William S. Hart

Biography

The first Western superstar, the taciturn Hart actually was a successful Shakespearean actor who played Messala in “Ben-Hur” on Broadway in 1899 before riding the range in movies. A longtime fan of the Old West, Hart was friends with Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. His film career began in 1914. After two supporting roles he gained fame as the lead in the feature-length western “The Bargain” shot on location at the Grand Canyon. Hart strove to make his westerns realistic with detailed attention played to costumes and props. Though Hart could be cast as a villain, he imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity. After making western shorts for producer Thomas Ince, he went to Famous Players-Lasky, which merged with Paramount Pictures in 1917. At Paramount he made such gritty feature westerns as “Square Deal Sanderson” and “The Toll Gate.” His star began to fade in the early 1920s when audiences grew tired of his moralistic Western tales. Not helping his career was his 1923 divorce from his wife, Winifred, who accused him of having two children by another woman. He made one last film, 1925’s “Tumbleweeds, which he financed himself. In 1939, the film was reissued this time w…

Movies & TV Shows

1. Show People (1928) — Self (uncredited)
2. Hell's Hinges (1916) — Blaze Tracy
3. Ben Hur (1907) — Messala
4. Decasia: The State of Decay (2002) — Self - Cowboy (archive footage)
5. Tumbleweeds (1925) — Don Carver
6. The Return of Draw Egan (1916) — 'Draw' Egan aka William Blake
7. The Bargain (1914) — Jim Stokes
8. The Toll Gate (1920) — Black Deering
9. The Cradle of Courage (1920) — 'Square' Kelly
10. Wagon Tracks (1919) — Buckskin Hamilton
11. The Whistle (1921) — Robert Evans
12. The Great Chase (1962)
13. On the Night Stage (1915) — Texas
14. White Oak (1921) — Oak Miller, a gambling man
15. Wolf Lowry (1917) — Tom 'Wolf' Lowry
16. Hollywood (1923) — William S. Hart
17. The Taking of Luke McVane (1915) — Luke McVane
18. 'Blue Blazes' Rawden (1918) — Blue Blazes Rawden
19. Bad Buck of Santa Ynez (1915) — Bad Buck Peters
20. The Hollywood Gad-About (1934) — Self (uncredited)
21. Square Deal Sanderson (1919) — Square Deal Sanderson
22. The Poppy Girl's Husband (1919) — Hairpin Harry Dutton
23. Mr. 'Silent' Haskins (1915) — Lon Haskins
24. Sand (1920) — Dan Kurrie
25. The Silent Man (1917) — Budd Marr
26. Knight of the Trail (1915) — Jim Treen
27. The Darkening Trail (1915) — Yukon Ed
28. Three Word Brand (1921) — Three Word Brand / Governor Marsden / Ben Trego
29. The Sheriff's Streak of Yellow (1915) — Sheriff Hale
30. The Aryan (1916) — Steve Denton
31. The Testing Block (1920) — 'Sierra' Bill
32. Hello, 'Frisco (1924) — William S. Hart
33. The House That Shadows Built (1931) — (archive footage)
34. It's Showtime (1976) — Self (archive footage)
35. Yesterday and Today (1953) — (archive footage)
36. Grit (1915) — Rio Ed
37. A Lion of the Hills (1918)
38. Staking His Life (1918) — Bud Randall
39. The Legend of Rudolph Valentino (1961) — Self (archive footage)
40. Stars of Yesterday (1931) — Self

Directed

1. Tumbleweeds (1925) — Director
2. The Return of Draw Egan (1916) — Director
3. The Cradle of Courage (1920) — Director
4. Wolf Lowry (1917) — Director
5. The Taking of Luke McVane (1915) — Director
6. 'Blue Blazes' Rawden (1918) — Director
7. Bad Buck of Santa Ynez (1915) — Director
8. Square Deal Sanderson (1919) — Director
9. The Poppy Girl's Husband (1919) — Director
10. The Aryan (1916) — Director
11. The Silent Man (1917) — Director
12. Knight of the Trail (1915) — Director
13. The Darkening Trail (1915) — Director
14. Mr. 'Silent' Haskins (1915) — Director
15. The Sheriff's Streak of Yellow (1915) — Director
16. The Narrow Trail (1917) — Director
17. Keno Bates, Liar (1915) — Director
18. Shark Monroe (1918) — Director
19. Grit (1915) — Director
20. The Disciple (1915) — Director
21. Wolves of the Rail (1918) — Director
22. The Money Corral (1919) — Director
23. The Cold Deck (1917) — Director
24. The Ruse (1915) — Director
25. Between Men (1916) — Director
26. The Dawn Maker (1916) — Director
27. The Gun Fighter (1917) — Director
28. The Apostle of Vengeance (1916) — Director
29. The Roughneck (1915) — Director
30. Pinto Ben (1915) — Director
31. The Devil's Double (1916) — Director
32. The Border Wireless (1918) — Director
33. The Scourge of the Desert (1915) — Director
34. Cash Parrish's Pal (1915) — Director
35. The Grudge (1915) — Director
36. Two-Gun Hicks (1914) — Director
37. The Conversion of Frosty Blake (1915) — Director
38. Tools of Providence (1915) — Director
39. The Square Deal Man (1917) — Director
40. Branding Broadway (1918) — Director