Biography
Starting out in dramatic parts, Desmond soon switched to westerns and action serials, and became a major western star. When the sound era began Desmond was almost 50 years old, and was soon relegated to supporting roles.
Acted in 133
1950s
- 1956
Savage Fury
Allen
1940s
- 1947
Thunder Mountain
Townsman (uncredited)
The Egg and I
Spectator at Country Dance (Uncredited)
- 1946
Desert Command
Capt. Boncour
- 1945
Strange Confession
Peanut Vendor (uncredited)
The Naughty Nineties
Showboat Customer (uncredited)
The Return of the Durango Kid
Street Ambusher (uncredited)
- 1944
Hi, Beautiful
Passenger (uncredited)
The Climax
Backstage Technician (Uncredited)
The Mummy's Ghost
Museum Tourist (uncredited)
Phantom Lady
Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
- 1943
The Lone Star Trail
Bartender Mike
Cheyenne Roundup
Pete
- 1942
Overland Mail
Williams - Banker
The Silver Bullet
Townsman
Down Rio Grande Way
Townsman
- 1941
Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie
Bartender
Where Did You Get That Girl?
Tourist
- 1940
Junior G-Men
Irish Cop (uncredited)
The Boys from Syracuse
Citizen
Winners of the West
Bill Brine
1930s
- 1937
Tim Tyler's Luck
Dock Official
- 1936
Headin' for the Rio Grande
Mr. Mack (cattle buyer)
The Vigilantes Are Coming
Anderson, Vigilante Member
Hollywood Boulevard
Pago Pago Patron (uncredited)
Treachery Rides the Range
Bill
Flash Gordon
Hawkman Lookout Captain
Song of the Saddle
Tim
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
Captain of the 'Viking'
Custer's Last Stand
Wagon Master
- 1935
Tailspin Tommy in The Great Air Mystery
Foreman Burke
Powdersmoke Range
Happy - Bartender
Courage of the North
Gene Travis
The Roaring West
Jim Parker
The Call of the Savage
Allen
The Ghost Rider
Guard
Cyclone of the Saddle
Wagon Master
The Cowboy and the Bandit
Sheriff Pete
Born to Battle
John Brownell
Rustlers of Red Dog
Ira Dale [Chs. 1-4, 6, 10-12]
- 1934
When Lightning Strikes
Marshal Jack Stevens
The Way of the West
'Cash' Horton (as Wm. Desmond)
The Red Rider
Sheriff Campbell
I Can't Escape
Parole Officer Donovan
The Vanishing Shadow
MacDonald
The Rawhide Terror
Tom Blake
Pirate Treasure
Capt. Jim Carson
- 1933
Fargo Express
Sheriff Joe Thompson
Perils of Pauline
Prof. Thompson
Strawberry Roan
Colonel Brownlee
Mr. Broadway
1st Suitor (archive footage)
Gordon of Ghost City
John Mulford
Laughing at Life
Military Cabinet Officer
The Phantom of the Air
Thomas Edmonds
The Three Musketeers
Capt. Boncour
The Rustler's Roundup
San Dimas Sheriff Holden
Clancy of the Mounted
Dave Moran
- 1932
A Scarlet Week-End
Movie
Jungle Mystery
John Morgan
The Last Frontier
General Custer
Heroes of the West
John Blaine
- 1931
Battling with Buffalo Bill
John Mills
The Lightning Warrior
Townsman (uncredited)
Oklahoma Jim
Lacy
Hell-Bent for Frisco
The Editor
The Vanishing Legion
Milesburg Sheriff
- 1930
The Phantom of the West
Martin Blair
1920s
- 1929
No Defense
John Harper
- 1928
The Mystery Rider
Winthrop Lane / The Mystery Rider
The Devil's Trademark
Morgan Gray
The Vanishing Rider
Jim Davis / The Vanishing Rider
- 1926
The Strings of Steel
Ned Brown
- 1925
The Ace of Spades
Dan Harvey
The Meddler
Richard Gilmore
The Burning Trail
Smiling Bill Flannigan
Duped
John Morgan
Straight Through
Good Deed O'Day
Barriers of the Law
Rex Brandon
Ridin' Pretty
Sky Parker
Outwitted
Jack Blaisdel
- 1924
The Sunset Trail
Happy Hobo
The Measure of a Man
John Fairmeadow
Big Timber
Walter Sandry
The Breathless Moment
Billy Carson
- 1923
Beasts of Paradise
Phil Grant
Shadows of the North
Ben 'Wolf' Darby
McGuire of the Mounted
Bob McGuire
The Phantom Fortune
Larry Barclay
Around the World in 18 Days
Phineas Fogg III
- 1922
Perils of the Yukon
Jack Merrill Sr. / Jack Merrill Jr.
- 1921
Fightin' Mad
Bud McGraw
The Policeman and the Baby
The Policeman
The Child Thou Gavest Me
Tom Marshall
Women Men Love
David Hunter
- 1920
Twin Beds
Harry Hawkins
A Broadway Cowboy
Burke Randolph
1910s
- 1919
The Prince and Betty
John Maude
The Blue Bandanna
Jerry Jerome
A Sage Brush Hamlet
Larry Lang
Bare-Fisted Gallagher
'Bare-Fisted' Gallagher
The Mints of Hell
Dan Burke
Whitewashed Walls
Larry Donovan
Her Code of Honor
Eugene La Salle
Life's a Funny Proposition
Jimmie Pendleton
- 1918
The Pretender
Bob Baldwin
Society for Sale
Honorable Billy
The Marriage Bubble
The Actor
Captain of His Soul
Horace
- 1917
The Sudden Gentleman
Garry Garrity
Fighting Back
The Weakling
Married in Name Only
Movie
Flying Colors
Brent Brewster
Master of His Home
Carson Stewart
Paddy O'Hara
Paddy O'Hara
The Iced Bullet
The Author / Horace Lee
- 1916
A Gamble in Souls
Movie
The Criminal
Donald White
The Dawn Maker
Bruce Smithson
Peggy
Rev. Donald Bruce
- 1915
Peer Gynt
The Parson
The Majesty of the Law
Jackson Morgan Kent
Kilmeny
Bob Meredith
Appearances3
1920s
- 1929
No Children
Self
- 1923
The Extra Girl
Himself, Himself - Actor
- 1922
Night Life in Hollywood
Self
Thanked in the credits1
2010s
- 2015
Magnetic
Thanks