Fred Esmelton

He was an actor, known for Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (1925), The Law of Compensation (1917) and Dulcy (1923).

According to census documents, he was born in Victoria, Australia, the son of Robert Chapple Bryant. On his 1922 American naturalization documents, Esmelton's birth name was listed as Frederick Batty Green Bryant, and when he established residence in the United States, he sometimes used the name Frederick Esmelton Bryant. Sometime in the mid-1920s, he legally changed his name to Frederick Bryant Esmelton. While best known as a silent film actor, he also performed in numerous stage plays, especially on the west coast. For example, beginning in 1903, he led a troupe in Portland, Oregon, where he portrayed a number of roles for several years. But Esmelton was not just a stage actor: he was a frequent director of stage plays. In fact, when he worked for the Bijou Stock Company, one New Haven, Connecticut theater critic said he was "one of the ablest stage directors ever known in the field of stock work." And Esmelton also served as the manager of an acting troupe based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Among the up-and-coming film stars who got their start working for him in Pittsburgh was Richard Dix. Esmelton frequently returned to his native Australia to perform in stage plays, some of which he produced. And during the first World War, he was in a theater company sponsored by the Knights of Columbus that volunteered to go and entertain the troops in France. While he was seldom cast in a starring role during his silent film career, he became known as a versatile supporting actor, for which he was often praised by critics.

Fred Esmelton was born on June 22, 1872 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.