William S. Hart (1864–1946) was an American silent film actor, screenwriter, director and producer.[1] He is remembered as a foremost Western star of the silent era who "imbued all of his characters with honor and integrity."[2] During the late 1910s and early 1920s, he was one of the most consistently popular movie stars, frequently ranking high among male actors in popularity contests held by movie fan magazines.[3]
Hart was born in New York and began his acting career in 1888.[4] He had success as a Shakespearean actor on Broadway, and appeared in the original stage production of Ben-Hur (1899).[5] He entered films in 1914, and after playing supporting roles in two short films, he achieved stardom the same year as the lead in the feature The Bargain.[6] Hart was particularly interested in making realistic Western films. His films are noted for their authentic costumes and props, as well as Hart's acting ability, honed on Shakespearean theater stages in the United States and England. Beginning in 1915, Hart starred in his own series of two-reel Western short subjects for producer Thomas Ince, which were so popular that they were supplanted by a series of feature films.[7] In 1915 and 1916, exhibitors voted him the biggest money making star in the United States.[8] In 1917, Hart accepted a lucrative offer from Adolph Zukor to join Famous Players–Lasky, which merged into Paramount Pictures.[9]
By the early 1920s, Hart's brand of gritty, rugged Westerns with drab costumes and moralistic themes gradually fell out of fashion. The public became attracted by a new kind of movie cowboy, epitomized by Tom Mix, who wore flashier costumes and was involved in more action scenes. Paramount dropped Hart, who then made one last bid for his kind of Western. He produced Tumbleweeds (1925) with his own money, arranging to release it independently through United Artists. After Tumbleweeds, Hart retired to his to home in Newhall, California.[10]
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, William S. Hart has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6363 Hollywood Blvd.[11] In 1975, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[12] As of November 2024, two of the films Hart starred in—The Bargain and Hell's Hinges—along with Show People, in which he has a cameo, have been added to the National Film Registry.[13]
- ^ "Obituaries". Variety. June 26, 1946. p. 62. Retrieved August 4, 2023..
- ^ King, Susan (July 25, 2011). "Classic Hollywood: Western Film Pioneers Have Silent-Era Roots". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ^ Sources:
- "Popularity Contest Closes". Motion Picture Magazine. Chicago: Brewster Publications. December 1920. p. 94. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- "The Motion Picture Hall of Fame". Motion Picture Magazine. Chicago: Brewster Publications: 7. July 1918. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- "The Greatest of Popularity Contests". Motion Picture Classic. Chicago: Brewster Publications. June 1920. p. 51. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ Koszarski 1980, p. x
- ^ Koszarski 1980, p. xi
- ^ Everson 1992, p. 48
- ^ Everson 1992, p. 48
- ^ "Shootin' to Fame". The Mercury. Hobart, Tasmania. August 27, 1942. p. 6. Archived from the original on August 4, 2023. Retrieved April 27, 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Koszarski 1980, p. xv
- ^ Everson 1992, pp. 54–57
- ^ "William S. Hart". Hollywood Walk of Fame. 25 October 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ "Hall of Great Western Performers". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Archived from the original on July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ "Personnel Credits". National Film Preservation Board. LOC. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2023.