William S. Hart
Known for: Acting
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.
Filmography
Film
Show People
Self (uncredited)
1928
Hello, 'Frisco
William S. Hart
1924
Film
It's Showtime
Self (archive footage)
1976
Film
Shark Monroe
Shark Monroe
1918
Film
Hollywood
William S. Hart
1923
Film
Yesterday and Today
(archive footage)
1953
Film
Hell's Hinges
Blaze Tracy
1916
Film
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Self (archive footage)
1961
Film
The Return of Draw Egan
'Draw' Egan aka William Blake
1916
Film
The Hollywood Gad-About
Self (uncredited)
1934
Film
Tumbleweeds
Don Carver
1925
Film
The Great Chase
1962
Film
Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok
1923
Film
Riddle Gawne
Jefferson 'Riddle' Gawne
1918
Film
The House That Shadows Built
(archive footage)
1931
Film
On the Night Stage
Texas
1915
Film
The Primal Lure
Angus McConnell
1916
Film
Between Men
Bob White
1916
Film
The Patriot
Bob Wiley
1916
Film
The Aryan
Steve Denton
1916
Film
The Devil's Double
'Bowie' Blake
1916
Film
The Dawn Maker
Joe Elk
1916
Film
The Whistle
Robert Evans
1921
Film
The Silent Man
Budd Marr
1917
Film
Ben Hur
Messala
1907
Film
The Conversion of Frosty Blake
Frosty Blake
1915
Film
White Oak
Oak Miller, a gambling man
1921
Film
Wagon Tracks
Buckskin Hamilton
1919
Film
'Blue Blazes' Rawden
Blue Blazes Rawden
1918
Film
The Cradle of Courage
'Square' Kelly
1920
Film
Decasia: The State of Decay
Self - Cowboy (archive footage)
2002
Film
The Darkening Trail
Yukon Ed
1915
Pinto Ben
Boss Rider
1915
Film
Singer Jim Mckee
'Singer' Jim McKee
1924
Film
Wolf Lowry
Tom 'Wolf' Lowry
1917
His Hour of Manhood
Pete Larson
1914
Film
Variety Time
Texas Tex (archive footage) (uncredited)
1948
Film
The Poppy Girl's Husband
Hairpin Harry Dutton
1919
Film
The Grudge
Rio Ed
1915
Film
In the Sage Brush Country
Jim Brandon
1914
Film
Knight of the Trail
Jim Treen
1915
Film
The Money Corral
Lem Beason
1919
Film
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1
Self (uncredited)
1941
Film
Travelin' On
J.B., The Stranger
1922
Film
The Border Wireless
Steve Ransom
1918
Film
John Petticoats
'Hardwood' John Haynes
1919
Film
The Roughneck
Dave Page
1915
Film
The Narrow Trail
Ice Harding
1917
Film
The Bargain
Jim Stokes
1914
Film
The Square Deal Man
Jack O'Diamonds
1917
Film
Stars of Yesterday
Self
1931
Film
The Testing Block
'Sierra' Bill
1920
Film
The Disciple
Jim Houston
1915
Film
All-Star Production of Patriotic Episodes for the Second Liberty Loan
1917
Jim Cameron's Wife
Andy Stiles
1914
Film
Keno Bates, Liar
Keno Bates
1915
Film
A Lion of the Hills
1918
Film
The Toll Gate
Black Deering
1920
Film
Branding Broadway
Robert Sands
1918
Film
The Taking of Luke McVane
Luke McVane
1915
The Scourge of the Desert
Bill Evers
1915
Film
Three Word Brand
Three Word Brand / Governor Marsden / Ben Trego
1921
Film
Tools of Providence
Steve Blake
1915
Film
Breed of Men
Careless Carmody
1919
Film
The Sheriff's Streak of Yellow
Sheriff Hale
1915
Film
Selfish Yates
'Selfish' Yates
1918
Film
The Captive God
Chiapa
1916
Film
The Gun Fighter
Cliff Hudspeth
1917
Film
Mr. 'Silent' Haskins
Lon Haskins
1915
Film
Square Deal Sanderson
Square Deal Sanderson
1919
Film
Sand
Dan Kurrie
1920
Film
The Desert Man
Jim Alton
1917
Film
Bad Buck of Santa Ynez
Bad Buck Peters
1915
Film
The Man from Nowhere
"Buck" Farley
1915
Film
The Apostle of Vengeance
David Hudson
1916
Film
Two-Gun Hicks
Two-Gun Hicks
1914
Film
O'Malley of the Mounted
Sergeant O'Malley
1921
Film
The Tiger Man
Hawk Parsons
1918
Film
The Ruse
'Bat' Peters
1915
Film
The Cold Deck
Jefferson "On the Level" Leigh
1917
Film
Cash Parrish's Pal
Cash Parrish
1915
Film
Wolves of the Rail
'Buck' Andrade
1918
Film
Truthful Tulliver
Truthful Tulliver
1917
Grit
Rio Ed
1915
Staking His Life
Bud Randall
1918