biography

John Steppling (8 August 1870 in Essen, Germany – 5 April 1932 in Hollywood, California) was a German-American silent film actor. He moved to America at a young age and entered film in 1912 aged 42. He starred in a total of 230 films between then and 1928, beginning with one of the first feature films ever made, Tess of the d'Urbervilles. He is also credited with directing 7 films. He is the grandfather of playwright John Steppling.