A former reporter for the New York Times and, an early studio bio claimed, a champion roller skater, British-born Fred Goodwins had appeared on Broadway in Driven (1914) and Rosemary (1915), as well as in stock with the likes of John Drew and Sir George Alexander, prior to entering motion pictures to play Edna Purviance's father in such Charles Chaplin classics as A Jitney Elopement and The Tramp (both 1915). Returning to Great Britain for war service, Goodwins later became a noted writer-director-actor in his native country. His early death was attributed to chronic bronchitis.