William S. Hart
Acting
Born 1864-12-06
Died 1946-06-23
Newburgh, New York, USA
86 credits
Read 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.
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Filmography
— top 60 of 86
Acting
57 credits
Show People
Hello, 'Frisco
Shark Monroe
It's Showtime
Hollywood
The Legend of Rudolph Valentino
Hell's Hinges
Riddle Gawne
The Return of Draw Egan
Selfish Yates
Singer Jim Mckee
Ben Hur
The Aryan
The Silent Man
The House That Shadows Built
The Hollywood Gad-About
The Desert Man
White Oak
Wagon Tracks
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1
On the Night Stage
The Money Corral
Between Men
The Scourge of the Desert
The Narrow Trail
Tumbleweeds
The Devil's Double
His Hour of Manhood
Variety Time
Jim Cameron's Wife
Travelin' On
Pinto Ben
'Blue Blazes' Rawden
The Ruse
In the Sage Brush Country
The Bargain
Square Deal Sanderson
Wolf Lowry
The Taking of Luke McVane
Keno Bates, Liar
Bad Buck of Santa Ynez
The Square Deal Man
Breed of Men
Yesterday and Today
The Captive God
The Cradle of Courage
The Man from Nowhere
The Roughneck
Tools of Providence
The Dawn Maker
Decasia: The State of Decay
The Testing Block
Three Word Brand
The Whistle
The Apostle of Vengeance
The Toll Gate
The Tiger Man
Directing
30 credits
Shark Monroe
Riddle Gawne
The Return of Draw Egan
Selfish Yates
The Aryan
The Silent Man
The Desert Man
The Money Corral
Between Men
The Scourge of the Desert
The Narrow Trail
Tumbleweeds
The Devil's Double
Pinto Ben
'Blue Blazes' Rawden
The Ruse
In the Sage Brush Country
Square Deal Sanderson
Wolf Lowry
The Taking of Luke McVane
Keno Bates, Liar
Bad Buck of Santa Ynez
The Square Deal Man
The Cradle of Courage
The Man from Nowhere
The Roughneck
Tools of Providence
The Dawn Maker
The Apostle of Vengeance
The Tiger Man
Writing
9 credits
Singer Jim Mckee
White Oak
The Money Corral
The Narrow Trail
O'Malley of the Mounted
Travelin' On
Pinto Ben
The Testing Block
The Toll Gate
Producing
4 credits
Other credits
2 credits
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