William S. Hart
Age: N/A | From: Newburgh, New York, USA
Person Details
Birthday:
Aliases: William Surrey Hart , Two-Gun Bill , W.S. Hart , Wm. S. Hart , Wm. S Hart
Gender: Male
Place of birth: Newburgh, New York, USA
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 144
TV Involvements: 0
Most Famous Work
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.
Most Famous Work
Ben Hur
(1907) Messala
Hell's Hinges
(1916) Blaze Tracy
The Apostle of Vengeance
(1916) David Hudson
The Bargain
(1914) Jim Stokes
The Dawn Maker
(1916) Joe Elk
Singer Jim Mckee
(1924) 'Singer' Jim McKee
The Conversion of Frosty Blake
(1915) Frosty Blake
The Toll Gate
(1920) Black DeeringActing
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Self (archive footage) | |
| 1961 | Self (archive footage) | |
| 1953 | (archive footage) | |
| 1948 | Texas Tex (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| 1941 | Himself | |
| 1934 | Self (uncredited) | |
| 1931 | Self | |
| (archive footage) | ||
| 1928 | Himself (uncredited) | |
| 1925 | Don Carver | |
| 1924 | William S. Hart | |
| 'Singer' Jim McKee | ||
| 1923 | Wild Bill Hickok | |
| William S. Hart | ||
| 1922 | J.B., The Stranger | |
| 1921 | Three Word Brand / Governor Marsden / Ben Trego | |
| Robert Evans | ||
| Sergeant O'Malley | ||
| Oak Miller, a gambling man | ||
| 1920 | 'Sierra' Bill | |
| 'Square' Kelly | ||
| Dan Kurrie | ||
| Black Deering | ||
| 1919 | 'Hardwood' John Haynes | |
| Buckskin Hamilton | ||
| Square Deal Sanderson | ||
| Lem Beason | ||
| Hairpin Harry Dutton | ||
| Careless Carmody | ||
| 1918 | Robert Sands | |
| Steve Ransom | ||
| Jefferson 'Riddle' Gawne | ||
| Shark Monroe | ||
| 'Selfish' Yates | ||
| N/A | ||
| Hawk Parsons | ||
| Blue Blazes Rawden | ||
| 'Buck' Andrade | ||
| Bud Randall | ||
| 1917 | Ice Harding | |
| Budd Marr | ||
| Jefferson "On the Level" Leigh | ||
| N/A | ||
| Tom 'Wolf' Lowry | ||
| Jack O'Diamonds | ||
| Jim Alton | ||
| Cliff Hudspeth | ||
| Truthful Tulliver | ||
| 1916 | 'Bowie' Blake | |
| 'Draw' Egan aka William Blake | ||
| Joe Elk | ||
| Chiapa | ||
| David Hudson | ||
| Angus McConnell | ||
| Steve Denton | ||
| Bob Wiley | ||
| Blaze Tracy | ||
| Bob White | ||
| 1915 | Jim Houston | |
| Keno Bates | ||
| Boss Rider | ||
| Jim Treen | ||
| 'Bat' Peters | ||
| Cash Parrish | ||
| Steve Blake | ||
| Frosty Blake | ||
| Yukon Ed | ||
| Bad Buck Peters | ||
| "Buck" Farley | ||
| Luke McVane | ||
| Texas | ||
| Dave Page | ||
| Sheriff Hale | ||
| Rio Ed | ||
| Lon Haskins | ||
| Bill Evers | ||
| N/A | ||
| 1914 | Two-Gun Hicks | |
| Jim Stokes | ||
| Andy Stiles | ||
| Pete Larson | ||
| Jim Brandon | ||
| 1907 | Messala | |
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
Writing
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Writer | |
| 1924 | Story | |
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| 1921 | Story | |
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| 1920 | Story | |
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| 1919 | Writer | |
| 1917 | Story | |
| 1915 | Writer | |
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Directing
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
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| 1914 | Director | |
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| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
Production
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1923 | Producer | |
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| 1918 | Producer | |
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| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |