Hal De Forrest was a Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

-born American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 early silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

.

Born as Aloysius J. De Sylva, he emigrated to the United States and became a stage actor. He starred on Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 in the original production of A Gentleman from Mississippi, which played from September 29, 1908 until September 1909.

De Forrest moved into film in 1915 but only starred in 9 films until his retirement from acting in 1922 aged 60. He was the father of the prolific songwriter and producer Buddy DeSylva.

He died in New York City on 16 February 1938.

Filmography (as Hal De Forrest)

• A Stage Romance (1922)
• Tangled Lives (1917)
• A Daughter of the Gods
  A Daughter of the Gods
  A Daughter of the Gods is a silent film that featured Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman.The film was controversial because of the sequences of what was regarded as superfluous nudity by the main character, Nydia, played by Kellerman...
  
  (1916)
• The Toy Soldier (1916)
• The Marble Heart (1916)
• Larry O'Neill
  Larry O'Neill
  Larry O'Neill is a 1915 short silent American drama film directed by Clem Easton and starring William Garwood and Violet Mersereau. Also starring Portuguese actor Hal De Forrest....
  
  (1915)
• The Alibi
  The Alibi
  The Alibi is a 2006 American film written by Noah Hawley and directed by Matt Checkowski and Kurt Mattila. The film was released to DVD on December 5, 2006 under the title Lies and Alibis.-Plot:...
  
  (1915)
• The Mystery of the Man Who Slept (1915)

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