Jack Wagner

Who was Jack Wagner?

Jack Wagner was a U.S. screenwriter. Born in Los Angeles, California, USA, he spent many years living in Mexico before returning to Los Angeles to work for D. W. Griffith on his early films.¹

Between the years 1909 and 1912, Wagner worked mostly as a furniture painter or set designer and second unit cameraman. He then turned his attention to gag writing and found a job with Mack Sennett writing gags for Keystone Kops shorts. His specialty was comedy construction, especially the famed car chase scenes. When the United States entered World War I, he joined the Army's first motion picture unit with the Signal Corps. He was assigned to filming Air Corps footage. He also filmed battles involving American forces at the Marne, St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne. He was discharged in 1919. He continued working through the teens and 1920s as a gag writer. He also worked as an assistant director and second unit man for such directors as Allan Dwan and Lewis Milestone.

In the mid-1920s he wrote gags for Harry Langdon and Will Rogers. When talkies arrived, Wagner found himself making the difficult transition from silents. He never achieved the success he found in silents.