Van Dyke Brooke

Van Dyke Brooke, né Stewart McKerrow was an early American actor, screenwriter and film director, whose works include The Reprieve: An Episode in the Life of Abraham Lincoln (1908) and Lights of New York (1916). He worked as a stage actor for many years before going to work in the film industry in 1909. He became an actor, writer and director for Vitagraph where he found fame and financial reward almost from the outset. He wrote and directed many of the screenplays for the films in which he acted. He worked for the studio until 1916 when he was laid off with other ageing actors. He continued to work as an actor until his death in 1921.