Lupino Lane(1892-1959)

Lupino 'Nipper' Lane was one of the few English actors to achieve fame in Hollywood in the 20's. He was a descendant of the clown Grimaldi, who, it was said, was the first to use concealed trap doors for comic effect. Lupino carried on that tradition and had many years of stage experience from his time in England..He was double-jointed and could twist his arms, legs and body into amazing positions. It was his acrobatic ability that caught the film goer's eye. He never developed a constant character, his comedy routines seemed to be more important to him and his chief delight was in dressing up. His films were mainly made at the Educational Studios in Hollywood and. sadly. many of them were lost forever, having been sold for their scrap value. He made over 40 films by the time 'talkies' arrived and was unable to adapt to sound. He thus concentrated on his first love, the theatre, and carried on a successful career, so much so, that when he died, none of his obituaries mentioned his films. These included 'Sword Points', loosely based on the Three Musketeers, 'Summer Saps', 'Naughty Boy' (with his brother Wallace) and 'Maid in Morocco'.