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{{about|the actor|the baseball player|Detroit Tigers replacement players (May 18, 1912)#Hap Ward}}
'''John Thomas O'Donnell''', better known by his stage name '''Hap Ward''',<ref name="Fisher">Fisher, p. 602</ref> (July 1868, [[Philadelphia]] – January 3, 1944, [[New York City]]) was an American [[comedian]], dancer, and [[actor]] who was half of the [[vaudeville]] comedy duo Ward and Vokes.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1944/01/04/archives/john-hap-ward-former-vaudeville-comedian-teamed-with-harry-vokes.html|title=JOHN (HAP) WARD; Former Vaudeville Comedian Teamed With Harry Vokes|work=[[The New York Times]]|page=17|date=January 4, 1944}}</ref>
Ward and Vokes toured widely in a series of musicals and vaudeville entertainments from 1894 through 1911. After this, Ward worked in other stage works without Vokes and starred in several films made from 1918 through 1929. The majority of his films were short comic silent films made with the actress [[Gale Henry]] between the years 1919 and 1921. His final film was the 1929 sound feature ''[[Fugitives (1929 film)|Fugitives]]'' in which he portrayed  Scal "the Rat". He starred in several [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musicals during his career, including ''[[The Floor Walkers]]'' (1900) and the ''[[Ziegfeld Follies|Ziegfeld Follies of 1923]]''
==Life and career==
Born John Thomas O'Donnell in [[Philadelphia]],<ref name="Bowker">, Mack Truitt, p. 477</ref><ref name="Fisher"/> Hap Ward began his career in the theatre as a dancer.<ref name="Fisher"/> He formed a comedic partnership with the actor [[Harry Vokes]] in 1884, and the pair first achieved fame performing in theaters owned by the impresario [[Tony Pastor]] in which they excelled at portraying the [[tramp]]s Harold and Percy; original characters they created which the duo portrayed in numerous stage works. These included the musicals ''A Run On the Bank'' (1895), ''The Governors'' (1898), ''[[The Floor Walkers]]'' (1900), ''The Head Waiters'' (1901), ''A Pair of Pinks'' (1905), ''The Promoters'' (1910), and ''The Trouble Makers'' (1911).  The tramp characters of Harold and Percy generated comedy by behaving with gentlemanly manners of a higher social class while appearing like homeless vagrants. Ultimately these characters evolved from being unambitious tramps affecting upper class manners into "wealthy layabouts".<ref name="Fisher"/>
''The Floor Walkers'' toured to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]'s [[Grand Opera House (Manhattan)|Grand Opera House]] for performances in 1900 and again in 1901. This work also starred sisters Margaret and Lucy Daly; the latter of whom was married to Hap Ward.<ref>Dietz, p. 7-8</ref> Without Vokes, Ward starred in the Broadway musicals ''The Grafter'' (1906, as Bill Grafter),<ref>Dietz, p. 343</ref> ''Not Yet, But Soon'' (1907, as Bill Nerve),<ref>Dietz, p. 415</ref> and the ''[[Ziegfeld Follies|Ziegfeld Follies of 1923]]''.<ref name="Fisher"/>
Ward made his [[silent film]] debut in [[Francis Ford (actor)|Francis Ford]]'s ''[[The Silent Mystery]]'' (1918).<ref>Katchmer, p. 304</ref> This was followed by many comic silent films, most of them short films, made with the actress [[Gale Henry]] from 1919 through 1921; including the role of One Lung in ''The Detectress'' (1919) and parts in ''Pants'' (1919), ''The Slavey'' (1919), ''Her First Flame'' (1919), ''Her Week-end'' (1919), ''Lizzie's Luck'' (1919), ''Poor Fish'' (1919), ''Cash'' (1919), ''Sweet Cookie'' (1919), ''This Way Out'' (1920), ''Help!'' (1920), and ''Beat It'' (1921) to name a few.<ref>Massa, Chapter "Gale Henry Filmography"</ref> Ward later appeared in one sound film, portraying Scal "the Rat" in ''[[Fugitives (1929 film)|Fugitives]]'' (1929).<ref>Solomon, p. 312</ref>
After retiring from acting, Ward operated a roadhouse outside of Boston for many years.<ref name="NYT"/> At various points in his career he also worked as a theatre agent and producer.<ref name="NYT"/>  He was a member of [[The Lambs]] and was a founding member of The Catholic Actor's Guild of America.<ref name="NYT"/> He died at his home in New York City on January 3, 1944 at the age of 76.<ref name="NYT"/>
==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}
===Bibliography===
*{{cite book|first1=Dan|last1=Dietz|title=The Complete Book of 1900s Broadway Musicals|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]]|year=2022|isbn=9781538168943}}
*{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Vaudeville|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers]]|first= James|last= Fisher|year=2023|isbn=9781538113356|chapter=Ward and Vokes}}
*{{cite book|title=Eighty Silent Film Stars: Biographies and Filmographies of the Obscure to the Well Known|first=George A.|last= Katchmer|year= 1991|isbn=9780899504940|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]}}
*{{cite book|title=Who Was Who on Screen|chapter=Ward, 'Hap', Sr.|year=1977|first=Evelyn|last= Mack Truitt|isbn=9780835209144|publisher=[[R. R. Bowker|Bowker]]}}
*{{cite book|title=Lame Brains and Lunatics: The Good, The Bad, and The Forgotten of Silent Comedy|publisher=Bear Manor Media|year=2013|isbn=9781593932688|first=Steve|last=Massa}}
*{{cite book |last=Solomon |first=Aubrey |title=The Fox Film Corporation, 1915–1935: A History and Filmography |year=2011 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-0-7864-6286-5}}
==External links==
*{{IMDB name|id=0911567}}
*{{IBDB name|id=64031}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Hap}}
[[Category:1868 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American comedians]]
[[Category:American musical theatre actors]]
[[Category:American silent film actors]]
[[Category:Male actors from Philadelphia]]
[[Category:Members of The Lambs Club]]
[[Category:American vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:20th-century American comedians]]
[[Category:American male comedians]]