An American director and actor of Irish descent, born in Ireland. He later immigrated to the United States. He married actress Alice Joyce. He retired in the mid-1930s after the Great Depression that struck the global economy, then resumed his career ten years later. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His works include Side Street (1929) and The Cabaret Singer (1915). He died on 12 February 1955 in Santa Monica, California, USA.