William C. Dowlan

William C. Dowlan (September 21, 1882 – November 6, 1947) was an American stage performer and a film actor and director during the silent era. Most of his directorial projects were done in collaboration with his wife, screenwriter Leonora Ainsworth. Between 1915 and 1917 he and Ainsworth did extensive work together for Universal Film Manufacturing Company in Los Angeles and for the American Film Company at its facilities in Santa Barbara.

William C. Dowlan
BornSeptember 21, 1882
St. Paul, Minnesota
DiedNovember 6, 1947 (age 65)
Los Angeles, California
Other namesW.C. Dowlan
William Dowlan
OccupationActor
Film director
Years active1901 - 1920
Spouse(s)Leonora Ainsworth
(m. 1906 - 1939; her death)

Early life and stage career

William Christopher Dowlan was born 1882 in St. Paul, Minnesota, the eldest son of five children of Mary E. (née Collins) and William Dowlan, who was a native of Canada and in 1900 was working as a "clerk & driver".[1][2] Young William grew up in St. Paul, where he received his formal education at Christian Brothers School and where he also developed an early interest in acting and stagecraft.[3] After serving briefly as a soldier in 1900, Dowlan began his decade-long stage career.[4] The trade magazine Motion Picture News describes his stage experience in a short "authorized" biography of Dowlan published in 1916:

Almost immediately after finishing his education [Dowlan] took up work on the stage, and with the exception of the time when he managed and starred in his own road company, he played in stock and productions...In this period he played in many of the principal theatres from coast to coast, appearing in Chicago, Philadelphia, Vancouver, B.C.; Omaha, Portland, Ore[gon].; the Oliver Morosco stock in Los Angeles, and at Dallas, Texas, and in other cities.[3]

Film

In 1912 Dowlan refocused his acting career, turning from the stage to the rapidly expanding entertainment medium of motion pictures. That year he relocated to California and began performing in lead roles as a contract player with the new Universal Film Manufacturing Company, which had just merged with the Nestor Film Company. In fact, Dowlan's initial acting assignments in 1912 were in shorts produced under Universal’s Nestor logo or "brand". Later, after several years of performing before the camera, Dowlan became interested in directing as well, often serving as both actor and director in the same production. The first in a series of films in which he performed those dual roles was the 1915 one-reeler short Her Mysterious Escort.[3] The next year he retired from acting after performing in and directing Drugged Waters, which was released in March 1916.[3] The screenplay for that film, like most of Dowlan's productions in this period, was written by his wife Leonora Ainsworth. Soon after the release of Drugged Waters, both Dowlan and Ainsworth left Universal. He then joined the American Film Company to direct Youth's Endearing Charm, starring Mary Miles Minter and Harry von Meter. Following the completion of that film in the summer of 1916, he continued to direct for other studios for several more years, until he retired from the film industry in the early 1920s.

Post-film work

Dowlan's wife Leonora had stopped working as a screenwriter even before William quit directing films. The couple did, though, continue to live in Los Angeles and work together in an entirely new business, that of merchandising women's apparel. By 1930 Dowlan, Ainsworth, and Leonora's 35-year-old daughter Harriet from her previous marriage (long ago adopted by Dowlan) were living in a rented residence at 326 North Palm Drive in "Beverly Hills City".[5] All three members of the family were working then as co-owners or "sales managers" of a shop specializing in "Dresses, underwear and hosiery".[5][6]

Personal life and death

Dowlan married Leonora Ainsworth in 1906 and lived in Minnesota before relocating to California in 1912.[7] He died in 1947 at age 65 and was buried next to his wife in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.[8]

Partial filmography

References and notes
  1. "Twelfth Census of the United States: 1900", digital copy of original enumeration pages including Dowlan family, St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, June 8, 1900. FamilySearch, archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  2. "William Christopher Dowlan", California Death Index, 1940-1997, November 6, 1947; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento, California. FamilySearch. Retrieved October 23, 2018. Dowlan's full name and the maiden name of his mother are confirmed in this record.
  3. "William C. Dowlan, Director, American", biography of Dowlan in "Studio Directory", Motion Picture News (MPN), New York N.Y., October 21, 1916, p. 161. Internet Archive, San Francisco, California. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
  4. In the cited federal census of 1900, Dowlan identifies his then-current occupation as "Soldier", although later, in the census of 1930, he lists himself as a non-veteran.
  5. "The Fifteenth Census of the United States: 1930", Dowlan family, "Beverly Hills City", Los Angeles County, California, April 1930. FamilySearch. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  6. With regard to the Dowlans' place of employment in 1930, on the noted census page the code letter "W" (for worker or employee) was struck through by the enumerator and overwritten with "O" (owner) in each entry for William, Leonora, and Harriet. Those corrections by the census taker indicate that all three family members were co-owners of the womenswear shop where they worked.
  7. "The Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910", Dowlan family, St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, April 23, 1910. FamilySearch. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  8. Mills, Chris (2012)."William Christopher Dowlan", Find a Grave memorial 85381639. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  9. Wlaschin, Ken (28 April 2009). "Silent Mystery and Detective Movies: A Comprehensive Filmography". McFarland – via Google Books.
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