Name
King Baggot
Known For
Acting
Birthday
1879-11-06
Deathday
1948-07-11 (69 years old)
Place of Birth
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Biography
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
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- 1911 The Temptress as Gilbert Irving
- 1930 Once a Gentleman as Van Warner
- 1938 Think It Over
- 1941 Come Live with Me as Doorman
- 1912 Shamus O'Brien as Shamus O'Brien
- 1920 The Cheater as Lord Asgarby
- 1913 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
- 1915 The Marble Heart as Raphael / Phidias
- 1918 Mission of the War Chest as Self
- 1933 I Loved a Woman as Banker (uncredited)
- 1935 A Night at the Opera as Dignitary (uncredited)
- 1947 My Brother Talks to Horses as Bank Employee (uncredited)
- 1920 Life's Twist as Jim Sargent
- 1937 The Emperor's Candlesticks as Customs Official (uncredited)
- 1937 It May Happen to You as Man in Hospital (uncredited)
- 1913 The Wanderer as The Shepherd
- 1919 The Hawk's Trail as Sheldon Steele/The Hawk
- 1920 The Forbidden Thing as Dave
- 1932 Girl of the Rio as Maitre d'hotel, Purple Pigeon Cafe
- 1911 Sweet Memories as Edward Jackson
- 1935 A Notorious Gentleman as Police Sergeant
- 1936 The Devil-Doll as Detective Pierre (uncredited)
- 1911 The Mirror
- 2011 Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films as Himself (archive footage)
- 1932 The Big Flash as Hinkle
- 1931 Sweepstakes as Mike - Weber's Trainer
- 1941 The Big Store as Store Employee (uncredited)
- 1937 A Night at the Movies as Movie Patron (uncredited)
- 1939 Stronger Than Desire as Juror (uncredited)
- 1936 Sworn Enemy as Accident Witness (uncredited)
- 1938 Snow Gets in Your Eyes as Department Store Customer (uncredited)
- 1935 Mississippi as Gambler (uncredited)
- 1938 That Mothers Might Live as Passerby (uncredited)
- 1935 The Call of the Savage as Dr. Pierce
- 1939 Dancing Co-Ed as Man in Casting Office (uncredited)
- 1938 Arsène Lupin Returns as Detective (uncredited)
- 1934 The Red Rider as Townsman
- 1936 The Adventures of Frank Merriwell as Chemistry Professor
- 1916 The Silent Stranger as The Silent Stranger
- 1940 I Take This Woman as Man in Subway (uncredited)
- 1947 Merton of the Movies as Man in Audience (uncredited)
- 1911 The Scarlet Letter as Reverend Dimmesdale
- 1945 Dangerous Partners as Lunch Room Customer (uncredited)
- 1932 Police Court as Harry Field
- 1913 Ivanhoe as Wilfred of Ivanhoe
- 1940 The Philadelphia Story as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
- 1940 Gallant Sons as Man on Street / Man in Audience (uncredited)
- 1940 Bitter Sweet as Cafe Patron (uncredited)
- 1931 The Bad Sister as Policeman on Street (uncredited)
- 1912 A Cave Man Wooing as George - the 'Sissy' Hero
- 1912 Up Against It as Amos Bentley
- 1931 Graft as Ship's Captain
- 1932 Afraid to Talk as Police Officer (uncredited)
- 1942 Her Cardboard Lover as Police Officer in Courtroom (uncredited)
- 1911 The Wife’s Awakening as Enoch Harrington
- 1935 Chinatown Squad as Patrol Wagon Guard
- 1942 Jackass Mail as Old Miner
- 1938 Stablemates as Bettor
- 1941 Honky Tonk as Townsman (uncredited)
- 1938 Opening Day as Baseball Fan
- 1932 What Price Hollywood? as Department Head (uncredited)
- 1911 The Master and the Man as Basil King
- 1911 In the Sultan's Garden as Lt. Robbins
- 1911 For the Queen's Honor as The King
- 1911 At a Quarter of Two as Dan Nolan - the Burglar
- 1911 Science as Dr. Crawford
- 1911 Pictureland as Pablo
- 1911 Tracked as Roger Densmore
