Rupert Julian

Coming to the US at the age of 34, New Zealand-born 'Rupert Julian' (qv) started his career as a stage and screen actor touring Australia and New Zealand. Having made his name (and a cool million for Universal) as a dead ringer for 'Kaiser Wilhelm II' (qv) in the 1918 film _The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (1918)_ (qv), he turned director. His output was mostly routine until he was assigned to complete _Merry-Go-Round (1923)_ (qv) when director 'Erich von Stroheim' (qv) was fired from it. His best-known picture was 'Lon Chaney' (qv)'s _The Phantom of the Opera (1925)_ (qv) (though he in turn was fired and replaced before filming was completed), but he soon fell into a professional decline, and after directing only two films after the advent of sound, his career fizzled out.::frankfob2@yahoo.com