William Farnum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Farnum (July 4, 1876 in Boston, Massachusetts – June 5, 1953 in Hollywood, California) was a major movie actor. One of three brothers, Farnum grew up in a family of actors. He made his acting debut at the age of ten in Richmond, Virginia in a production of Julius Caesar, with Edwin Booth playing the title character. His first major success was as the title character of Ben-Hur in 1900 though replacing the original actor Edward Morgan who premiered the character in 1899. Later plays Farnum appeared in were the costume epic The Prince of India (1906), The White Sister (1909) starring Viola Allen, The Littlest Rebel (1911) co-starring his brother Dustin and a child actress named Mary Miles Minter(then nine years old) & Arizona (1913) with Dustin and stage beauty Elsie Ferguson.
In The Spoilers in 1914, Farnum and Tom Santschi staged a classic movie fight which lasted for a full reel. In 1930, Farnum and Stantschi coached Gary Cooper and William Boyd in the fight scene for the 1930 version of The Spoilers. Other actors influenced by the Farnum scene were Milton Sills and Noah Beery in 1922 and Randolph Scott and John Wayne in 1942.
From 1915 to 1925, Farnum devoted his life to motion pictures. When becoming one of the biggest sensations in Hollywood, he also became one of the highest-paid actors, earning $10,000 a week. Farnum's silent pictures the western Drag Harlan(1920) and the drama-adventure If I Were King(1921) survive from his years contracted to Fox Films.
Farnum has a "Star" on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was the younger brother of actor Dustin Farnum. He had another brother, Marshall Farnum, who was a silent film director and died in 1917.
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Acted in
Lone Star
1952
as Tom Crockett
Jack and the Beanstalk
1952
as The King
Hollywood Story
1951
as Himself
Trail of Robin Hood
1950
as Bill Franum
Samson and Delilah
1949
as Tubal
Gun Cargo
1949
as Board of Inquiry Chairman
Bride of Vengeance
1949
as Conti Peruzzi
Daughter of the West
1949
as Father Vallejo
The Perils of Pauline
1947
as Western Saloon Set Hero
My Dog Shep
1946
as Carter J. Latham Jr.
Rolling Home
1946
as Rodeo Official
God's Country
1946
as Sandy McTavish
Captain Kidd
1945
as Capt. Rawson
Wildfire
1945
as Judge Polson
The Mummy's Curse
1944
as The Sacristan
Frontier Badmen
1943
as Dad Courtwright
American Empire
1942
as Louisiana Judge
Tennessee Johnson
1942
as Senator Huyler
Deep in the Heart of Texas
1942
as Colonel Mallory
Boss of Hangtown Mesa
1942
as Judge Ezra Binns
The Silver Bullet
1942
as Dr. Thad Morgan
Men of Texas
1942
as General Sam Houston
The Spoilers
1942
as Wheaton
Lone Star Ranger
1942
as Texas Ranger Major McNeil
Today I Hang
1942
as Warden Burke
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
1941
The Corsican Brothers
1941
as Priest
Last of the Duanes
1941
as Texas Ranger Major McNeill
Gangs of Sonora
1941
as Ward Beecham
A Woman's Face
1941
as Court Attendant
Kit Carson
1940
as Don Miguel Murphy
Adventures of Red Ryder
1940
as Colonel Tom Ryder
Hi-Yo Silver
1940
as Father McKim
Convicted Woman
1940
as Commissioner McNeill
South of the Border
1939
as Padre
Rovin' Tumbleweeds
1939
as Senator Timothy Nolan
Colorado Sunset
1939
as Sheriff George Glenn
Mexicali Rose
1939
as Padre Dominic
Shine On Harvest Moon
1938
as Milt Brower
Santa Fe Stampede
1938
as Dave Carson
If I Were King
1938
as General Barbezier
The Secret of Treasure Island
1938
as George Brennan Westmore (Editor)
The Lone Ranger
1938
as Father McKim
Public Cowboy No. 1
1937
as Sheriff Matt Doniphon
Git Along Little Dogies
1937
as Banker Maxwell
Maid of Salem
1937
as Crown Justice Sewall
The Vigilantes Are Coming
1936
as Father José
Sharad of Atlantis
1936
as Sharad
The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand
1936
as Gordon Gaunt
Custer's Last Stand
1936
as James Fitzpatrick
The Kid Ranger
1936
as Bill Mason
Custer's Last Stand
1936
as James Fitzpatrick
The Irish Gringo
1935
as Pop Wiley
Between Men
1935
as John Wellington / Rand
The Eagle's Brood
1935
as El Toro
Powdersmoke Range
1935
as Sam Oreham - Banker
Hollywood Extra Girl
1935
as Crusades Actor (uncredited)
The Crusades
1935
as Hugo, Duke of Burgundy
Million Dollar Haul
1935
as Mr. Mallory - Sheila's Dad
The Silver Streak
1934
as B.J. Dexter
The Brand of Hate
1934
as Joe Larkins
Cleopatra
1934
as Lepidus
The Scarlet Letter
1934
as Gov. Bellingham
Happy Landing
1934
as Col. Curtis
Are We Civilized?
1934
as Paul Franklin, Sr.
School for Girls
1934
as Charles Waltham
Good Dame
1934
as Judge Flynn
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
1933
as Squire Beamish
Supernatural
1933
as Nicky Hammond
Reckless Decision
1933
as Rev. John MacDougall
Flaming Guns
1932
as Henry Ramsey
Mr. Robinson Crusoe
1932
as William Belmont
The Drifter
1932
as The Drifter
The Wide Open Spaces
1931
as U.S. Marshal
Law of the Sea
1931
as Captain Len Andrews
The Pagan Lady
1931
as Malcolm 'Mal' Todd
A Connecticut Yankee
1931
as King Arthur / Inventor
Ten Nights in a Bar-room
1931
as Joe Morgan
The Painted Desert
1931
as Cash Holbrook
Du Barry, Woman of Passion
1930
as Louis XV
Tropical Nights
1928
The Man Who Fights Alone
1924
as John Marble
The Gunfighter
1923
as Billy Buell
Brass Commandments
1923
as Stephen 'Flash' Lanning
Without Compromise
1922
as Dick Leighton
Moonshine Valley
1922
as Ned Connors
Shackles of Gold
1922
as John Gibbs
His Greatest Sacrifice
1921
as Richard Hall
Drag Harlan
1920
as Drag Harlan
If I Were King
1920
as François Villon
The Last of the Duanes
1919
as Buck Duane
The Lone Star Ranger
1919
as Steele
The Rainbow Trail
1918
as Lassiter / Shefford
Riders of the Purple Sage
1918
as Lassiter
True Blue
1918
as Bob McKeever
Rough and Ready
1918
as Bill Stratton
Les Misérables
1917
as Jean Valjean
When a Man Sees Red
1917
as Larry Smith
The Conqueror
1917
as Sam Houston
American Methods
1917
A Tale of Two Cities
1917
as Charles Darnay / Sydney Carton
Fires of Conscience
1916
as George Baxter
The Bondman
1916
as Stephen Orry/Jason Orry
Samson
1915
as Maurice Brachard
The Sign of the Cross
1914
as Marcus Superbus
The Spoilers
1914
as Roy Glenister