Tom Ricketts
Biography
Tom Ricketts was an English-born American actor and director who helped pioneer the film industry. Born in Greenwich, London, he moved to the United States as a young man and first worked as a painter before turning to the theater, where he directed Broadway plays for Charles Frohman and managed for the Shubert family. In 1906 he joined Essanay Studios in Chicago, playing Scrooge in A Christmas Carol (1908), the first American screen version of the Dickens tale. He later became a director, helping set up the American Film Manufacturing Company in 1910 and then moving to California, where he directed one of the first Hollywood-made pictures, The Best Man Wins (1911). He returned to acting in 1919 and spent his later years as a character actor, appearing in Top Hat (1935), The Young in Heart (1938) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He died in 1939.
86years old at death
- Born London
- Died Hollywood
- Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
Movie Career
- Films
- 9
- Career span
- 14 years1925 to 1939
Share
Did you know?!
A first
Ricketts took the role of Scrooge in the 1908 film A Christmas Carol, which was the first American adaptation of the Dickens classic, and later appeared in The Old Curiosity Shop in 1909.
A first
Ricketts directed The Best Man Wins (1911), which was among the earliest motion pictures made in Hollywood. Charles Rosher photographed the film.
A change of course
In 1906, Ricketts joined Essanay Studios in Chicago after a friend persuaded him to do so. He had spent four years with the Shuberts before making the move.
Tom Ricketts movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Richard Wallace directed two of these films. Sidney Bracey appears in three of them, more than any other actor. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Sidney Bracey's page
Billie Burke's page
Eric Blore's page
Eily Malyon's page
Lawrence Grant's page
Richard WallaceDirector, 2 films, 1931 to 1938
All films by Richard Wallace
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.