King Baggot
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.
The Temptress
(Gilbert Irving)
Once a Gentleman
(Van Warner)
Think It Over
Come Live with Me
(Doorman)
Shamus O'Brien
(Shamus O'Brien)
The Cheater
(Lord Asgarby)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde)
The Marble Heart
(Raphael / Phidias)
Mission of the War Chest
I Loved a Woman
(Banker (uncredited))
A Night at the Opera
(Dignitary (uncredited))
My Brother Talks to Horses
(Bank Employee (uncredited))
Life's Twist
(Jim Sargent)
The Emperor's Candlesticks
(Customs Official (uncredited))
It May Happen to You
(Man in Hospital (uncredited))
The Wanderer
(The Shepherd)
The Hawk's Trail
The Forbidden Thing
(Dave)
Girl of the Rio
(Maitre d'hotel, Purple Pigeon Cafe)
Sweet Memories
(Edward Jackson)
A Notorious Gentleman
The Devil-Doll
(Detective Pierre (uncredited))
The Mirror
Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films
(Himself (archive footage))
The Big Flash
(Hinkle)
Sweepstakes
(Mike - Weber's Trainer)
The Big Store
(Store Employee (uncredited))
A Night at the Movies
(Movie Patron (uncredited))
Stronger Than Desire
(Juror (uncredited))
Sworn Enemy
(Accident Witness (uncredited))
Snow Gets in Your Eyes
(Department Store Customer (uncredited))
Mississippi
(Gambler)
That Mothers Might Live
(Passerby (uncredited))
The Call of the Savage
(Dr. Pierce)
Dancing Co-Ed
(Man in Casting Office (uncredited))
Arsène Lupin Returns
(Detective (uncredited))
The Red Rider
(Townsman)
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
(Chemistry Professor)
The Silent Stranger
(The Silent Stranger)
I Take This Woman
(Man in Subway (uncredited))
Merton of the Movies
(Man in Audience (uncredited))
The Scarlet Letter
(Reverend Dimmesdale)
Dangerous Partners
(Lunch Room Customer (uncredited))
Police Court
(Harry Field)
Ivanhoe
(Wilfred of Ivanhoe)
Gallant Sons
(Man on Street / Man in Audience (uncredited))
The Philadelphia Story
(Wedding Guest (uncredited))
Bitter Sweet
(Cafe Patron (uncredited))
The Bad Sister
(Policeman on Street (uncredited))
A Cave Man Wooing
(George - the 'Sissy' Hero)
Up Against It
(Amos Bentley)
Graft
(Ship's Captain)
Afraid to Talk
(Police Officer (uncredited))
Her Cardboard Lover
(Police Officer in Courtroom (uncredited))
The Wife’s Awakening
(Enoch Harrington)
Chinatown Squad
(Patrol Wagon Guard)
Jackass Mail
(Old Miner)
Stablemates
(Bettor)
Honky Tonk
(Townsman)
Opening Day
(Baseball Fan)
What Price Hollywood?
(Department Head (uncredited))
The Master and the Man
(Basil King)
For the Queen's Honor
(The King)
In the Sultan's Garden
(Lt. Robbins)
At a Quarter of Two
(Dan Nolan - the Burglar)
Science
(Dr. Crawford)
Pictureland
(Pablo)
The Secret of the Palm
(Cecil Abbott)
Tracked
(Roger Densmore)
While There is hope, There is Life
(Alfred King)
Second Sight
(Tom Mooreland)
The Call of the Song
(Hugh Norton)
The Fair Dentist
(Dental Patient)
The Better Way
(Louis Perry - a Reformed Crook)
The Rose's Story
(Gerald Kinney)
The Girl in the Taxi
(Maj. Frederick Smith)
The Death Kiss
(Al Payne)
Boys Town
(Derelict in Mission (uncredited))
The Thrill Chaser
(Himself - Cameo)
Torture Money
(False Accident Witness (uncredited))
The Eagle's Eye
(Harrison Grant)
Romance in the Rain
(Milton McGillicuddy)
The Czar of Broadway
The Secret Heart
(Man at Graduation Ceremony)
Absinthe
(Jean Dumas)
Fingers at the Window
(Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited))
3 Kids and a Queen
(Druggist)
Rio Rita
(Hotel Guest (uncredited))
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
(Barbershop Patron (uncredited))
Over the Hills
(Wayne Holland)
Sweepstake Annie
(Motion Picture Studio Executive (uncredited))
At the Duke's Command
(Edward, the Duke's Nephew)
The Ice Follies of 1939
(Man in Audience (Uncredited))
Marie Antoinette
(Nobleman at Court (uncredited))
San Francisco
(Earthquake Survivor (uncredited))
Mad Holiday
(Film Director (uncredited))
Ziegfeld Girl
(Man in Audience (uncredited))
Swing Fever
(Nightclub Patron (uncredited))
The Awakening of Bess
(Bess' Sweetheart)
The Call of the Circus
Debt
Jane and the Stranger
(The Stranger)
The Count of Montebello
(Percy)
A Game for Two
(Clark, the Best Friend)
His Second Wife
The Irony of Fate
The Eternal Triangle
(The Dashing Young Count)
The Blind Man’s Tact
Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens
(George Rand)
The Taming of Jane
The Maelstrom
The Miser’s Daughter
Old Heads and Young Hearts
The Right of Love
Once Upon a Time
Pressed Roses
A Reno Romance
(Jack)
The New Shawl
(Jacques)
Two Men
(The Tenderfoot)
The Winning Punch
Transfusion
The Doctor's Perfidy
All the World’s a Stage
Love's Stratagem
(The Boy)
The Great Universal Mystery
(Himself)
The Ghost Comes Home
(Townsman at Banquet (uncredited))
Beloved
(Second Doctor)
Half a Rogue
The Postman Always Rings Twice
(Courtroom Spectator (uncredited))
The Man from Nowhere
(James Herron)
The Suburban
(Donald Gordon)
Tumbleweeds
(Director)
The Kentucky Derby
(Director)
The Notorious Lady
(Director)
Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman
(Director)
Romance of a Rogue
(Director)
Sporting Chance
(Story)
Beatlemania
(Director of Photography)
Human Hearts
(Director)
The Darling of New York
(Director)
The Darling of New York
(Story)
The Silent Stranger
(Director)
The Home Maker
(Director)
The Rose's Story
(Scenario Writer)
A Dangerous Game
(Director)
Perch of the Devil
(Director)
The Lavender Bath Lady
(Director)
The Whispered Name
(Director)
The Tornado
(Director)
Moonlight Follies
(Director)
Cheated Love
(Director)
Nobody's Fool
(Director)
Kissed
(Director)
Lovey Mary
(Director)
The Love Letter
(Director)