Biography
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. Description above from the Wikipedia article William Farnum, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acted in 122
1940s
- 1949
Gun Cargo
Board of Inquiry Chairman
Bride of Vengeance
Conti Peruzzi
Daughter of the West
Father Vallejo
- 1947
- 1946
My Dog Shep
Carter J. Latham Jr.
God's Country
Sandy McTavish
- 1945
- 1944
The Mummy's Curse
The Sacristan
- 1943
Frontier Badmen
Dad Courtwright
- 1942
Tennessee Johnson
Senator Huyler
Deep in the Heart of Texas
Colonel Mallory
Boss of Hangtown Mesa
Judge Ezra Binns
The Silver Bullet
Dr. Thad Morgan
Men of Texas
General Sam Houston
Lone Star Ranger
Texas Ranger Major McNeil
Today I Hang
Warden Burke
- 1941
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
Movie
Last of the Duanes
Texas Ranger Major McNeill
Gangs of Sonora
Ward Beecham
- 1940
Adventures of Red Ryder
Colonel Tom Ryder
Hi-Yo Silver
Father McKim
Convicted Woman
Commissioner McNeill
1930s
- 1939
Rovin' Tumbleweeds
Senator Timothy Nolan
Colorado Sunset
Sheriff George Glenn
Mexicali Rose
Padre Dominic
- 1938
Shine On Harvest Moon
Milt Brower
Santa Fe Stampede
Dave Carson
If I Were King
General Barbezier
The Secret of Treasure Island
George Brennan Westmore (Editor)
The Lone Ranger
Father McKim
- 1937
Public Cowboy No. 1
Sheriff Matt Doniphon
Maid of Salem
Crown Justice Sewall
- 1936
The Vigilantes Are Coming
Father José
The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand
Gordon Gaunt
Custer's Last Stand
James Fitzpatrick
Undersea Kingdom
Sharad · 12 episodes
The Kid Ranger
Bill Mason
Custer's Last Stand
James Fitzpatrick
- 1935
The Irish Gringo
Pop Wiley
Between Men
John Wellington / Rand
The Eagle's Brood
El Toro
Powdersmoke Range
Sam Oreham - Banker
Hollywood Extra Girl
Crusades Actor (uncredited)
The Crusades
Hugo, Duke of Burgundy
Million Dollar Haul
Mr. Mallory - Sheila's Dad
- 1934
The Silver Streak
B.J. Dexter
Cleopatra
Lepidus
Happy Landing
Col. Curtis
School for Girls
Charles Waltham
Good Dame
Judge Flynn
- 1933
Stolen by Gypsies or Beer and Bicycles
Squire Beamish
Supernatural
Nicky Hammond
Reckless Decision
Rev. John MacDougall
- 1932
Flaming Guns
Henry Ramsey
- 1931
The Wide Open Spaces
U.S. Marshal
Law of the Sea
Captain Len Andrews
The Pagan Lady
Malcolm 'Mal' Todd
A Connecticut Yankee
King Arthur / Inventor
Ten Nights in a Bar-room
Joe Morgan
- 1930
Du Barry, Woman of Passion
Louis XV
1920s
- 1928
Tropical Nights
Movie
- 1924
The Man Who Fights Alone
John Marble
- 1923
The Gunfighter
Billy Buell
Brass Commandments
Stephen 'Flash' Lanning
- 1922
Without Compromise
Dick Leighton
Moonshine Valley
Ned Connors
Shackles of Gold
John Gibbs
A Stage Romance
Edmund Kean
- 1921
Perjury
Robert Moore
His Greatest Sacrifice
Richard Hall
- 1920
The Scuttlers
Jim Landers
Drag Harlan
Drag Harlan
If I Were King
François Villon
The Joyous Trouble-Makers
William Steele
The Orphan
The Orphan
The Adventurer
Don Caesar de Bazan
Heart Strings
Pierre Fournel
1910s
- 1919
Wings of the Morning
Capt. Robert Anstruther
The Last of the Duanes
Buck Duane
Wolves of the Night
Bruce Andrews
The Lone Star Ranger
Steele
The Man Hunter
George Arnold
- 1918
The Rainbow Trail
Lassiter / Shefford
Riders of the Purple Sage
Lassiter
True Blue
Bob McKeever
Rough and Ready
Bill Stratton
- 1917
The Heart of a Lion
Barney Kemper
Les Misérables
Jean Valjean
When a Man Sees Red
Larry Smith
The Conqueror
Sam Houston
American Methods
William Armstrong
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Darnay / Sydney Carton
The Price of Silence
Senator Frank Deering
- 1916
Fires of Conscience
George Baxter
The Man from Bitter Roots
Bruce Burt
The Battle of Hearts
Martin Cane
The Bondman
Stephen Orry/Jason Orry
- 1915
A Soldier's Oath
Pierre Duval
The Wonderful Adventure
Martin Stanley
- 1914
The Sign of the Cross
Marcus Superbus
The Spoilers
Roy Glenister
Appearances2
1950s
- 1951
Hollywood Story
Himself
1910s
- 1914
The Lambs' All-Star Gambol
Self