The son of a stage actor/director, Wallace Reid had appeared onstage in his parents' act by the age of four. During much of his youth, however, he was kept away from the stage and sent to private schools, where he showed talent as a musician, painter, and athlete. In 1910 he debuted onscreen in The Phoenix, produced by the film company which employed his father as a screenwriter. He played character roles in over 100 films, then became a star after his appearance in D.W. Griffith's famed The Birth of a Nation (1915). He starred in over sixty films of varying length, many of which he also directed; occasionally, his films were directed by his father. By 1920 he was among the most popular stars in the country (#1 in 1921). In 1919 he suffered head injuries in a train crash; given morphine for the pain, he soon became addicted to the drug. Although he continued starring in numerous films, his addiction grew worse, and in late 1922 he was placed in a sanitarium, where he died soon thereafter at the age of 32. He was married to actress Dorothy Davenport.