Jay Hunt — He’s to Play “Lightnin’” (1925) 🇺🇸

This time it is no bright young debutante but a man of three score years who has been lifted out of dark obscurity to play one of the biggest screen roles of the year!

He is Jay Hunt, and the role is that of Lightnin’ but in the screen version of the famous stage play. If you have not seen Lightnin’ as a spoken drama you have undoubtedly heard about it. The play ran solidly for all of four years in New York, and made an everlasting name for its star, the late Frank Bacon. It was he who wrote the piece in collaboration with Winchell Smith, and he appeared in it until within a few days before his death. Various other actors have done the role that he created, because companies have been touring in different parts of the country — to such an extent, indeed, that by this time the title has become almost a household word.

When William Fox announced that he was going to make the screen version, applications came into the studio from Hollywood, New York, and various other parts of the country. Everybody in the least qualified wanted to make a bid to portray the lovable old vagabond.

In the picture world the competition for the role caused almost as much excitement as the selections for the title roles for Ben-Hur and Peter Pan, even though it has possibly aroused less public interest. Such outstanding parts as this are rare for the old players.

Despite the fact that his name is unfamiliar to most picturegoers, Hunt, the one finally chosen, has actually been connected with the films for a long time in a more or less prominent capacity. His work has been mainly as a director. He is said to hold a record in having instructed more men, who are now directors, in how to do their scenes than anybody in Hollywood. Those who have worked with him at various times in the past include Jerome Storm, James Cruze, Charles Swickard and the late William Desmond Taylor and Thomas Ince [Thomas H. Ince], among others.

Before he went into pictures Hunt was a stage producer and director at Boston, Massachusetts, and guided the early destiny of William Farnum in the drama, and later of Bert Lytell. He also played himself the role of Rip Van Winkle through the New England States.

His first work in pictures was in 1910 at Vitagraph. He megaphoned films featuring John Bunny, Flora Finch and Lillian Walker. Sessue Hayakawa (早川 雪洲), Louise Glaum, Bessie Barriscale, Charles Ray, and Marguerite Snow also appeared in his pictures, and he assisted in the Ince production of “Civilization” during the war days.

“All I can say is I’m sorry for the other fellows who didn’t get the part,” said Hunt. “Too bad there aren’t any second and third companies as there were on the stage so everybody would have a chance.

“I always knew I was lucky when I was young, but I didn’t know that my luck would come back like this when I got on in years, and you can bet I’m going to make the best of it now that they’ve selected me to play Lightnin’ Bill.”

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Photo by: Little

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Collection: Picture Play Magazine, June 1925