Born in London, England, in 1853, prolific actor/director (300+
credits) Tom Ricketts is mostly forgotten today, but his chief claim to
fame is that he directed the first motion picture shot in Hollywood.
Ricketts began his show-business career as an actor on the London
stage, and gained a reputation as one of the best Shakespearean actors
of his day. Ricketts never seemed to rest, working up until a few days
before his death in 1939. He left for work one day with a bad cold,
which quickly developed into pneumonia. His health went downhill
rapidly and he died only a few days later. His wife, the actress
Josephine Ditt (aka Josephine
Ditt), was not notified of his death at the time; she was still
suffering from the effects of a stroke that she had in December of
1938.