William Farnum

William Farnum
Farnum in 1917
Born	(1876-07-04)July 4, 1876 Boston, Massachusetts, US
Died	June 5, 1953(1953-06-05) (aged 76) Los Angeles, California, US
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Years active	1900–1952
Spouse(s)	Mabel Eaton (m. ??; div. ??) Olive White ​ ​ (m. 1906; div. 1931)​ Isabelle Major ​ ​ (m. 1932)​
Children	4
Family	Dustin Farnum (brother) Marshall Farnum (brother)

William Farnum (July 4, 1876 – June 5, 1953) was an American stage and film actor. He was a star of American silent film cinema and became one of the highest-paid actors during that time.

Biography

Farnum was born in Boston, Massachusetts, but he grew up in Bucksport, Maine.

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.

He portrayed the title character of Ben-Hur (1900) on Broadway. Later plays Farnum appeared in there included The Prince of India (1906), The White Sister (1909), The Littlest Rebel (1911) co-starring his brother Dustin, and Arizona (1913), also with Dustin.

In The Spoilers in 1914, Farnum and Tom Santschi staged a classic film fight which lasted for a full reel. In 1930, Farnum and Santschi coached Gary Cooper and William Boyd in the fight scene for the 1930 version of The Spoilers. Other actors influenced by the Farnum/Santschi scene were Milton Sills and Noah Beery in 1923 and Randolph Scott and John Wayne in 1942.

From 1915 to 1952, Farnum devoted his life to motion pictures. While 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.

Personal life

Married three times, Farnum had a daughter, Sara Adele, with his second wife, Olive White. He had three children with his third wife, Isabelle, named Isabelle, Elizabeth, and William Farnum Jr.

Farnum died from uremia and cancer on June 5, 1953 at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

On February 8, 1960, Farnum received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion pictures industry at 6322 Hollywood Boulevard.

He was the younger brother of major film actor Dustin Farnum. He had another brother, Marshall Farnum, who was a silent film director who died in 1917.

Filmography

William Farnum at a piano in 1915

The Man Hunter (1919)

Silent

• The Redemption of David Corson (1914, Short) as David Corson
• The Spoilers (1914) as Roy Glenister
• The Sign of the Cross (1914, extant; Library of Congress) as Marcus Superbus
• Samson (1915) as Maurice Brachard
• A Gilded Fool (1915) as Chauncey Short
• The Governor (1915) as Philip Morrow
• The Plunderer (1915) as Bill Matthews
• The Wonderful Adventure (1915) as Martin Stanley / Wilton Demarest
• The Broken Law (1915) as Daniel Esmond - later Known as Lavengro
• A Soldier's Oath (1915) as Pierre Duval
• Fighting Blood (1916) as Lem Hardy
• The Bondman (1916) as Stephen Orry / Jason Orry
• A Man of Sorrow (1916) as Jack Hewlitt
• The Battle of Hearts (1916) as Martin Cane
• The Man from Bitter Roots (1916) as Bruce Burt
• The End of the Trail (1916) as Jules Le Clerq
• The Fires of Conscience (1916) as George Baxter
• The Price of Silence (1917) as Senator Frank Deering
• A Tale of Two Cities (1917) as Charles Darnay / Sydney Carton
• American Methods (1917) as William Armstrong
• The Conqueror (1917) as Sam Houston
• When a Man Sees Red (1917) as Larry Smith
• Les Misérables (1917) as Jean Valjean
• The Heart of a Lion (1917) as Barney Kemper
• Rough and Ready (1918) as Bill Stratton
• True Blue (1918) as Bob McKeever
• Riders of the Purple Sage (1918) as Lassiter
• The Rainbow Trail (1918) as Lassiter / Shefford
• For Freedom (1918) as Robert Wayne
• The Man Hunter (1919) as George Arnold
• The Jungle Trail (1919) as Robert Morgan
• The Lone Star Ranger (1919) as Steele
• Wolves of the Night (1919) as Bruce Andrews
• The Last of the Duanes (1919) as Buck Duane
• Wings of the Morning (1919) as Capt. Robert Anstruther / Robert Jenks
• Heart Strings (1920) as Pierre Fournel
• The Adventurer (1920) as Don Caesar de Bazan
• The Orphan (1920) as The Orphan
• The Joyous Troublemaker (1920) as William Steele
• If I Were King (1920) as François Villon
• Drag Harlan (1920) as Drag Harlan
• The Scuttlers (1920) as Jim Landers
• His Great Silence (1921) as Richard Hall
• Perjury (1921) as Robert Moore
• A Stage of Romance (1922) as Edmund Kean (Character)
• Shackles of Gold (1922) as John Gibbs
• Moonshine Valley (1922) as Ned Connors
• Without Compromise (1922) as Dick Leighton
• Brass Commandments (1923) as Stephen 'Flash' Lanning
• The Gunfighter (1923) as Billy Buell
• The Man Who Fights Alone (1924) as John Marble
• Tropical Nights (1928)

