He also worked on numerous occasions with director Cecil Hepworth, an early British film pioneer, at his Walton-on-Thames studios.
His first wife was actress Thelma Raye whom he met whilst living in London.
He entered his name in the London Casting Bureau and made his debut in 1916 at the London Coliseum in 'The Maharani of Arakan'.
They married in 1938 and had a daughter, Juliet, and a happy marriage living on their San Ysidro ranch property, a marriage which lasted until his death.
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In Hollywood his marriage was a closely guarded secret.