Thurlow Weed Bergen (1875–1954) was an American actor of stage and silent film. Bergen was born on January 14, 1875, East Saginaw, Michigan to Issarella (Ella) Winner and the lawyer George B. Bergen. Bergen went to study law in Washington D.C., but at the age of 19 decided to become an actor instead. As a kid he had written and composed Esther's Lullaby, which around the turn of the century was a well-known song. He played and sang it at the White House for President Cleveland, who gave him permission to dedicate the song to his daughter Esther. Bergen moved to Newton, Massachusetts, where he married Clara Beatrice Farquhar in 1899, the daughter of the wealthy Boston financier Samuel Farquhar. He started a successful touring company, and dabbled in composition and writing as well (he wrote