King Baggot
Born
November 6, 1879
Died
July 11, 1948 (68 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
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.
Known For
Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films
Himself (archive footage)
2011
Merton of the Movies
Man in Audience (uncredited)
1947
My Brother Talks to Horses
Bank Employee (uncredited)
1947
The Secret Heart
Man at Graduation Ceremony
1946
The Postman Always Rings Twice
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
1946
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
Barbershop Patron (uncredited)
1945
Dangerous Partners
Lunch Room Customer (uncredited)
1945
Swing Fever
Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
1943
Her Cardboard Lover
Police Officer in Courtroom (uncredited)
1942
Jackass Mail
Old Miner
1942
Fingers at the Window
Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
1942
Rio Rita
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
1942
Honky Tonk
Townsman
1941
The Big Store
Store Employee (uncredited)
1941
Ziegfeld Girl
Man in Audience (uncredited)
1941
Come Live with Me
Doorman
1941
The Philadelphia Story
Wedding Guest (uncredited)
1940
Gallant Sons
Man on Street / Man in Audience (uncredited)
1940
Bitter Sweet
Cafe Patron (uncredited)
1940
The Ghost Comes Home
Townsman at Banquet (uncredited)
1940
I Take This Woman
Man in Subway (uncredited)
1940
Dancing Co-Ed
Man in Casting Office (uncredited)
1939
Stronger Than Desire
Juror (uncredited)
1939
The Ice Follies of 1939
Man in Audience (uncredited)
1939
Opening Day
Baseball Fan
1938
Stablemates
Bettor
1938
Boys Town
Derelict in Mission (uncredited)
1938
Marie Antoinette
Nobleman at Court (uncredited)
1938
Think It Over
1938
Snow Gets in Your Eyes
Department Store Customer (uncredited)
1938
That Mothers Might Live
Passerby (uncredited)
1938
Arsène Lupin Returns
Detective (uncredited)
1938
A Night at the Movies
Movie Patron (uncredited)
1937
The Emperor's Candlesticks
Customs Official (uncredited)
1937
It May Happen to You
Man in Hospital (uncredited)
1937
Parnell
Man in Office
1937
Torture Money
False Accident Witness (uncredited)
1937
Mad Holiday
Film Director (uncredited)
1936
Sworn Enemy
Accident Witness (uncredited)
1936
The Devil-Doll
Detective Pierre (uncredited)
1936
San Francisco
Earthquake Survivor (uncredited)
1936
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
Chemistry Professor
1936
A Night at the Opera
Dignitary (uncredited)
1935
3 Kids and a Queen
Druggist
1935
Chinatown Squad
Patrol Wagon Guard
1935
The Call of the Savage
Dr. Pierce
1935
Mississippi
Gambler (uncredited)
1935
Sweepstake Annie
Motion Picture Studio Executive (uncredited)
1935
A Notorious Gentleman
1935
Romance in the Rain
Milton McGillicuddy
1934
The Red Rider
Townsman
1934
Beloved
Second Doctor
1934
I Loved a Woman
Banker (uncredited)
1933
The Death Kiss
Al Payne
1932
Afraid to Talk
Police Officer (uncredited)
1932
The Big Flash
Hinkle
1932
What Price Hollywood?
Department Head (uncredited)
1932
Police Court
Harry Field
1932
Girl of the Rio
Maitre d'hotel, Purple Pigeon Cafe
1932
Graft
Ship's Captain
1931
Sweepstakes
Mike - Weber's Trainer
1931
The Bad Sister
Policeman on Street (uncredited)
1931
Once a Gentleman
Van Warner
1930
The Czar of Broadway
1930
The Thrill Chaser
Himself - Cameo
1923
The Girl in the Taxi
Maj. Frederick Smith
1921
The Forbidden Thing
Dave
1920
Life's Twist
Jim Sargent
1920
The Cheater
Lord Asgarby
1920
The Hawk's Trail
1919
Building for Democracy
The Husband
1918
Kildare of Storm
Basil Kildare
1918
The Eagle's Eye
Harrison Grant
1918
Mission of the War Chest
1918
The Silent Stranger
The Silent Stranger
1916
The Man from Nowhere
James Herron
1916
Half a Rogue
1916
The Suburban
Donald Gordon
1915
The Marble Heart
Raphael / Phidias
1915
The Great Universal Mystery
Himself
1914
Absinthe
Jean Dumas
1914
Ivanhoe
Wilfred of Ivanhoe
1913
The Wanderer
The Shepherd
1913
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
1913
Up Against It
Amos Bentley
1912
A Cave Man Wooing
George - the 'Sissy' Hero
1912
Shamus O'Brien
Shamus O'Brien
1912
Over the Hills
Wayne Holland
1911
The Better Way
Louis Perry - a Reformed Crook
1911
The Rose's Story
Gerald Kinney
1911
The Call of the Song
Hugh Norton
1911
Science
Dr. Crawford
1911
At a Quarter of Two
Dan Nolan - the Burglar
1911
For the Queen's Honor
The King
1911
In the Sultan's Garden
Lt. Robbins
1911
The Master and the Man
Basil King
1911
The Fair Dentist
Dental Patient
1911
The Temptress
Gilbert Irving
1911
Second Sight
Tom Mooreland
1911
The Scarlet Letter
Reverend Dimmesdale
1911
While There is hope, There is Life
Alfred King
1911
The Wife’s Awakening
Enoch Harrington
1911
Sweet Memories
Edward Jackson
1911
The Secret of the Palm
Cecil Abbott
1911
Tracked
Roger Densmore
1911
Pictureland
Pablo
1911
At the Duke's Command
Edward, the Duke's Nephew
1911
The Mirror
1911
The Count of Montebello
Percy
1910
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
George Rand
1910
Old Heads and Young Hearts
1910
The Time-Lock Safe
The Father
1910
The Call of the Circus
1910
A Game for Two
Clark, the Best Friend
1910
A Reno Romance
Jack
1910
The Eternal Triangle
The Dashing Young Count
1910
The Doctor's Perfidy
1910
Two Men
The Tenderfoot
1910
The New Shawl
Jacques
1910
The Maelstrom
1910
His Second Wife
1910
The Miser’s Daughter
1910
Transfusion
1910
Jane and the Stranger
The Stranger
1910
The Blind Man’s Tact
1910
The Right of Love
1910
The Winning Punch
1910
The Awakening of Bess
Bess' Sweetheart
1909
Love's Stratagem
The Boy
1909