He rose to fame during the silent era and became a popular leading man known as "The Great Lover". At the height of his career, Gilbert rivaled Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw. Gilbert's career declined precipitously when silent pictures gave way to talkies. Though Gilbert was often cited as one of the high-profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to sound films, his decline as a star had far more to do with studio politics and money than with the sound of his screen voice, which was rich and distinctive.
Born John Cecil Pringle in Logan, Utah , to stock-company actor parents, John George Pringle — and Ida Adair Apperly Gilbert — , he struggled through a childhood of abuse and neglect, with his family moving frequently and young "Jack" having to attend assorted schools throughout the United States.
After losing his stage job in , Gilbert decided to try screen acting, and quickly gained work as a film extra through Herschell Mayall. His first true leading role was in Princess of the Dark with Enid Bennett , but the film was not a big success and he went back to supporting roles in The Dark Road , Happiness , The Millionaire Vagrant , and The Hater of Men Maurice Tourneur signed him to a contract to both write and act in films. As a writer only, he worked on The Bait , which starred and was produced by Hope Hampton.
For Hampton, Gilbert wrote and directed as well, but he did not appear in Love's Penalty In , Gilbert signed a three-year contract with Fox Film Corporation , which subsequently cast him in romantic leading roles and promoted him now as "John Gilbert".
The actor's first starring part for the studio was in Shame Many of the scenarios for these films were written by Jules Furthman. Elmo , and The Exiles Under the auspices of movie producer Irving Thalberg , Gilbert obtained a release from his Fox contract and moved to MGM , where he became a full-fledged star cast in major productions. First starring in His Hour directed by King Vidor and written by Elinor Glyn his film career entered its ascendancy.
