William De Vaull (December 12, 1870 â June 4, 1945) - also credited as William P. DeVaull - was an American film actor. He appeared in more than thirty films from 1915 to 1927. In 1919 he sued the Shipman-Curwood Company for nonpayment of $400 (approximately $35,000 in 2026). He portaryed a Black character, Jake, in the D. W. Griffith film The Birth of a Nation.