Maurice Costello

From Wikipedia Maurice George Costello February 22 1877 October 29 1950 was an American prominent vaudeville actor of the late 1890s and early 1900s who later played a principal role in early American films as both a leading man supporting player and a director Costello was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to Irish immigrants Ellen and Thomas Costello He appeared in his first motion picture in 1905 in which he had the honour of appearing in the first serious film to feature the character of Sherlock Holmes in the movie Adventures of Sherlock Holmes in which Costello played the title role He continued to work for Vitagraph being a member of the first motion picture stock company ever formed playing opposite Florence Turner Among some of his best known pictures are A Tale of Two Cities The Man Who Couldnt Beat God and For the Honor of the Family After an absence of some years he returned to the screen He was married to actress Mae Costello née Altschuk His descendants include two daughters actresses Dolores Costello and Helene Costello a grandson John Drew Barrymore and a great granddaughter Drew Barrymore He was one of the worlds first leading men in early American cinema but like a lot of other silent screen stars he found the transition to talkies extremely difficult and his leading man status was over However Costello was a trouper and continued to appear in movies often in small roles and bit parts right up until his death in 1950