Lucas was born in Norfolk County, Ontario on January 30, 1871,[1][2] most likely in the township of Townsend where at the time his father served as a Wesleyan Methodist minister.

In her 1925 book titled When the Movies Were Young, Griffith's wife, actress Linda Arvidson, told the story of the early days at Biograph Studios.

"[8] In 1908 Lucas made his motion picture debut in Griffith's The Greaser's Gauntlet, appearing in more than 50 of these short (usually 17 minutes) films over the next two years.

Canadian-born director Mack Sennett hired him to both direct and act in a large number of films at his Keystone Studios.

Although for a time he was cast in leading roles, he became very successful as secondary and minor characters, making a good living in the film industry for more than three decades.

John Meredyth Lucas (1919–2002) became a successful writer and director including a number of episodes of Mannix and Star Trek.