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