[2][3] A stage actor long before entering films, North had appeared on Broadway in 1899 with Mrs. Fiske and Maurice Barrymore in Becky Sharp and with Julia Marlowe in 1901 in When Knighthood was in Flower.

[5] In September 1913 North was temporarily blinded as a result of a yacht-cannon that exploded prematurely during the principal photography of the film Miss Tomboy and Freckles.

[6] Along with J. Stuart Blackton he directed Vitagraph's controversial 1915 war film The Battle Cry of Peace,[8] based on the book Defenseless America by Hudson Maxim, which called on the United States to enter World War I against Germany.

North worked for Select Pictures for a short period of time but eventually returned to Vitagraph, which made him the company's production manager.

After the introduction of talkies, North started playing supporting roles in films, especially the characters of judges,[11] which he played in Port of Dreams (1929),[1] No More Children (1929),[1] The Trial of Mary Dugan (1929),[12] Girl Overboard (1929), Red-Headed Woman (1932),[13] The Washington Masquerade (1932),[1] Unashamed (1932),[12] The Penguin Pool Murder (1932),[1] and The Defense Rests (1934).