He directed 48 films in the 1910s and 1920s, including the 1915 The New Adventures of J. Rufus Wallingford featuring Oliver Hardy.

He worked for a number of stock companies, including that of Augustin Daly until 1899, and then became a stage manager.

[2] In 1912, the US government commissioned him to produce The Late Indian Wars, the first sevel-reel motion picture in America.

Stars he directed included Francis X. Bushman, Henry B. Walthall and Beverly Bayne.

[2] In the 1920s Wharton moved to Santa Cruz, California, as promoted by mayor Fred Swanton.