John St. Polis

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia John M St Polis November 24 1873 October 8 1946 was an American actor St Polis was born in New Orleans Louisiana Before starting his film career he made a name for himself on the Broadway stage most notably in the role of Frederik in the original production of The Return of Peter Grimm 191112 and the plays revival in 1921 both performed at the Belasco Theatre He appeared in 126 films between 1914 and 1943 In all of his early roles the actor is billed as John Sainpolis His bestknown performances are as Etienne Laurier in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 1921 and as Comte Phillipe de Chagny in The Phantom of the Opera 1925 St Polis successfully made the transition from silent cinema to talkies with one of his most praised performances as Dr John M Besant the father of Norma Besant played by Mary Pickford in Coquette 1929