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)
Hello, 'Frisco (1924)
as William S. Hart
It's Showtime (1976)
as Self (archive footage)
Hell's Hinges (1916)
as Blaze Tracy
Riddle Gawne (1918)
as Jefferson 'Riddle' Gawne
The House That Shadows Built (1931)
as (archive footage)
Singer Jim Mckee (1924)
as 'Singer' Jim McKee
The Devil's Double (1916)
as 'Bowie' Blake
A Lion of the Hills (1918)
Actor
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino (1961)
as Self (archive footage)
Shark Monroe (1918)
as Shark Monroe
All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan (1917)
Actor
Hollywood (1923)
as William S. Hart
Jim Cameron's Wife (1914)
as Andy Stiles
'Blue Blazes' Rawden (1918)
as Blue Blazes Rawden
In the Sage Brush Country (1914)
as Jim Brandon
The Square Deal Man (1917)
as Jack O'Diamonds
The Great Chase (1962)
Actor
Decasia: The State of Decay (2002)
as Self - Cowboy (archive footage)
Wolves of the Rail (1918)
as 'Buck' Andrade
On the Night Stage (1915)
as Texas
Ben Hur (1907)
as Messala
The Return of Draw Egan (1916)
as 'Draw' Egan aka William Blake
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1 (1941)
as Self (uncredited)
The Captive God (1916)
as Chiapa
The Cradle of Courage (1920)
as 'Square' Kelly
The Ruse (1915)
as 'Bat' Peters
The Man from Nowhere (1915)
as "Buck" Farley
Tumbleweeds (1925)
as Don Carver
The Dawn Maker (1916)
as Joe Elk
The Money Corral (1919)
as Lem Beason
The Apostle of Vengeance (1916)
as David Hudson
His Hour of Manhood (1914)
as Pete Larson
O'Malley of the Mounted (1921)
as Sergeant O'Malley
Bad Buck of Santa Ynez (1915)
as Bad Buck Peters
The Grudge (1915)
as Rio Ed
The Sheriff's Streak of Yellow (1915)
as Sheriff Hale
Variety Time (1948)
as Texas Tex (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Bargain (1914)
as Jim Stokes
The Aryan (1916)
as Steve Denton
The Hollywood Gad-About (1934)
as Self (uncredited)
The Poppy Girl's Husband (1919)
as Hairpin Harry Dutton
The Primal Lure (1916)
as Angus McConnell
The Scourge of the Desert (1915)
as Bill Evers
Wolf Lowry (1917)
as Tom 'Wolf' Lowry
The Desert Man (1917)
as Jim Alton
The Patriot (1916)
as Bob Wiley
Breed of Men (1919)
as Careless Carmody
The Conversion of Frosty Blake (1915)
as Frosty Blake
Yesterday and Today (1953)
as (archive footage)
The Taking of Luke McVane (1915)
as Luke McVane
The Toll Gate (1920)
as Black Deering
Knight of the Trail (1915)
as Jim Treen
The Narrow Trail (1917)
as Ice Harding
Stars of Yesterday (1931)
as Self
Travelin' On (1922)
as J.B., The Stranger
John Petticoats (1919)
as 'Hardwood' John Haynes
The Silent Man (1917)
as Budd Marr
Wagon Tracks (1919)
as Buckskin Hamilton
The Gun Fighter (1917)
as Cliff Hudspeth
Cash Parrish's Pal (1915)
as Cash Parrish
Sand (1920)
as Dan Kurrie
The Roughneck (1915)
as Dave Page
The Tiger Man (1918)
as Hawk Parsons
Tools of Providence (1915)
as Steve Blake
The Cold Deck (1917)
as Jefferson "On the Level" Leigh
White Oak (1921)
as Oak Miller, a gambling man
Keno Bates, Liar (1915)
as Keno Bates
Staking His Life (1918)
as Bud Randall
Three Word Brand (1921)
as Three Word Brand / Governor Marsden / Ben Trego
Pinto Ben (1915)
as Boss Rider
Wild Bill Hickok (1923)
as Wild Bill Hickok
Selfish Yates (1918)
as 'Selfish' Yates
Square Deal Sanderson (1919)
as Square Deal Sanderson
The Border Wireless (1918)
as Steve Ransom
The Whistle (1921)
as Robert Evans
Between Men (1916)
as Bob White
Branding Broadway (1918)
as Robert Sands
The Disciple (1915)
as Jim Houston
The Testing Block (1920)
as 'Sierra' Bill
Truthful Tulliver (1917)
as Truthful Tulliver
The Darkening Trail (1915)
as Yukon Ed
Two-Gun Hicks (1914)
as Two-Gun Hicks
Mr. 'Silent' Haskins (1915)
as Lon Haskins
Grit (1915)
as Rio Ed