John Gilbert

Birth Name: John Cecil Pringle

Date of Birth: July 10, 1897

Place of Birth: Logan, Utah, U.S.

Date of Death: January 9, 1936

Place of Death: Bel Air, California, U.S.

Ethnicity:
*father – German
*mother – English, distant Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Chickasaw Native American, French, and German

John Gilbert was an American actor, screenwriter, and director. He rose to fame during the silent film era, and became a popular leading man after his 1925 breakthrough with The Merry Widow and The Big Parade. His roles also included The Millionaire Vagrant, Golden Rule Kate, Heart o’ the Hills, Monte Cristo (1922), His Hour, He Who Gets Slapped, La Bohème, Flesh and the Devil (1926), Man, Woman and Sin; The Cossacks, Four Walls, The Masks of the Devil, A Woman of Affairs, Desert Nights, His Glorious Night, his first sound film; Redemption (1930), Way for a Sailor, Gentleman’s Fate, The Phantom of Paris, West of Broadway, Downstairs (1932), Fast Workers, Queen Christina (1933), and The Captain Hates the Sea. He also directed and wrote the film Love’s Penalty, wrote the film The Bait (1921), and co-wrote the films The Great Redeemer, The White Circle, and Deep Waters (1920); the last three of which he also starred in. Many of his films are lost. He was known as “The Great Lover.” He was also credited as Jack Gilbert and Jack C. Gilbert.

John was the son of Ida Adair and John George Priegel, who were stock-company actors. Through his maternal grandmother, John was a descendant of James Adair, an emigrant from Northern Ireland, who married a Chickasaw woman, Eleanor. It is not clear if John had other Native American ancestors. His family settled in California. He began performing at the Baker Stock Company in Portland, Oregon.

He had a daughter with his former wife, actress Leatrice Joy; and a daughter with his former wife, actress and singer Virginia Bruce.

John’s paternal grandfather was John George Priegel (the son of John M. Priegel and Rosa Rosenbauer). John was a German emigrant, from Augsburg, Bavaria.

John’s paternal grandmother was Charlotte Ernestina Stewart (the daughter of Charles F. Stuhr and Sophia Garthoff). Charlotte was a German emigrant, from Frankenhausen, Thüringen. Charles was the son of Joachim Friedrick Stuhr and Sophia Maria Uplegger.

John’s maternal grandfather was William Henry Apperley (the son of William Apperley and Sarah Meaton). John’s grandfather William was born in Duncannon, Wexford County, Ireland, to English parents. John’s great-grandfather William was born in Wick, Gloucester, the son of William Apperley and Ester Groom/Croome. Sarah was born in Sussex, the daughter of George Meaton and Elizabeth Barber.

John’s maternal grandmother was Lydia Ann Mangum (the daughter of James Mitchell Mangum and Eliza Jane Clark). Lydia was born in Payson, Utah, and had deep lines in the U.S. James was the son of John Wesley Mangum and Rebecca Canida, whose own parents were English. Eliza was the daughter of Daniel Clark and Fairby/Phoebe Adair.

Sources: Genealogy of John Gilbert – https://www.familysearch.org

Genealogy of John Gilbert (focusing on his mother’s side) – https://www.geni.com