
Justus D. Barnes
Born
October 2, 1862
Died
February 6, 1946 (83 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Little Falls, New York, USA
Justus D. Barnes (October 2, 1862 – February 6, 1946), named George Barnes in some sources, was an American stage and film actor. He is best known for his role in the 1903 silent short The Great Train Robbery, which the American Film Institute and many film historians and critics recognize as the production that first established the Western genre, setting a new "narrative standard" in the motion picture industry.
Barnes was born in Little Falls, New York. He was a veteran stage actor before he made his screen debut in 1903 in The Great Train Robbery. In that film's memorable ending, Barnes points his pistol at the camera and slowly fires all six shots at the viewer. The Great Train Robbery became one of the most successful and best known commercial films of the early silent era.
In July 1908, Barnes was hired as an actor in the stock company of the Edison Manufacturing Company, the film production company owned by Thomas Edison. In 1910, he signed on with the Thanhouser Company in New Rochelle, New York. Between 1910 and 1917, Justus appeared in more than seventy films for the Thanhouser, usually in the role of a villain. He played Ham Peggotty in David Copperfield, the earliest known film adaption of the 1850 novel by Charles Dickens. He also played supporting roles in Nicholas Nickleby (1912), Aurora Floyd (1912), and A Dog of Flanders (1914).
In 1917, he was released from the Thanhouser Company due to the company's financial issues. Barnes made his final onscreen appearance for the Edison Studio in Cy Whittaker's Ward, in 1917. After retiring from acting, Barnes moved to Weedsport, New York, where he worked as a milkman. He later owned a cigar store. Barnes died on February 6, 1946, in Weedsport at the age of 83. He is buried in Weedsport Rural Cemetery, in Weedsport, New York.
Known For

Cy Whittaker's Ward
Simmons
1917

It Happened to Adele
Vincent's Uncle
1917

Mr. Meeson's Will
Mr. Meeson
1915
Weary Walker's Woes
Lawyer
1915

From the River's Depths
William Hewins - Dorothy's Father
1915

The Marvelous Marathoner
Ewing Webster
1915
His Two Patients
The Blacksmith
1915

Old Jane of the Gaiety
1915
The Country Girl
The Squire, her Guardian
1915
God's Witness
Judge
1915
The Heart of the Princess Marsari
Paul's Wealthy Uncle
1915
Love and Money
American Suitor's Father
1915
A Dog of Flanders
The Rich Miller
1914
A Debut in the Secret Service
Abdul
1914
Their Best Friend
Jack's Father
1914
The Dancer
N.Z. Wood
1914

Joseph in the Land of Egypt
1914
Peggy's Invitation
1913

Uncle's Namesakes
1913

The Farmer's Daughters
Father
1913

When the Studio Burned
Director
1913
The Dove in the Eagle's Nest
1913

Star of Bethlehem
Mage Gaspar
1912
The Voice of Conscience
Doctor
1912

Cousins
Father on Farm
1912

The Portrait of Lady Anne
Lady Anne's Father in 1770
1912

Nicholas Nickleby
Uncle Ralph
1912

David Copperfield
Ham Peggotty (in part one)
1911
Young Lord Stanley
the girl's father
1910

The Great Train Robbery
Bandit Who Fires at Camera (uncredited)
1903