King Baggot
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1879-11-06
Day of Death
1948-07-11 (68 years old)
Place of Birth
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
King Baggot
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
Acting
(2011)
Fragments: Surviving Pieces of Lost Films
as Himself (archive footage)
(1947)
Merton of the Movies
as Man in Audience (uncredited)
(1947)
My Brother Talks to Horses
as Bank Employee (uncredited)
(1946)
The Postman Always Rings Twice
as Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
(1946)
The Secret Heart
as Man at Graduation Ceremony
(1946)
(1945)
Dangerous Partners
as Lunch Room Customer (uncredited)
(1945)
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood
as Barbershop Patron (uncredited)
(1943)
Swing Fever
as Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
(1942)
Jackass Mail
as Old Miner
(1942)
Rio Rita
as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
(1942)
Fingers at the Window
as Psychiatrist at Lecture (uncredited)
(1942)
Her Cardboard Lover
as Police Officer in Courtroom (uncredited)
(1941)
Ziegfeld Girl
as Man in Audience (uncredited)
(1941)
The Big Store
as Store Employee (uncredited)
(1941)
Honky Tonk
as Townsman (uncredited)
(1941)
Come Live with Me
as Doorman
(1940)
The Philadelphia Story
as Wedding Guest (uncredited)
(1940)
I Take This Woman
as Man in Subway (uncredited)
(1940)
Bitter Sweet
as Cafe Patron (uncredited)
(1940)
The Ghost Comes Home
as Townsman at Banquet (uncredited)
(1940)
Gallant Sons
as Man on Street / Man in Audience (uncredited)
(1939)
The Ice Follies of 1939
as Man in Audience (uncredited)
(1939)
Dancing Co-Ed
as Man in Casting Office (uncredited)
(1939)
Stronger Than Desire
as Juror (uncredited)
(1938)
Boys Town
as Derelict in Mission (uncredited)
(1938)
Marie Antoinette
as Nobleman at Court (uncredited)
(1938)
Arsène Lupin Returns
as Detective (uncredited)
(1938)
Stablemates
as Bettor
(1938)
That Mothers Might Live
as Passerby (uncredited)
(1938)
Opening Day
as Baseball Fan
(1938)
Snow Gets in Your Eyes
as Department Store Customer (uncredited)
(1938)
(1937)
The Emperor's Candlesticks
as Customs Official (uncredited)
(1937)
Torture Money
as False Accident Witness (uncredited)
(1937)
Parnell
as Man in Office
(1937)
A Night at the Movies
as Movie Patron (uncredited)
(1937)
It May Happen to You
as Man in Hospital (uncredited)
(1936)
San Francisco
as Earthquake Survivor (uncredited)
(1936)
The Devil-Doll
as Detective Pierre (uncredited)
(1936)
The Adventures of Frank Merriwell
as Chemistry Professor
(1936)
Sworn Enemy
as Accident Witness (uncredited)
(1936)
Mad Holiday
as Film Director (uncredited)
(1935)
A Night at the Opera
as Dignitary (uncredited)
(1935)
A Notorious Gentleman
as Police Sergeant
(1935)
Chinatown Squad
as Patrol Wagon Guard
(1935)
3 Kids and a Queen
as Druggist
(1935)
Mississippi
as Gambler (uncredited)
(1935)
Sweepstake Annie
as Motion Picture Studio Executive (uncredited)
(1935)
The Call of the Savage
as Dr. Pierce
(1934)
The Red Rider
as Townsman
(1934)
Romance in the Rain
as Milton McGillicuddy
(1934)
Beloved
as Second Doctor
(1933)
I Loved a Woman
as Banker (uncredited)
(1932)
What Price Hollywood?
