 1934) was a
Canadian-American actor, director, and playwright.He was born Charles
Willard McLaughlin in Morrisburg, Ontario. At an early age his family
moved to Brooklyn, New York. After two years, they moved to Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, where McLaughlin finished high school. His parents
returned to Canada, but he went on to study at Georgetown University
in Washington, D. C., where he became involved in student plays.
Adopting the stage name Willard Mack, after graduation he took minor
acting jobs for a few years and did Shakespearian repertoire. However,
writing scripts was what he was most interested in, and his second
effort, about the North-West Mounted Police, In Wyoming, was a
commercial success and was later the basis for his film Nanette of the
Wilds.Throughout his life, Mack frequently returned to Canada. Some of
his other plays, including Tiger Rose and The Scarlet Fox, were set in
northern Alberta. In 1914 he made his acting debut on Broadway in a
play he had written. Over the next fourteen years, he would write a
further twenty-two Broadway productions, acting in ten of them and
producing four. For a time, Willard Mack operated a stock company with
actress Maude Leone. In the mid 1920s, he met an aspiring stage
actress named Ruby Stevens hired as a chorus girl for his new play.
Mack coached Stevens's acting and rewrote parts of the play to expand
her role and then persuaded her to change her name to Barbara
Stanwyck.During his time on Broadway, Mack began writing for motion
pictures, and although he performed in fifteen films and directed
four, he was primarily a writer. At first he remained on the east
coast but later moved to Los Angeles. A number of his plays were made
into motion pictures, and between 1916 and 1953 he was involved with
the writing of more than seventy film scripts. Starting out in silent
film, he made his talkie debut as actor, director, and co-writer of
the 1929 film Voice of the City. In 1933 he directed What Price
Innocence?. He then wrote and directed Broadway to Hollywood, a
backstage musical that spanned nearly five decades recounting the
struggles of a vaudeville family.
Canadian-American actor, director, and playwright.He was born Charles
Willard McLaughlin in Morrisburg, Ontario. At an early age his family
moved to Brooklyn, New York. After two years, they moved to Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, where McLaughlin finished high school. His parents
returned to Canada, but he went on to study at Georgetown University
in Washington, D. C., where he became involved in student plays.
Adopting the stage name Willard Mack, after graduation he took minor
acting jobs for a few years and did Shakespearian repertoire. However,
writing scripts was what he was most interested in, and his second
effort, about the North-West Mounted Police, In Wyoming, was a
commercial success and was later the basis for his film Nanette of the
Wilds.Throughout his life, Mack frequently returned to Canada. Some of
his other plays, including Tiger Rose and The Scarlet Fox, were set in
northern Alberta. In 1914 he made his acting debut on Broadway in a
play he had written. Over the next fourteen years, he would write a
further twenty-two Broadway productions, acting in ten of them and
producing four. For a time, Willard Mack operated a stock company with
actress Maude Leone. In the mid 1920s, he met an aspiring stage
actress named Ruby Stevens hired as a chorus girl for his new play.
Mack coached Stevens's acting and rewrote parts of the play to expand
her role and then persuaded her to change her name to Barbara
Stanwyck.During his time on Broadway, Mack began writing for motion
pictures, and although he performed in fifteen films and directed
four, he was primarily a writer. At first he remained on the east
coast but later moved to Los Angeles. A number of his plays were made
into motion pictures, and between 1916 and 1953 he was involved with
the writing of more than seventy film scripts. Starting out in silent
film, he made his talkie debut as actor, director, and co-writer of
the 1929 film Voice of the City. In 1933 he directed What Price
Innocence?. He then wrote and directed Broadway to Hollywood, a
backstage musical that spanned nearly five decades recounting the
struggles of a vaudeville family.
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