King Baggot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William King Baggot (November 7, 1879 – July 11, 1948) was an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He was an internationally famous movie star of the silent film era. The first individually publicized leading man in America, Baggot was referred to as "King of the Movies", "The Most Photographed Man in the World", and "The Man Whose Face Is As Familiar As The Man In The Moon".
Baggot appeared in over 300 motion pictures from 1909 to 1947, wrote 18 screenplays, and directed 45 movies from 1912 to 1928, including The Lie (1912), Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (1925), and The House of Scandal (1928). He also directed William S. Hart in his most famous western, Tumbleweeds (1925).
Among his film appearances, Baggot was best known for The Scarlet Letter (1911), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1913), and Ivanhoe (1913).
Baggot began his career on the stage, in a Shakespearean stock company, and toured throughout the U.S.
While acting in stock in St. Louis in 1909, he was cast as supporting player in the Schubert touring production of The Wishing Ring. When The Wishing Ring closed in Chicago, Baggot returned to New York to join another company. Upon a chance meeting with Harry Solter, who was directing movies for Carl Laemmle at Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), he was persuaded to go with Solter to the studio. Baggot became interested in the fledgling industry and decided to turn picture player.
His first film was the romance short The Awakening of Bess (1909) opposite Florence Lawrence. It was directed by Harry Solter, her husband, at IMP in Fort Lee, New Jersey. At a time when screen actors worked anonymously, Baggot and Lawrence became the first "movie stars" to be given billing, a marquee, and promotion in advertising.
Baggot starred in at least 42 movies opposite Lawrence from 1909 to 1911. In the latter year, he starred in at least 16 movies with Mary Pickford.
He also began writing screenplays and directing, all the while becoming a major star internationally. When he appeared "in person" at theatres he was mobbed at stage doors.
By 1912, he was so famous that when he took the leading part in forming the prestigious Screen Club in New York, the first organization of its kind strictly for movie people, he was the natural choice for its first president.
King Baggot died in Los Angeles, California in 1948, age 68.
For his contributions to the film industry, Baggot received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. His star is located at 6312 Hollywood Boulevard.
Acted in
Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films
2011
as Himself (archive footage)
Merton of the Movies
1947
as Man in Audience (uncredited)
My Brother Talks to Horses
1947
as Bank Employee (uncredited)
The Secret Heart
1946
as Man at Graduation Ceremony
The Postman Always Rings Twice
1946
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
1945
as Barbershop Patron (uncredited)
Dangerous Partners
1945
as Lunch Room Customer (uncredited)
Swing Fever
1943
as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Her Cardboard Lover
1942
as Police Officer in Courtroom (uncredited)
Jackass Mail
1942
as Old Miner
Fingers at the Window
1942
as Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
Rio Rita
1942
as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Honky Tonk
1941
as Townsman
The Big Store
1941
as Store Employee (uncredited)
Ziegfeld Girl
1941
as Man in Audience (uncredited)
Come Live with Me
1941
as Doorman
The Philadelphia Story
1940
as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
Gallant Sons
1940
as Man on Street / Man in Audience (uncredited)
Bitter Sweet
1940
as Cafe Patron (uncredited)
The Ghost Comes Home
1940
as Townsman at Banquet (uncredited)
I Take This Woman
1940
as Man in Subway (uncredited)
Dancing Co-Ed
1939
as Man in Casting Office (uncredited)
Stronger Than Desire
1939
as Juror (uncredited)
The Ice Follies of 1939
1939
as Man in Audience (Uncredited)
Opening Day
1938
as Baseball Fan
Stablemates
1938
as Bettor
Boys Town
1938
as Derelict in Mission (uncredited)
Marie Antoinette
1938
as Nobleman at Court (uncredited)
Think It Over
1938
Snow Gets in Your Eyes
1938
as Department Store Customer (uncredited)
That Mothers Might Live
1938
as Passerby (uncredited)
Arsène Lupin Returns
1938
as Detective (uncredited)
A Night at the Movies
1937
as Movie Patron (uncredited)
The Emperor's Candlesticks
1937
as Customs Official (uncredited)
It May Happen to You
1937
as Man in Hospital (uncredited)
Torture Money
1937
as False Accident Witness (uncredited)
Mad Holiday
1936
as Film Director (uncredited)
Sworn Enemy
1936
as Accident Witness (uncredited)
The Devil-Doll
1936
as Detective Pierre (uncredited)
San Francisco
1936
as Earthquake Survivor (uncredited)
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
1936
as Chemistry Professor
A Night at the Opera
1935
as Dignitary (uncredited)
3 Kids and a Queen
1935
as Druggist
Chinatown Squad
1935
as Patrol Wagon Guard
The Call of the Savage
1935
as Dr. Pierce
Mississippi
1935
as Gambler
Sweepstake Annie
1935
as Motion Picture Studio Executive (uncredited)
A Notorious Gentleman
1935
Romance in the Rain
1934
as Milton McGillicuddy
The Red Rider
1934
as Townsman
Beloved
1934
as Second Doctor
I Loved a Woman
1933
as Banker (uncredited)
The Death Kiss
1932
as Al Payne
Afraid to Talk
1932
as Police Officer (uncredited)
The Big Flash
1932
as Hinkle
What Price Hollywood?
