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John St. Polis

{{short description|American actor (1873–1946)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}}

{{Infobox person

| name = John St. Polis

| image = 700full.jpg

| caption = St. Polis in The Unknown (1927)

| birth_name = John Marie Sainpolis

| birth_date = {{birth date|1873|11|24}}

| birth_place = New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1946|10|8|1873|11|24}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| years_active = 1909–1943

| occupation = Actor

}}

John M. St. Polis (born John Marie Sainpolis; November 24, 1873 – October 8, 1946) was an American actor.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/62634/John-St-Polis |title=John St. Polis |access-date=November 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307231803/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/62634/John-St-Polis |archive-date=March 7, 2016 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=The New York Times |publisher=Baseline & All Movie Guide |date=2016 |url-status=dead}}

Biography

St. Polis was born John Marie Sainpolis in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Jean Marie Sainpolis and Marie Catherine Borg.{{cite book |last1=Kear |first1=Lynn |last2=King |first2=James |title=Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Lady Crook |date=2009 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786454686 |page=207 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_ODoCwz2EsC&q=%22John+St.+Polis%22+actor&pg=PA207 |access-date=October 16, 2019 |language=en}} Before starting his film career, he made a name for himself on the Broadway stage, most notably in the role of Frederik in the original production of The Return of Peter Grimm (1911–12) and the play's revival in 1921, both performed at the Belasco Theatre. He also appeared in a different role in the screen version in 1926.{{cite news |title=John St. Polis Was Member of Original 'Peter Grimm' Cast |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37252620/john_st_polis/ |access-date=October 16, 2019 |work=Kenosha News |date=July 20, 1926 |location=Wisconsin, Kenosha |page=13|via = Newspapers.com}}

He appeared in more than 120 films between 1914 and 1943. In all of his early roles, the actor is billed as John Sainpolis. His best-known performances are as Etienne Laurier in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921), and as Comte Phillipe de Chagny in The Phantom of the Opera (1925). He successfully made the transition from silent cinema to "talkies" with one of his most praised performances as Dr. John M. Besant, the father of Norma Besant (played by Mary Pickford) in Coquette (1929). He died on October 8, 1946, in Los Angeles, California from undisclosed causes, aged 72.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

Selected filmography

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References

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External links

{{Commons category|John St. Polis}}

  • {{IMDb name|0820821}}
  • {{IBDB name}}
  • [http://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/cdm/search/collection/sayre/field/type/searchterm/Sainpolis portrait gallery](Univ. of Washington, Sayre)

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{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Polis, John}}

Category:1873 births

Category:1946 deaths

Category:American male stage actors

Category:American male film actors

Category:American male silent film actors

Category:Male actors from New Orleans

Category:20th-century American male actors