People active in the silent era and people who keep the silent era alive. Copyright © 1999-2024 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

Photograph by Albert Walter Witzel; Silent Era image collection.

Leo White
(same as Leo Herbert White)

Born 10 November 1882 in Grudziadz, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland, as Leo Weiss.
Died 20 September 1948 in Glendale, California, USA.

Married Ethel Caroline McCann (actress Blanche White), 3 May 1911; divorced, 1931; two children.
Married Maxine Louise Foreman, 26 July 1934; until Leo’s death, 20 September 1948; three children.

Leo White began his acting career in England, where he was raised as a child. White emigrated to the United States, where he continued his stage acting under the guidance of Broadway producer Daniel Frohman. White began acting in motion pictures in 1911, and by 1913 appeared regularly in productions by Essanay Film Manufacturing Company. He was working at the Chicago studios of Essanay when Charles Chaplin made his first films for the company with White as a supporting comedian. White worked for Chaplin several times over the next few years — the work for which White is best remembered today.

In the 1920s, White appeared as a supporting player in short and feature films that ranged from comedies to big budget dramas. Leo White appeared in more than 400 films throughout his film career.

References: Website-IMDb; Website-Wikipedia.