1932
as Department Head (uncredited)
Police Court
1932
as Harry Field
Girl of the Rio
1932
as Maitre d'hotel, Purple Pigeon Cafe
Graft
1931
as Ship's Captain
Sweepstakes
1931
as Mike - Weber's Trainer
The Bad Sister
1931
as Policeman on Street (uncredited)
Once a Gentleman
1930
as Van Warner
The Czar of Broadway
1930
The Thrill Chaser
1923
as Himself - Cameo
The Girl in the Taxi
1921
as Maj. Frederick Smith
The Forbidden Thing
1920
as Dave
Life's Twist
1920
as Jim Sargent
The Cheater
1920
as Lord Asgarby
The Hawk's Trail
1919
The Eagle's Eye
1918
as Harrison Grant
Mission of the War Chest
1918
The Silent Stranger
1916
as The Silent Stranger
The Man from Nowhere
1916
as James Herron
Half a Rogue
1916
The Suburban
1915
as Donald Gordon
The Marble Heart
1915
as Raphael / Phidias
The Great Universal Mystery
1914
as Himself
Absinthe
1914
as Jean Dumas
Ivanhoe
1913
as Wilfred of Ivanhoe
The Wanderer
1913
as The Shepherd
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1913
as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Up Against It
1912
as Amos Bentley
A Cave Man Wooing
1912
as George - the 'Sissy' Hero
Shamus O'Brien
1912
as Shamus O'Brien
Over the Hills
1911
as Wayne Holland
The Better Way
1911
as Louis Perry - a Reformed Crook
The Rose's Story
1911
as Gerald Kinney
The Call of the Song
1911
as Hugh Norton
Science
1911
as Dr. Crawford
At a Quarter of Two
1911
as Dan Nolan - the Burglar
For the Queen's Honor
1911
as The King
In the Sultan's Garden
1911
as Lt. Robbins
The Master and the Man
1911
as Basil King
The Fair Dentist
1911
as Dental Patient
The Temptress
1911
as Gilbert Irving
Second Sight
1911
as Tom Mooreland
The Scarlet Letter
1911
as Reverend Dimmesdale
While There is hope, There is Life
1911
as Alfred King
The Wife’s Awakening
1911
as Enoch Harrington
Sweet Memories
1911
as Edward Jackson
The Secret of the Palm
1911
as Cecil Abbott
Tracked
1911
as Roger Densmore
Pictureland
1911
as Pablo
At the Duke's Command
1911
as Edward, the Duke's Nephew
The Mirror
1911
The Count of Montebello
1910
as Percy
All the World’s a Stage
1910
Pressed Roses
1910
Debt
1910
The Taming of Jane
1910
Once Upon a Time
1910
The Irony of Fate
1910
Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens
1910
as George Rand
Old Heads and Young Hearts
1910
The Call of the Circus
1910
A Game for Two
1910
as Clark, the Best Friend
A Reno Romance
1910
as Jack
The Eternal Triangle
1910
as The Dashing Young Count
The Doctor's Perfidy
1910
Two Men
1910
as The Tenderfoot
The New Shawl
1910
as Jacques
The Maelstrom
1910
His Second Wife
1910
The Miser’s Daughter
1910
Transfusion
1910
Jane and the Stranger
1910
as The Stranger
The Blind Man’s Tact
1910
The Right of Love
1910
The Winning Punch
1910
The Awakening of Bess
1909
as Bess' Sweetheart
Love's Stratagem
1909
as The Boy