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)
Hello, 'Frisco (1924)
as William S. Hart
Hell's Hinges (1916)
as Blaze Tracy
Riddle Gawne (1918)
as Jefferson 'Riddle' Gawne
Singer Jim Mckee (1924)
as 'Singer' Jim McKee
The House That Shadows Built (1931)
as (archive footage)
A Lion of the Hills (1918)
Actor
The Devil's Double (1916)
as 'Bowie' Blake
Hollywood (1923)
as William S. Hart
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino (1961)
as Self (archive footage)
The Captive God (1916)
as Chiapa
The Great Chase (1962)
Actor
The Square Deal Man (1917)
as Jack O'Diamonds
In the Sage Brush Country (1914)
as Jim Brandon
The Ruse (1915)
as 'Bat' Peters
Jim Cameron's Wife (1914)
as Andy Stiles
The Return of Draw Egan (1916)
as 'Draw' Egan aka William Blake
Shark Monroe (1918)
as Shark Monroe
Wolves of the Rail (1918)
as 'Buck' Andrade
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1 (1941)
as Self (uncredited)
The Man from Nowhere (1915)
as "Buck" Farley
On the Night Stage (1915)
as Texas
The Poppy Girl's Husband (1919)
as Hairpin Harry Dutton
The Cradle of Courage (1920)
as 'Square' Kelly
The Taking of Luke McVane (1915)
as Luke McVane
Decasia: The State of Decay (2002)
as Self - Cowboy (archive footage)
The Apostle of Vengeance (1916)
as David Hudson
The Money Corral (1919)
as Lem Beason
The Conversion of Frosty Blake (1915)
as Frosty Blake
Knight of the Trail (1915)
as Jim Treen
All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan (1917)
Actor
The Sheriff's Streak of Yellow (1915)
as Sheriff Hale
The Aryan (1916)
as Steve Denton
The Hollywood Gad-About (1934)
as Self (uncredited)
Breed of Men (1919)
as Careless Carmody
The Primal Lure (1916)
as Angus McConnell
The Patriot (1916)
as Bob Wiley
His Hour of Manhood (1914)
as Pete Larson
The Dawn Maker (1916)
as Joe Elk
The Grudge (1915)
as Rio Ed
Wolf Lowry (1917)
as Tom 'Wolf' Lowry
Ben Hur (1907)
as Messala
Sand (1920)
as Dan Kurrie
The Bargain (1914)
as Jim Stokes
'Blue Blazes' Rawden (1918)
as Blue Blazes Rawden
The Scourge of the Desert (1915)
as Bill Evers
Bad Buck of Santa Ynez (1915)
as Bad Buck Peters
Cash Parrish's Pal (1915)
as Cash Parrish
Tumbleweeds (1925)
as Don Carver
The Desert Man (1917)
as Jim Alton
John Petticoats (1919)
as 'Hardwood' John Haynes
O'Malley of the Mounted (1921)
as Sergeant O'Malley
The Roughneck (1915)
as Dave Page
Yesterday and Today (1953)
as (archive footage)
Stars of Yesterday (1931)
as Self
The Narrow Trail (1917)
as Ice Harding
Variety Time (1948)
as Texas Tex (archive footage) (uncredited)
Wagon Tracks (1919)
as Buckskin Hamilton
The Tiger Man (1918)
as Hawk Parsons
The Cold Deck (1917)
as Jefferson "On the Level" Leigh
Pinto Ben (1915)
as Boss Rider
The Silent Man (1917)
as Budd Marr
The Gun Fighter (1917)
as Cliff Hudspeth
Travelin' On (1922)
as J.B., The Stranger
The Border Wireless (1918)
as Steve Ransom
Staking His Life (1918)
as Bud Randall
Wild Bill Hickok (1923)
as Wild Bill Hickok
The Disciple (1915)
as Jim Houston
Three Word Brand (1921)
as Three Word Brand / Governor Marsden / Ben Trego
The Toll Gate (1920)
as Black Deering
Tools of Providence (1915)
as Steve Blake
Keno Bates, Liar (1915)
as Keno Bates
Square Deal Sanderson (1919)
as Square Deal Sanderson
The Whistle (1921)
as Robert Evans
White Oak (1921)
as Oak Miller, a gambling man
The Testing Block (1920)
as 'Sierra' Bill
Two-Gun Hicks (1914)
as Two-Gun Hicks
Between Men (1916)
as Bob White
The Darkening Trail (1915)
as Yukon Ed
Truthful Tulliver (1917)
as Truthful Tulliver
Selfish Yates (1918)
as 'Selfish' Yates
Branding Broadway (1918)
as Robert Sands
Mr. 'Silent' Haskins (1915)
as Lon Haskins
Grit (1915)
as Rio Ed