William S. Hart
Biography
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
Acting
1923
asWilliam S. Hart
1953
as(archive footage)
1914
asPete Larson
1914
asAndy Stiles
1915
asDave Page
1915
asBoss Rider
1914
asTwo-Gun Hicks
1915
asBill Evers
1915
asLon Haskins
1915
asRio Ed
1915
asFrosty Blake
1915
asCash Parrish
1915
as
1916
as'Bowie' Blake
1918
as
1918
asSteve Ransom
1918
asBud Randall
1931
asSelf
1961
asSelf (archive footage)
1916
asBlaze Tracy
1925
asDon Carver
1917
asIce Harding
1916
as'Draw' Egan aka William Blake
1920
asDan Kurrie
1921
asRobert Evans
1920
asBlack Deering
1919
asBuckskin Hamilton
1914
asJim Stokes
1917
asJefferson "On the Level" Leigh
1915
asKeno Bates
1915
as'Bat' Peters
1920
as'Square' Kelly
1922
asJ.B., The Stranger
1915
asLuke McVane
1917
asBudd Marr
1918
asShark Monroe
1916
asBob White
1915
asJim Treen
1915
asTexas
1916
asJoe Elk
1915
asYukon Ed
1921
asThree Word Brand / Governor Marsden / Ben Trego
1918
asBlue Blazes Rawden
1921
asOak Miller, a gambling man
1917
asCliff Hudspeth
1923
asWild Bill Hickok
1916
asChiapa
1915
asJim Houston
1917
as
1915
asBad Buck Peters
1915
asSteve Blake
1941
asHimself
1948
asTexas Tex (archive footage) (uncredited)
1917
asJack O'Diamonds
1915
asSheriff Hale
1916
asSteve Denton
1928
asSelf (uncredited)
1918
asRobert Sands
1917
asJim Alton
1920
as'Sierra' Bill
1934
asSelf (uncredited)
1924
asWilliam S. Hart
1918
as'Buck' Andrade
1918
asHawk Parsons
1918
as'Selfish' Yates
1919
asCareless Carmody
1918
asJefferson 'Riddle' Gawne
1921
asSergeant O'Malley
1917
asTruthful Tulliver
1919
as'Hardwood' John Haynes
1924
as'Singer' Jim McKee
1917
asTom 'Wolf' Lowry
1919
asSquare Deal Sanderson
1931
as(archive footage)
1915
as"Buck" Farley
1976
asSelf (archive footage)
1914
asJim Brandon
1916
asBob Wiley
1919
asHairpin Harry Dutton
1919
asLem Beason
1916
asDavid Hudson
1916
asAngus McConnell
1962
asProduction
1920
as1921
as1923
as1918
as1918
as1919
as1919
as1919
asCrew
Directing
1917
as1916
as1916
as1917
as1915
as1915
as1920
as1915
as1917
as1916
as1915
as1916
as1918
as1915
as1918
as1917
as1916
as1915
as1915
as1916
as1918
as1914
as1915
as1915
as1915
as1915
as1915
as1915
as1915
as1915
as1915
as1917
as1915
as1918
as1917
as1925
as1918
as1918
as1918
as1918
as1917
as1917
as1919
as1914
as1915
as1916
as1919
as1919
as1916
as
