William Farnum
Born
July 3, 1876
Died
June 5, 1953 (76 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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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Lone Star
Tom Crockett
1952
Jack and the Beanstalk
The King
1952
Hollywood Story
Himself
1951
Trail of Robin Hood
Bill Franum
1950
Samson and Delilah
Tubal
1949
Gun Cargo
Board of Inquiry Chairman
1949
Bride of Vengeance
Conti Peruzzi
1949
Daughter of the West
Father Vallejo
1949
The Perils of Pauline
Western Saloon Set Hero
1947
Rolling Home
Rodeo Official
1946
My Dog Shep
Carter J. Latham Jr.
1946
God's Country
Sandy McTavish
1946
Captain Kidd
Capt. Rawson
1945
Wildfire
Judge Polson
1945
The Mummy's Curse
The Sacristan
1944
Frontier Badmen
Dad Courtwright
1943
American Empire
Louisiana Judge
1942
Tennessee Johnson
Senator Huyler
1942
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Colonel Mallory
1942
Boss of Hangtown Mesa
Judge Ezra Binns
1942
The Silver Bullet
Dr. Thad Morgan
1942
Men of Texas
General Sam Houston
1942
The Spoilers
Wheaton
1942
Lone Star Ranger
Texas Ranger Major McNeil
1942
Today I Hang
Warden Burke
1942
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
1941
The Corsican Brothers
Priest
1941
Last of the Duanes
Texas Ranger Major McNeill
1941
Gangs of Sonora
Ward Beecham
1941
A Woman's Face
Court Attendant
1941
Kit Carson
Don Miguel Murphy
1940
Adventures of Red Ryder
Colonel Tom Ryder
1940
Hi-Yo Silver
Father McKim
1940
Convicted Woman
Commissioner McNeill
1940
South of the Border
Padre
1939
Rovin' Tumbleweeds
Senator Timothy Nolan
1939
Colorado Sunset
Sheriff George Glenn
1939
Mexicali Rose
Padre Dominic
1939
Shine On Harvest Moon
Milt Brower
1938
Santa Fe Stampede
Dave Carson
1938
If I Were King
General Barbezier
1938
The Secret of Treasure Island
George Brennan Westmore (Editor)
1938
The Lone Ranger
Father McKim
1938
Public Cowboy No. 1
Sheriff Matt Doniphon
1937
Git Along Little Dogies
Banker Maxwell
1937
Maid of Salem
Crown Justice Sewall
1937
The Vigilantes Are Coming
Father José
1936
Sharad of Atlantis
Sharad
1936
The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand
Gordon Gaunt
1936
Custer's Last Stand
James Fitzpatrick
1936
The Kid Ranger
Bill Mason
1936
Custer's Last Stand
James Fitzpatrick
1936
The Irish Gringo
Pop Wiley
1935
Between Men
John Wellington / Rand
1935
The Eagle's Brood
El Toro
1935
Powdersmoke Range
Sam Oreham - Banker
1935
Hollywood Extra Girl
Crusades Actor (uncredited)
1935
The Crusades
Hugo, Duke of Burgundy
1935
Million Dollar Haul
Mr. Mallory - Sheila's Dad
1935
The Silver Streak
B.J. Dexter
1934
The Brand of Hate
Joe Larkins
1934
Cleopatra
Lepidus
1934
The Scarlet Letter
Gov. Bellingham
1934
Happy Landing
Col. Curtis
1934
Are We Civilized?
Paul Franklin, Sr.
1934
School for Girls
Charles Waltham
1934
Good Dame
Judge Flynn
1934
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
Squire Beamish
1933
Supernatural
Nicky Hammond
1933
Reckless Decision
Rev. John MacDougall
1933
Flaming Guns
Henry Ramsey
1932
Mr. Robinson Crusoe
William Belmont
1932
The Drifter
The Drifter
1932
The Wide Open Spaces
U.S. Marshal
1931
Law of the Sea
Captain Len Andrews
1931
The Pagan Lady
Malcolm 'Mal' Todd
1931
A Connecticut Yankee
King Arthur / Inventor
1931
Ten Nights in a Bar-room
Joe Morgan
1931
The Painted Desert
Cash Holbrook
1931
Du Barry, Woman of Passion
Louis XV
1930
Tropical Nights
1928
The Man Who Fights Alone
John Marble
1924
The Gunfighter
Billy Buell
1923
Brass Commandments
Stephen 'Flash' Lanning
1923
Without Compromise
Dick Leighton
1922
Moonshine Valley
Ned Connors
1922
Shackles of Gold
John Gibbs
1922
A Stage Romance
Edmund Kean
1922
Perjury
Robert Moore
1921
His Greatest Sacrifice
Richard Hall
1921
Drag Harlan
Drag Harlan
1920
If I Were King
François Villon
1920
The Last of the Duanes
Buck Duane
1919
The Lone Star Ranger
Steele
1919
The Rainbow Trail
Lassiter / Shefford
1918
Riders of the Purple Sage
Lassiter
1918
True Blue
Bob McKeever
1918
Rough and Ready
Bill Stratton
1918
The Heart of a Lion
Barney Kemper
1917
Les Misérables
Jean Valjean
1917
When a Man Sees Red
Larry Smith
1917
The Conqueror
Sam Houston
1917
American Methods
1917
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Darnay / Sydney Carton
1917
Fires of Conscience
George Baxter
1916
The Bondman
Stephen Orry/Jason Orry
1916
The Wonderful Adventure
Martin Stanley
1915
Samson
Maurice Brachard
1915
The Sign of the Cross
Marcus Superbus
1914
The Spoilers
Roy Glenister
1914