Philip Lonergan

The New Rochelle Pioneer, September 5, 1914, printed a biographical sketch by John William Kellette: “Philip Lonergan is the new editor of the Thanhouser Corporation, as Lloyd F. finds his production work crowding him away from the desk and more into shaping events at the big studio. But the desk is in capable hands, and Phil has been responsible for some of the best stuff seen on the screen this year. In Jean of the Wilderness he gave one of the intensely dramatic hits of the current month, and among his best known work for the screen this year are L’Article 47, The Lackey, The Wheels of Destiny, The Clerk, A Mixup in Pedigrees, for Majestic; The Broken Barrier, 2 reels, Reliance; and Deborah, For Her Child, The Substitute, The Guiding Hand, all two reelers, for the Thanhouser Corporation, while for Princess he wrote A Telephone Strategy, His Enemy, The Little Senorita, The Toy Shop, The Veteran’s Sword, The Belle of the School, and many others not shown yet in this city.

“He was born in Hackensack, N.J., May 18, 1885 and graduated from the Commercial High School. He wrote short stories for the Munsey publications, ‘At the Switchboard,’ All Story Magazine, being his best known. In May 1912, he came to Thanhouser, and his first story, The Little Girl Next Door, featured the Fairbanks Twins, and since that time he has given them many vehicles that made them famous internationally. He is a member of the Photoplayers of Los Angeles, Ed-Au Club, New York, and the Photoplaywright Authors League, Los Angeles. He finds night his best time to work, and he works on more than one script at a time, preferring drama exclusively. He has written about 250 stories for the screen and is very prolific.

“Phil, is responsible now for three Thanhouser releases and a Princess every week, and those who have tried to originate four totally different plots a week knows he has no sinecure, but a glance at his photo will show that he’s getting stout on the job. He lives in Brooklyn, but we hope some day to get him to pick a villa in New Rochelle, and can assure him that we’ll take care to see that the natives treat him right. Every day, rain or shine, Phil can be found at the studio in consultation with directors and his hours are only limited by the face of the clock.”

Philip Lonergan lived in Brooklyn during most of his association with the Thanhouser studio, and did not move to New Rochelle until August 1915. He remained with Thanhouser until the last year of production, 1917. According to an article in the June 16, 1917 issue of The New Rochelle Pioneer, Philip Lonergan “resigned” as assistant editor of the scenario department at the same time that several other Thanhouser employees were dismissed because of “dullness in the moving picture game due to the war spirit.” At the time his home address was 130 Lefferts Place, Brooklyn, New York. The January 29, 1916 edition of the Motion Picture News Studio Directory stated that he had written over 300 scenarios for various studios. In 1919 he wrote Mandarin’s Gold for World. In 1920 he co-authored the scenario of The Penalty (Goldwyn). Philip Lonergan died in Hollywood, California on March 8, 1940.