- 1911 The Secret of the Palm as Cecil Abbott
- 1911 While There is hope, There is Life as Alfred King
- 1911 Second Sight as Tom Mooreland
- 1911 The Call of the Song as Hugh Norton
- 1911 The Fair Dentist as Dental Patient
- 1911 The Rose's Story as Gerald Kinney
- 1911 The Better Way as Louis Perry - a Reformed Crook
- 1921 The Girl in the Taxi as Maj. Frederick Smith
- 1932 The Death Kiss as Al Payne
- 1938 Boys Town as Derelict in Mission (uncredited)
- 1923 The Thrill Chaser as Himself - Cameo
- 1937 Torture Money as False Accident Witness (uncredited)
- 1918 The Eagle's Eye as Harrison Grant
- 1934 Romance in the Rain as Milton McGillicuddy
- 1930 The Czar of Broadway
- 1946 The Secret Heart as Man at Graduation Ceremony
- 1914 Absinthe as Jean Dumas
- 1942 Fingers at the Window as Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
- 1935 3 Kids and a Queen as Druggist
- 1942 Rio Rita as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
- 1945 Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood as Barbershop Patron (uncredited)
- 1911 Over the Hills as Wayne Holland
- 1935 Sweepstake Annie as Motion Picture Studio Executive (uncredited)
- 1911 At the Duke's Command as Edward, the Duke's Nephew
- 1939 The Ice Follies of 1939 as Man in Audience (uncredited)
- 1938 Marie Antoinette as Nobleman at Court (uncredited)
- 1936 San Francisco as Earthquake Survivor (uncredited)
- 1936 Mad Holiday as Film Director (uncredited)
- 1941 Ziegfeld Girl as Man in Audience (uncredited)
- 1943 Swing Fever as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
- 1909 The Awakening of Bess as Bess' Sweetheart
- 1910 The Call of the Circus
- 1910 The Count of Montebello as Percy
- 1910 Debt
- 1910 The Eternal Triangle as The Dashing Young Count
- 1910 A Game for Two as Clark, the Best Friend
- 1910 His Second Wife
- 1910 The Irony of Fate
- 1910 Jane and the Stranger as The Stranger
- 1910 Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens as George Rand
- 1910 The Blind Man’s Tact
- 1910 The Maelstrom
- 1910 The Miser’s Daughter
- 1910 The New Shawl as Jacques
- 1910 Old Heads and Young Hearts
- 1910 Once Upon a Time
- 1910 Pressed Roses
- 1910 A Reno Romance as Jack
- 1910 The Right of Love
- 1910 The Taming of Jane
- 1910 Transfusion
- 1910 Two Men as The Tenderfoot
- 1910 The Winning Punch
- 1910 The Doctor's Perfidy
- 1909 Love's Stratagem as The Boy
- 1910 All the World’s a Stage
- 1914 The Great Universal Mystery as Himself
- 1940 The Ghost Comes Home as Townsman at Banquet (uncredited)
- 1934 Beloved as Second Doctor
- 1916 Half a Rogue as Richard Warrington
- 1946 The Postman Always Rings Twice as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
- 1916 The Man from Nowhere as James Herron
- 1915 The Suburban as Donald Gordon
- 1937 Parnell as Man in Office
- 1918 Building for Democracy as The Husband
- 1918 Kildare of Storm as Basil Kildare
- 1910 The Time-Lock Safe as The Father
- 1946 Holiday in Mexico
- 1920 The Dwelling Place of Light as Brooks Insall
- 1934 Father Brown, Detective as Priest (uncredited)
- 1934 Cheating Cheaters as Official (uncredited)
- 1938 Too Hot to Handle as Reporter (uncredited)
- 1919 The Man Who Stayed at Home as Christopher Brent
- 1921 The Butterfly Girl as H.H. Van Horn
- 1920 The Shadow of Lightning Ridge
- 1910 Justice in the Far North as King
- 1910 Mother Love
- 1911 A Game of Deception
- 1910 The Tide of Fortune
- 1910 The Governor’s Pardon as The Man
- 1910 The Stage Note
- 1910 The Rosary
- 1910 The Broken Oath