as Department Head (uncredited)
(1932)
The Death Kiss
as Al Payne
(1932)
Afraid to Talk
as Police Officer (uncredited)
(1932)
Police Court
as Harry Field
(1932)
Girl of the Rio
as Maitre d'hotel, Purple Pigeon Cafe
(1932)
The Big Flash
as Hinkle
(1931)
The Bad Sister
as Policeman on Street (uncredited)
(1931)
Sweepstakes
as Mike - Weber's Trainer
(1931)
Graft
as Ship's Captain
(1930)
(1930)
Once a Gentleman
as Van Warner
(1923)
The Thrill Chaser
as Himself - Cameo
(1921)
The Girl in the Taxi
as Maj. Frederick Smith
(1920)
The Forbidden Thing
as Dave
(1920)
The Cheater
as Lord Asgarby
(1920)
Life's Twist
as Jim Sargent
(1920)
The Dwelling Place of Light
as Brooks Insall
(1919)
The Hawk's Trail
as Sheldon Steele/The Hawk
(1918)
Kildare of Storm
as Basil Kildare
(1918)
The Eagle's Eye
as Harrison Grant
(1918)
Mission of the War Chest
as Self
(1918)
Building for Democracy
as The Husband
(1916)
Half a Rogue
as Richard Warrington
(1916)
The Man from Nowhere
as James Herron
(1916)
The Silent Stranger
as The Silent Stranger
(1915)
The Suburban
as Donald Gordon
(1915)
The Marble Heart
as Raphael / Phidias
(1914)
Absinthe
as Jean Dumas
(1914)
The Great Universal Mystery
as Himself
(1913)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
(1913)
The Wanderer
as The Shepherd
(1913)
Ivanhoe
as Wilfred of Ivanhoe
(1912)
Up Against It
as Amos Bentley
(1912)
Shamus O'Brien
as Shamus O'Brien
(1912)
A Cave Man Wooing
as George - the 'Sissy' Hero
(1911)
The Better Way
as Louis Perry - a Reformed Crook
(1911)
The Temptress
as Gilbert Irving
(1911)
(1911)
The Call of the Song
as Hugh Norton
(1911)
The Fair Dentist
as Dental Patient
(1911)
Second Sight
as Tom Mooreland
(1911)
The Wife’s Awakening
as Enoch Harrington
(1911)
Over the Hills
as Wayne Holland
(1911)
Pictureland
as Pablo
(1911)
At a Quarter of Two
as Dan Nolan - the Burglar
(1911)
Sweet Memories
as Edward Jackson
(1911)
Science
as Dr. Crawford
(1911)
The Rose's Story
as Gerald Kinney
(1911)
The Scarlet Letter
as Reverend Dimmesdale
(1911)
For the Queen's Honor
as The King
(1911)
The Master and the Man
as Basil King
(1911)
At the Duke's Command
as Edward, the Duke's Nephew
(1911)
Tracked
as Roger Densmore
(1911)
In the Sultan's Garden
as Lt. Robbins
(1911)
While There is hope, There is Life
as Alfred King
(1911)
The Secret of the Palm
as Cecil Abbott
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
Bear Ye One Another’s Burdens
as George Rand
(1910)
A Reno Romance
as Jack
(1910)
A Game for Two
as Clark, the Best Friend
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
The New Shawl
as Jacques
(1910)
The Time-Lock Safe
as The Father
(1910)
The Eternal Triangle
as The Dashing Young Count
(1910)
(1910)
Two Men
as The Tenderfoot
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
(1910)
Jane and the Stranger
as The Stranger
(1910)
(1910)
The Count of Montebello
as Percy
(1910)
(1909)
Love's Stratagem
as The Boy
(1909)
The Awakening of Bess
as Bess' Sweetheart
Crew
(1981)
Beatlemania
Director of Photography
(1931)
Sporting Chance
Story
(1928)
Romance of a Rogue
Director
(1927)
The Notorious Lady
Director
(1927)
Perch of the Devil
Director
(1926)
Lovey Mary
Director
(1925)
Tumbleweeds
Director
(1925)
Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman
Director
(1925)
The Home Maker
Director
(1925)
The Tornado
Director
(1924)
The Whispered Name
Director
(1923)
The Darling of New York
Director, Story
(1923)
The Love Letter
Director
(1923)
Gossip
Director
(1923)
The Town Scandal
Director
(1922)
The Kentucky Derby
Director
(1922)
Human Hearts
Director
(1922)
A Dangerous Game
Director
(1922)
The Lavender Bath Lady
Director
(1922)
Kissed
Director
(1921)
Moonlight Follies
Director
(1921)
Cheated Love
Director
(1921)
Nobody's Fool
Director
(1916)
The Silent Stranger
Director
(1911)
The Rose's Story
Scenario Writer