Figure 1.--HBC thought this might be a studio shot of Philippe in his own suit rather than a film costume. It looks, however, rather like his costume in "Mairrage Playground". It is, however, a suit that an American boy from an affluent family might have worn in the 1920s.

HBC still has some limited information on Philippe de Lacy. We know that he was born in Nancy, France on July 25, 1917. He was a World War I war orphan, but a lot luckier than most. He was born during an air raid in which his mother was traicallu killed. He was adopted by am American war aid worker--Mrs. Edith De Lacy. She was in France working with the Woman's Overseas Hospital. After the war, Mrs. DeLacy brought Philippe to America. It was not long before the boy's hansome appeal made him a natural for first advertisements and then the movies. In fact he may well have been the most handsome child star from the Golden Years of Hollywood. He also seems to have been a very natty dresser. His first films were silent pictures and thus Philippe and his films are not very well-known today.

Birth

Philippe was born in Nancy, France on July 25, 1917 during World War I.

Childhood

HBC still has only limited information on Philippe. He was a World War I war orphan, but a lot luckier than most. He was born during the German shelling of his town. He had already lost his father who like many French soldiers was killed in the defense of Verdun--one of the climatic battles of the War (1915). His mother and five siblings were killed when a German shell demolished the family home. Philippe was only 2 days old at the time. baby Philippe was near death, but nursed back tom life by his grandmother in her basement. Philippe was adopted as an infant by an American war aid worker--Mrs. Edith De Lacy. The United States had just entered the War, but volunteers like Mrs De Lacy were aiding France before American declared war on Germany. Many young American men, including older tenagers, served as ambulance drivers. Women served as nurses. Mrs. De Lacy had become a trained nurse and traveled to France early in 1917 with the Women’s Overseas Hospitals to serve and tend the French and British wounded. For Mrs De Lacy and Philippe, it was love at first sight. They absolutely adored each other. After the War, Mrs. De Lacy brought Philippe home to America when she returned. He thus grew up as an American boy with no memories of his French homeland. Phillipe's harrowing childhood experiences were used as the subject of a fictional children's book, Little Philippe of Belgium', written by Madeline Brandeis as part of her popular 'Children of the World' series. We are not sure why his nationality was chnged, but at the time the war time experiences of Belgium had been very widely publicized. They had played a major role in casting Germany as a villan and aggressor nation, preparing the way for American entry into the War.

Clothing

We are not sure how Philippe was dressed when not in costume. Most of the images we have archived are from his film roles. So we are not sure how he was dressed normally. We suspect that his clothes in films with contemprary settings were similar to how he was dressed, but we are not entirely sure. At the time in the 1920s, knickers were more popular with American school-age boys than short pants. And in his film roles he seems to have worn short pants more than knickers. This seems to have been more common among well-to-do families. We note a portrait of Phillipe wearing a button-on sailor suit. We are not sure, however, if this was his regular clothes or a costume. We think that for advertisements or many silent films that the children, unless in a historical costume drama, often wore their own clothes. This could have been a film costume. He looks too young for his wonderful appearance in 'Peter Pan' (1924). Or it could be an outfit that a family in comfortable circumstnces would have chosen for a boy his age.

Career

It was not long before the boy's hansome appeal made him a natural for first advertisements. He worked as a a model for magazine advertisements. His modeling career and looks brought him to the attention of Hollywood producers. He at first freelanced for different studios, but primarily for Paramount. He appeared in his first film in a bit part at the age of 4 years which would mean about 1921. He may well have been the most handsome child star from the Golden Years of Hollywood. He also seems to have been a very natty dresser. Most of his fims were silent films. He made films just a the talkies were coming in to vogue. He made some talkies, but by this time was getting older and did not sucessfully make the transition from child to teen/adult actor. I'm not sure how effective an actor he was. One source refers to his 'tender looks and expressive face'. Philippe is not as well known as some of the other child stars of the era. He retired from acting in the early-30s. He later wrote, "I enjoyed making films. I liked acting with other actors. The painful part came at the end when I was entering what casting directors called 'the gawky period' for juveniles, which was early teens in my case. All at once it seemed that no one wanted me. It was some years before I really understood what had happened. I was devastated by what I took as rejection. I'm extremely grateful I had the opportunities I had as a child, and they led to a very satisfying second career. I also appreciate that some of the work I did in pictures still entertains people."

Films

We have very limited information on Philippe's films. His first films were silent pictures and thus Philippe and his films are not very well-known today. Talkies did not begin to appear until 1929 when he was 12 years old. Silent films are todahy not very popular for commerciual exhibition. They are sometimes shown in art theaters and Turner Classic Films has a weekly showing of a few silent films. His theatrical career began at the age of 3 years of age. He appeared onstage in 'The Riddle Woman' with Geraldine Farrar a silent film diva. A French lady who was a friend of Farrar noticed Philippe at a party and mentioned him to Farrar. Philippe won roles in important Hollywood films and played with many of the Silent era stars. He appearing with Alla Nazimova in 'The Doll’s House' (1922). He played Mary Pickford’s younger brother in 'Rosita' (1923). One of his best known roles was Michael Darling in the classic silent version of 'Peter Pan' (1924). This still stands s one of thecbest film versions. Betty Bronson played Peter. He then played the young Don Juan at 10-years of age in John Barrymore's Don Juan (1926). He also appeared in 'Blue Boy' (1926). Next he played the young prince Karl Heinrich in Ernst Lubitsch's notable 'The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg' (1927). This was an important film starring Ramon Novarro and Norma Shearer. In that same year he starred with Greta Garbo and John Gilbert in 'Love' (1927), a modernized version of the Tolstoy classic novel Anna Karenina. Philippe of course played Anna's son--Serezha Karenin. Some of his last films were Other films were 'The Marriage Playground' (1929) and 'Sarah and Son' (1930). By the time the talkies appeared, Philipp's Hollywood career was already declining. Philippe also appeared on stage in several theatrical roles.

Costumes

The films we have seen generally have Philippe dressed in natty short pants suit. We also notice sailor suits. He was in one costume dramas, 'Blue Boy' in which he wore the costume depicted in the famous Gainsborough painting. He wore a sailor suit in 'Peter Pan' and another as an older boy in 'Sarah and Son'.

Created: January 2, 2000
Last updated: 5:54 PM 10/25/2013