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