William S. Hart
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The first Western superstar, the taciturn Hart actually was a successful Shakespearean actor who played Messala in “Ben-Hur” on Broadway in 1899 before riding the range in movies. A longtime fan of the Old West, Hart was friends with Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. His film career began in 1914. After two supporting roles he gained fame as the lead in the feature-length western “The Bargain” shot on location at the Grand Canyon. Hart strove to make his westerns realistic with detailed attention played to costumes and props. Though Hart could be cast as a villain, he imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity. After making western shorts for producer Thomas Ince, he went to Famous Players-Lasky, which merged with Paramount Pictures in 1917. At Paramount he made such gritty feature westerns as “Square Deal Sanderson” and “The Toll Gate.” His star began to fade in the early 1920s when audiences grew tired of his moralistic Western tales. Not helping his career was his 1923 divorce from his wife, Winifred, who accused him of having two children by another woman. He made one last film, 1925’s “Tumbleweeds, which he financed himself. In 1939, the film was reissued this time with a prologue featuring a 75-year-old Hart shot on location at his ranch in Newhall talking about the West and his days in films. He died in 1946 at age 81. His home and ranch were turned into William S. Hart Park in Newhall.
Known for
Credits
Show People (1928)
as Self (uncredited)
It's Showtime (1976)
as Self (archive footage)
Shark Monroe (1918)
as Shark Monroe
Hello, 'Frisco (1924)
as William S. Hart
Riddle Gawne (1918)
as Jefferson 'Riddle' Gawne
Hell's Hinges (1916)
as Blaze Tracy
The House That Shadows Built (1931)
as (archive footage)
'Blue Blazes' Rawden (1918)
as Blue Blazes Rawden
Yesterday and Today (1953)
as (archive footage)
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino (1961)
as Self (archive footage)
The Great Chase (1962)
Actor
Hollywood (1923)
as William S. Hart
Stars of Yesterday (1931)
as Self
The Devil's Double (1916)
as 'Bowie' Blake
Singer Jim Mckee (1924)
as 'Singer' Jim McKee
The Silent Man (1917)
as Budd Marr
Ben Hur (1907)
as Messala
The Narrow Trail (1917)
as Ice Harding
Jim Cameron's Wife (1914)
as Andy Stiles
A Lion of the Hills (1918)
Actor
Variety Time (1948)
as Texas Tex (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tumbleweeds (1925)
as Don Carver
The Hollywood Gad-About (1934)
as Self (uncredited)
The Cradle of Courage (1920)
as 'Square' Kelly
The Toll Gate (1920)
as Black Deering
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1 (1941)
as Self (uncredited)
The Ruse (1915)
as 'Bat' Peters
The Return of Draw Egan (1916)
as 'Draw' Egan aka William Blake
Between Men (1916)
as Bob White
Wild Bill Hickok (1923)
as Wild Bill Hickok
Knight of the Trail (1915)
as Jim Treen
Breed of Men (1919)
as Careless Carmody
The Border Wireless (1918)
as Steve Ransom
The Desert Man (1917)
as Jim Alton
John Petticoats (1919)
as 'Hardwood' John Haynes
The Aryan (1916)
as Steve Denton
Travelin' On (1922)
as J.B., The Stranger
The Conversion of Frosty Blake (1915)
as Frosty Blake
The Poppy Girl's Husband (1919)
as Hairpin Harry Dutton
His Hour of Manhood (1914)
as Pete Larson
Wolves of the Rail (1918)
as 'Buck' Andrade
Selfish Yates (1918)
as 'Selfish' Yates
Wagon Tracks (1919)
as Buckskin Hamilton
The Whistle (1921)
as Robert Evans
Decasia: The State of Decay (2002)
as Self - Cowboy (archive footage)
The Primal Lure (1916)
as Angus McConnell
Three Word Brand (1921)
as Three Word Brand / Governor Marsden / Ben Trego
Square Deal Sanderson (1919)
as Square Deal Sanderson
White Oak (1921)
as Oak Miller, a gambling man
O'Malley of the Mounted (1921)
as Sergeant O'Malley
Wolf Lowry (1917)
as Tom 'Wolf' Lowry
The Testing Block (1920)
as 'Sierra' Bill
The Tiger Man (1918)
as Hawk Parsons
Keno Bates, Liar (1915)
as Keno Bates
The Bargain (1914)
as Jim Stokes
In the Sage Brush Country (1914)
as Jim Brandon
Pinto Ben (1915)
as Boss Rider
The Disciple (1915)
as Jim Houston
The Roughneck (1915)
as Dave Page
The Patriot (1916)
as Bob Wiley
On the Night Stage (1915)
as Texas
The Gun Fighter (1917)
as Cliff Hudspeth
All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan (1917)
Actor
The Man from Nowhere (1915)
as "Buck" Farley
The Square Deal Man (1917)
as Jack O'Diamonds
Branding Broadway (1918)
as Robert Sands
The Cold Deck (1917)
as Jefferson "On the Level" Leigh
Tools of Providence (1915)
as Steve Blake
The Taking of Luke McVane (1915)
as Luke McVane
The Darkening Trail (1915)
as Yukon Ed
The Scourge of the Desert (1915)
as Bill Evers
The Sheriff's Streak of Yellow (1915)
as Sheriff Hale
The Captive God (1916)
as Chiapa
Mr. 'Silent' Haskins (1915)
as Lon Haskins
The Grudge (1915)
as Rio Ed
Two-Gun Hicks (1914)
as Two-Gun Hicks
Staking His Life (1918)
as Bud Randall
The Apostle of Vengeance (1916)
as David Hudson
The Money Corral (1919)
as Lem Beason
The Dawn Maker (1916)
as Joe Elk
Cash Parrish's Pal (1915)
as Cash Parrish
Bad Buck of Santa Ynez (1915)
as Bad Buck Peters
Truthful Tulliver (1917)
as Truthful Tulliver
Sand (1920)
as Dan Kurrie
Grit (1915)
as Rio Ed