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