Sound

• The Spoilers (1930) as Fight Spectator (uncredited)
• Du Barry, Woman of Passion (1930) as Louis XV
• The Painted Desert (1931) as Cash Holbrook
• Ten Nights in a Barroom (1931) as Joe Morgan
• A Connecticut Yankee (1931) as King Arthur / Inventor
• The Pagan Lady (1931) as Malcolm 'Mal' Todd
• Law of the Sea (1931) as Captain Len Andrews
• The Drifter (1932) as The Drifter
• Mr. Robinson Crusoe (1932) as William Belmont
• Flaming Guns (1932) as Henry Ramsey
• Supernatural (1933) as Nick 'Nicky' Hammond
• Fighting with Kit Carson (1933, Serial) as Elliott (Ch. 1)
• Another Language (1933) as C. Forrester (uncredited)
• Marriage on Approval (1933) as Reverend John MacDougall
• Good Dame (1934) as Judge Flynn
• School for Girls (1934) as Charles Waltham
• Are We Civilized? (1934) as Paul Franklin, Sr.
• The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) as Captain Leclere
• Happy Landing (1934) as Col. Curtis
• The Scarlet Letter (1934) as Gov. Bellingham
• Cleopatra (1934) as Lepidus
• The Brand of Hate (1934) as Joe Larkins
• The Silver Streak (1934) as Barney J. Dexter
• Million Dollar Haul (1935) as Mr. Mallory - Sheila's Dad
• The Crusades (1935) as Hugo - Duke of Burgundy
• Powdersmoke Range (1935) as Sam Oreham - Banker
• The Eagle's Brood (1935) as El Toro
• Between Men (1935) as John Wellington - aka Rand
• The Irish Gringo (1935) as Pop Wiley
• The Fighting Coward (1935) as Jim Horton
• Custer's Last Stand (1936, Serial) as James Fitzpatrick
• The Kid Ranger (1936) as Bill Mason
• The Clutching Hand (1936, Serial) as Gordon Gaunt
• Undersea Kingdom (1936, Serial) as Sharad
• Hollywood Boulevard (1936) as Minor Role (scenes deleted)
• The Vigilantes Are Coming (1936, Serial) as Father José
• Maid of Salem (1937) as Crown Justice Sewall
• Git Along Little Dogies (1937) as Mr. Maxwell
• Public Cowboy No. 1 (1937) as Sheriff Matt Doniphon
• The Lone Ranger (1938, Serial) as Father McKim
• If I Were King (1938) as General Barbezier
• Santa Fe Stampede (1938) as Dave Carson
• Shine On, Harvest Moon (1938) as Milt Brower
• Mexicali Rose (1939) as Padre Dominic
• Should Husbands Work? (1939) as Friend (uncredited)
• Colorado Sunset (1939) as Sheriff George Glenn
• Rovin' Tumbleweeds (1939) as Senator Timothy Nolan
• South of the Border (1939) as Padre
• Convicted Woman (1940) as Commissioner McNeill
• Adventures of Red Ryder (1940, Serial) as Colonel Tom Ryder [Ch. 1]
• Kit Carson (1940) as Don Miguel Murphy
• Hi-Yo Silver (1940) as Father McKim (archive footage)
• The Villain Still Pursued Her (1940) as Vagabond (uncredited)
• Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) as Judge Peters
• A Woman's Face (1941) as Court Attendant
• Gangs of Sonora (1941) as Ward Beecham
• Last of the Duanes (1941) as Texas Ranger Major McNeil
• The Corsican Brothers (1941) as Priest
• Today I Hang (1942) as Warden Burke
• The Lone Star Ranger (1942) as Texas Ranger Major McNeil
• The Spoilers (1942) as Wheaton
• Men of Texas (1942) as General Sam Houston
• The Silver Bullet (1942) as Dr. Thad Morgan
• Boss of Hangtown Mesa (1942) as Judge Ezra Binns
• Tish (1942) as John (uncredited)
• Deep in the Heart of Texas (1942) as Colonel Mallory
• American Empire (1942) as Louisiana Judge
• Tennessee Johnson (1942) as Senator Huyler
• Calaboose (1943) as Checkers Player (uncredited)
• Prairie Chickens (1943) as Cache Lake Townsman (uncredited)
• Hangmen Also Die! (1943) as Viktorin (uncredited)
• Frontier Badmen (1943) as Dad Courtwright
• The Mummy's Curse (1944) as Sacristan
• Wildfire (1945) as Judge Polson
• Captain Kidd (1945) as Capt. Rawson
• God's Country (1946) as Sandy McTavish
• Rolling Home (1946) as Rodeo Official
• My Dog Shep (1946) as Carter J. Latham
• The Perils of Pauline (1947) as Western Saloon Set Hero
• Heaven Only Knows (1947) as Gabriel (uncredited)
• Daughter of the West (1949) as Father Vallejo
• Bride of Vengeance (1949) as Conti Peruzzi
• Samson and Delilah (1949) as Tubal
• Gun Cargo (1949) as Board of Inquiry Chairman
• Trail of Robin Hood (1950) as Bill Franum
• Hollywood Story (1951) as Himself
• Lone Star (1952) as Senator Tom Crockett
• Jack and the Beanstalk (1952) as The King (final film role)

External links

• William Farnum at IMDb
• William Farnum at Find a Grave
• William Farnum at the Internet Broadway Database
• William Farnum at Virtual History
• Bill Farnum at the end of his theater career and start of his movie career(moviecard)
• shipboard portrait of Mrs. William Farnum(Olive White) and daughter Adele Farnum(courtesy of eBay; scroll to bottom)