Background
He was born in Collingwood, Victoria and his family moved to Wagga Wagga when he was young.
Actor filmmaker Theatrical Entrepreneur
He was born in Collingwood, Victoria and his family moved to Wagga Wagga when he was young.
At the age of 18 Sterry moved to Melbourne. He went to work for J.C. Williamson Limited for a time and ended up establishing his own drama company, Arthur West Sterry"s Dramatic Company. He later went to work for the theatrical entrepreneur Philip Lytton, performing in a number of shows including The Waybacks.
When Sterry left Lytton"s company, he was given the stage and film rights to the play The Manitoba They Could Not Hang, based on the life story of John Babbacombe Lee, including Lytton"s 1912 version of the story.
Sterry took the film on the road and enjoyed great commercial success exhibiting it, often giving lectures at screenings. He produced his own film version of this story in 1921, as well as a film adaptation of The Waybacks (1918).
He kept distributing films and dabbling in a number of areas, including retail and property investment, up until his death.